Partnering for Impact: Kellogg School of Management and INSEAD to Partner for 2013 International Impact Investing Challenge

The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and INSEAD have announced a new partnership as they join together to co-host the 2013 International Impact Investing Challenge. Now in its third year, the challenge provides graduate students from around the world the opportunity to create high-performance, high-reward investment strategies that deliver social and environmental impact.

“The International Impact Investing Challenge invites students to think creatively about how to design investment vehicles that appeal to institutional investors, while simultaneously creating solutions for global social issues,” said Jamie Jones, director of social entrepreneurship at the Kellogg School. “While we’ve been very impressed with the caliber of financial creativity among the student teams who participated in the previous two years, we’re thrilled to have INSEAD as a European academic partner this year to attract a more global audience than ever before.”

We at INSEAD are very excited to be partnering with the Kellogg School for this year’s International Impact Investing Challenge. We have seen the field of impact investing grow over the years and become of rising importance to our students and the INSEAD finance community. We hope to contribute to Kellogg’s great work in creating and building this competition by increasing awareness and drawing in submissions from our European base, said Christine Driscoll Goulay, Associate Director of the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Initiative.

Teams are invited to submit a two-page prospectus by March 14, 2013. Ten finalist teams will present their proposals at a final event at the World Bank in Washington, D.C on April 26, 2013. The judging panel will be comprised of experienced officers and investors who currently manage family foundations, pension funds and university endowments. Top teams will receive financial support to implement their vision.

The International Impact Investing Challenge is sponsored by Equilibrium Capital Group; the McCall Foundation; Impact Assets; the Carol & Larry Levy Social Entrepreneurship Lab; World Bank Institute and the Calvert Foundation.

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For more information:

To learn more about the International Impact Investing Challenge, visit www.impactinvestingchallenge.org. For more information about the Kellogg School of Management, visit www.kellogg.northwestern.edu. For more information about INSEAD, visit www.insead.edu.

Masisa - Socially Inclusive Business Programs in Brazil

 

The most recent ISEP session in Fontainebleau made a lasting impression on Fernando Draier. Based in Buenos Aires, Fernando has been working for Masisa helping to design and manage socially inclusive business programs.

“Originally I began focusing on social entrepreneurship through my work at Masisa, a wood board business for furniture and interior architecture,” explains Fernando. “In 2008 I began helping to design and mange socially inclusive business programs that work with low-income communities and prison inmates and ex-offenders in Argentina.”

Masisa offers three courses at various levels to some of the more marginalized communities in Argentina. A beginner’s course for those that have no carpentry experience; a more advanced course for those that have begun carpentry work and need to develop additional skills; and a professional course that focuses on project management, budget and marketing. To date, over 5000 individuals across Argentina have participated in the program and the numbers continue to grow.

“In addition to this, I have helped to develop a program with prisoners whereby they build wood based products that can be sold by retailers in Argentina,” says Fernando. “This enables prisoners to develop a skill set while earning an income for their families, which will help them once they reenter society,”

Fernando began spending over eighty per cent of his time on these and other programs as they began to gain momentum. Recognizing that companies don’t always have the patience and time to grow these enterprises, Fernando wanted to gain additional knowledge on how to make these initiatives a long-term success.

Wanting to learn more about how to build successful social enterprises, Fernando began exploring different educational programs and found that the learning social entrepreneurial tools on MBA programs will take a lot of time. When he came across INSEAD’s Social Entrepreneurship Program, he knew he had found the perfect course.

“There are a lot of great things going on in Latin America right now and I wanted to learn more about how we can get funding and measure the impact of these social enterprises” explains Fernando.  “What appealed most to me about ISEP was the fact that I would be learning with a group of experienced social entrepreneurs and have the opportunity to work on real cases and gain valuable knowledge.”

“The program was extremely inspiring,” Fernando adds. “Social enterprise is about solving problems that no one else wants to solve, and ISEP offered a lot of ways in which this can be possible. It helped me organize my thoughts, establish a usable framework and develop a practical set of tools that can be used in every day work.”

During the program, participants had the opportunity to pitch their ideas to social investors. “This was a wonderful exercise, “ says Fernando. ”Although I didn’t participate in the pitch, I was able to gain a better understanding of the process, what investors are looking for and what you need to provide them in order to get financing.”

Fernando is keen to apply what he learned at ISEP back in Argentina. “Although Latin America continues to grow economically, there are still a lot of social problems. Everything from providing clean water and housing to dealing with education, violence and crime,” said Fernando. “As a result there is a lot of opportunity for social enterprises to grow, and now having attended ISEP I feel like I have the tools and framework necessary to help others connect and begin working on some of these issues.”

“I have been working for corporations for over 20 years and this move to social entrepreneurship is a huge change for me,” said Fernando. “But I am excited for the adventure ahead and am optimistic that I can make a difference. ISEP provided me with the tools and now it’s time to get to work!”

Fernando Draier

Fernando has more than 20 years experience working for global corporations in business development areas. He is looking forward to increase social impact and tackle poverty in Latin America by addressing new challenges and partnerships.

He is also an entrepreneur business coach, working as a mentor/tutor in business incubators/accelerators.

My next challenges are creating or replicating new innovative social enterprises in Argentina/Latin America, mentoring social enrepreneurs and incorporate social entrepreneurship in Argentinian Business Schools.

2012 INSEAD Social Entrpreneurship Programme (ISEP) Sessions 2012

2012 INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Programme

The 2012 ISEP sessions are nearly full with a talented and accomplished groups of some of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs from nearly 40 countries in all parts or the world. Only a few spaces remain in Singapore and Fontainebleau for this year’s sessions.

A full day has been added to the programme and new faculty added. If you have questions or would like to nominate someone to attend, we encourage you to get in touch with Hans and act fast.

The 2013 INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Conference in Spain!

“Technology, Innovation and Social Change”

The 2013 International Social Entrepreneurship Conference comes to Spain

Block the date: 26-27 April in Madrid

After a very successful International Social Entrepreneurship Conference in Jakarta in May, planning is underway for the 2013 International Conference. The theme of“Technology, Innovation and Social Change” will focus us on how innovative applications of technology, both high-tech and low-tech, enable social entrepreneurs to address important unmet social needs.

With more than a dozen ISEP Network members and our friends at Fundación Banesto we will have a rich blend of local talent to draw on to make this a compelling, invigorating and inspiring event. In the coming weeks you will hear more about the social entrepreneurship conference which will take place on April the 26th, as well as the reunion on the 27th and the other events surrounding our time in Madrid. So block the days on your calendar and plan to join your ISEP colleagues from 8 years of sessions in Fontainebleau and Singapore.

Convergences 2015 World Forum: 19, 20 & 21 September 2012 in Paris

During the Convergences 2015 World Forum, over 3,000 professionals and experts will meet during 3 days on 19, 20 and 21 September 2012 in Paris (France) to build together tomorrow’s answers to today’s social and environmental challenges faced by developed and developing countries.

The world Forum will bring together the leading operators from social entrepreneurship, social and solidarity economy, microfinance, and the international aid sector.

Check out the web site here. And see more info below.

This 5^th edition will see:

      100 exhibitors at the Professional Marketplace on 19 and 20 September

      3,000 participants from 50 countries

      50 high level round tables

      300 experts and guest stars, such as:

·         Alain Juppé, Former French Prime Minister and Mayor of Bordeaux

·         Antoine Frérot, CEO, Veolia Environnement

·         Antonio Meloto, Founder and President, Gawad Kalinga

·         Bruno Witvoët, CEO, Unilever France

·         Cécile Molinier, Director, UNDP Geneva

·         Christian Sautter, President, France Active

·         Djibo Bagna, President, ROPPA  (Réseau des Organisations Paysannes et de Producteurs de l'Afrique de l'Ouest)

·         François Soulage, President, Secours Catholique

·         Geoff Lamb, President,  Global Policy and Advocacy, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

·         Gérard Payen, Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General

·         Jean Bernardeau, CEO, HSBC France

·         Jean-Michel Severino, former Director, French Development Agency

·         Jon Lomoy, Director, OECD Development Co-operation Directorate

·         Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services

·         Michel Rocard, Former French Prime Minister

·         Nicolas Hulot, Founder, Foundation for Nature and Human Beings

·         Pierre Rabhi, President and Founder, Mouvement Colibri

·         Pierre-Yves Madignier, President, ATD Quart-Monde

·         Sam Daley Harris, CEO and Founder, Center for Citizen Empowerment and Transformation / President, RESULTS

      A rich and diverse program for 3 days. Download it here!

IMPORTANT-2012 INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Programme in France & Singapore-ISEP

Hi All and especially ISEP grads!

It is that time of year when the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Exec Ed programme (ISEP) applications for the year are coming in and therefore also the time to send around a gentle reminder to ask you to submit your suggestions for participants for this year.

We are now in the eighth year of this extremely successful programme and have made a few important changes. First you should know that this year's sessions are scheduled to take place on 11 – 16 November in Fontainebleau and 25-30 November in Singapore. We have added just over a day to the programme itself to reflect new research and emerging concepts in the field. We have been able to attract some new faculty to the programme, deepen some topics, and add some new ones. This makes one of the most unique and powerful programmes INSEAD offers even stronger.

With the increased number of days and faculty sessions we have had to increase our fees, but managed to keep the daily rate the same. We remain focused on addressing the needs of founders, CEOs and senior executives of social enterprises who are at least 3-5 years into the running of social enterprise as well as those involved in the eco-system that support these ventures. We continue to address some of the specific 2nd and 3rd generation challenges facing social entrepreneurs such as strategic scaling and growth, business model innovation, impact assessment, and developing high impact leadership teams.

This is where you come in. Consistently, many of our strongest participants are referred to us by our ISEP alumni. You know the programme best. You know what the network brings, and you know the value it creates professionally and individually. Many of you have already done so but, for those who haven't, take a moment to think about the impressive social entrepreneurs you have come across this past year. Check through your contacts and address book and see who you come across.

Please go here for a flyer and application for this year's ISEP sessions to give you further details on the programme and admission process for you to pass on. Let us know if you have people in your network you would like to recommend for this year's sessions and if you have any questions.

Thank you for your help. We look forward to hearing from you and remaining updated on your work.

Hans Wahl (Hans.Wahl@insead.edu) and the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Team

Please check out this great video of INSEAD Professor Filipe Santos giving his presentation at the Partnering for Global Impact Conference. Professor Santos presented the new frameworks that should be used for the evaluation of impact investing opportunities. Specifically, he highlighted that the impact-investing field focuses on value creation – not value capture (as does traditional business) and this is why we need new frameworks. To answer this need, Professor Santos introduced his version of Porter’s five forces but focused on creating value through Social Entrepreneurship (showcased below) as opposed to traditional business competition.