EBAN Impact Investing Survey
EBAN Impact Investing Survey
We are proud to be driving research surrounding impact investing in startups that are dedicated to a societal or environmental cause. This is why we are supporting the EBAN Impact Investing Survey. That way we empower impact investors by giving them the data and the facts to make informed investments.
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EBAN Impact Publishes its First Impact Investing Report – Reporting on Investor Background and Investment Characteristics
EBAN Impact is delighted to announce the publication of our first Impact Investing Report #EIIS2020. EBAN Impact is the home for all EBAN members interested in impact investing and social entrepreneurship. The Impact Investing Report provides information on the profile and background of impact investors, as well as the characteristics that define their investments.
EBAN Impact’s Investing Report is based on a survey launched in April 2020 led by Juan Alvarez de Lara, board member of EBAN, chairman of EBAN Impact, and founder of Seed&Click, and sponsored by Dr. Lisa Hehenberger and Dr. Kai Hockerts, professors at ESADE Business School and Copenhagen Business School respectively.
A detailed report written by Lisa Hehenberger for Stanford Social Innovation Review analyzing what investors and policy makers who want to advance impact investing in Europe need to account for.
Impact investing has taken a foothold in Europe most notably during the past decade, but some countries and regions have developed more rapidly and earlier than others despite pro-impact policies that applied to the entire continent.
Britain positioned itself at the forefront of the field by establishing the Social Investment Task Force (SITF) in 2000 and following up shortly thereafter with the creation of policies, investment funds, and specialized financial tools. France joined it as a leader by creating solidarity-based funds in 2001. In 2012, Britain later advanced the field significantly with the establishment of Big Society Capital—one of the world’s first wholesale investment institutions focused on combined social and financial returns. Development in Central and Eastern Europe has been slower, with a number of nations still in their infancy in attracting and deploying capital.
The variability presents a message that investors and policy makers can’t ignore: If they want to advance impact investing in European regions, they need to account for the field’s different levels of maturity in national, subnational, and municipal markets.
1ST ANNUAL EUROPEAN IMPACT INVESTING SURVEY 2020 #EIIS2020
EBAN (The European Business Angels Network), through the EBAN Impact Investing Committee, is now inviting Investors to participate in the 1st Annual European Impact Investing Survey 2020 #EIIS2020. The report generated by this survey will provide critical insights to European impact investing activity, investment opportunities, impact investing strategies, portfolio management and remaining challenges.
Are you a Business Angel, Investment Vehicle or Organization that makes Investments in Seed and Early Stage companies in Europe with the intention to generate a measurable positive impact on society and the environment alongside a financial return? Then please consider participating in this survey by the 31st of May 2020 – you will just need a few minutes to fill it out!
For more information, contact Juan Alvarez de Lara – Survey and Report Director, Co-Chairman of the EBAN Impact Investing Committee and EBAN Board Member – at jalvarezdelara@seedandclick.com.
Special thanks to ESADE Business School / ESADE Entrepreneurship Institute (Spain) led by Dr. Lisa Hehenberger and Copenhagen Business School / CBS Sustainability Center for Corporate Governance (Denmark) led by Dr. Kai Hockerts for their Academic Support.
Do not hesitate to share the link of the survey with those Investors who could be interested in impact investing!
Keep Safe!
The EBAN Impact Team
#EIIS2020 #EBANImpactInvesting2020
The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) published the ninth edition of its Annual Impact Investor Survey. Comprising data and insights from 266 of the world’s leading impact investors, the report provides in-depth analysis of market activity and trends, covering topics such as: industry challenges; impact measurement and management; financial and impact performance; indicators of market growth; and capital allocations by sector, geography, and instrument. Additionally, this year’s report provides new data on key market topics, including human resources; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and the role of government and policy.
Danske Bank has published The State of Nordic Impact Startup a report on The Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) that are set by the United Nations and adopted by 193 nations – including the Nordic countries. The SDGs represent a wide range of market needs, from energy solutions to food production and medical services. Danske Bank has identified 647 Impact Startups from The Hub and +impact, two online community platforms.
Danske Bank’s findings indicate that Impact Start-ups are following similar patterns as other start-ups. They focus on top-line growth but struggle to make a profit. Financial performance seems to improve as Impact Startups mature in age. In addition, we see that the Energy market represent 63% of the profit pool. 21% are exploring business opportunities in developing markets. In average only 14% of Nordic Impact Start-ups are led by women. 82% of Impact Start-ups seem to be aware of their impact as indicated by their use of impact statements on their website. Read on and find more details inside the report.
Do you want to change the world? Do you want to know how to start? Nowadays, the world needs responsible leaders to solve problems that matter. It is up to us to come up with sustainable solutions to shape a better world. Become an entrepreneur and be part of the change!
This six-week course will lead you through your personal impact journey where you will get a full perspective of the world of social entrepreneurship. World-renowned experts like Professor Muhammad Yunus or Alexander Osterwalder will support you by covering a wide range of topics, from business modeling and design thinking, to the big question on: How to deal with failure?
After this course, you will be able to assess entrepreneurial opportunities through the perspective of both impact and business. The tools you acquire will enable you to turn these opportunities into viable social solutions, maximize impact and fulfill your entrepreneurial potential!
Sign up here!
The Global Impact Investment Network (GIIN) has recently published a new report, Lasting Impact: The Need for Responsible Exits, which reveals insights into how impact investors enable the organizations and projects they finance to expand and deepen their impact beyond the duration of their investment. The report describes a variety of approaches taken by investors—to select, manage, and ultimately exit their investments responsibly.
This report outlines impact investors’ approaches to achieving responsible exits, drawing insights from interviews with more than 30 investors and entrepreneurs and a review of existing resources on the topic. It includes a theoretical analysis and four case studies. Investors might be interested in reading this excellent piece of research as inspiration for considering their role in creating long-term, wide-reaching, positive impact.
The International Council for Science has published a report that explores the nature of interlinkages between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). It is based on the premise that a science-informed analysis of interactions across SDG domains can support more coherent and effective decision-making, and better facilitate follow-up and monitoring of progress. The fundamental underlying principle vertebrating the research is that all SDG interact with one another. In other words, by design they are an integrated set of global priorities and objectives that are fundamentally interdependent.
Policymakers, practitioners and scientists working at the global, regional, national and local levels on implementing or supporting the implementation of the SDG are the intended audience for this report.
Here you can read the SDG Guide to Interactions
Building an Impact-Driven Investment Portfolio
CDC Group is the UK’s Development Finance Institution (DFI) and wholly owned by the UK Government. Founded in 1948, it is the world’s oldest DFI. Its mission is to support the building of businesses throughout Africa and South Asia, to create jobs and make a lasting difference to people’s lives in some of the world’s poorest places.
The Impact Accelerator (IA) was created in 2015 to develop the market for impact investing in some of the most remote and challenging business environments in the world. Here CDC draws on its experiences of investing over the last two years and make recommendations on how to build an impact-focused portfolio.
CDC invest capital in highly developmental businesses that can achieve commercial sustainability in the medium term. The focus is on investments that either address underserved consumers, sectors or segments of the value chain, support scalable innovative business models, or operate in harder geographies. CDC’s mandate means they can invest in ventures with more challenging risk-return profiles than typically considered by commercial investors, while capitalising on CDC’s reputation as the oldest development finance institution and its experience and networks in Africa and South Asia.
This focus will over time, and in successful cases, pave the way for commercial investors to follow once the business has scale and traction,
catalysing both commercial sustainability and development impact.
The IA is funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) and managed by CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution.
Learn more how does the Impact Accelerator model work, read the recommendation on how to build an impact-driven investment portfolio and discover some of the best practices at the link.
This article was first published at Luxemburger Wort.
Photo: Luxemburger Wort
Luxembourg has become a growing hub for social business and on Tuesday night at the Tramsschapp it was all about showcasing the diversity and potential of impact initiatives available in the Grand Duchy.
The event was hosted by the Luxembourg Microfinance and Development Fund (LMDF) in partnership with the Ville de Luxembourg and saw 11 organisations taking the stage to pitch their stories in no more than five minutes.
“We hope – by showcasing the work of these organisations – that more companies and individuals will be encouraged to develop initiatives to promote positive change, event organisers said in a press release.
Addressing societal challenges in Luxembourg and beyond
Moderating the pitching event, business angel Hedda Pahlson-Moller talked about the need to celebrate Luxembourg’s impact ecosystem “to inspire more people, to create more projects and be change-makers in Luxembourg”.
“Impact investing is for everybody” she said. “Every penny we spend can drive value in that direction”.
As a business angel focusing on social investing, Pahlson-Moller tries to find companies that have a growth potential, but also have a social and environmental impact.
“It took me 15 years to find out what is true value for me as an investor”. She also argued that “poverty and inequality can be tackled”.
Photo: Luxemburger Wort
Ouni — Luxembourg’s first packaging-free grocery — was the first to take the stage and plea for its cause. Co-founder Vanessa Paul advocated for people’s transition towards a more ecological life and consumption and invited everyone to act for “a better future.”
During the evening, a variety of organisations pitched their projects, ranging from non-profit actors SOS Village D’Enfants Monde and Friendship – an international NGO supporting marginalised communities in Bangladesh-, consultancy services Innpact, incubator for social entrepreneurs 6zero1, the National Institute for sustainable development and corporate social development INDR, as well as the Centre for Ecological Learning Transition Minett and etika asbl. Microlux, Luxembourg’s first microfinance institution also participated in the pitching event along with 123 Go Social, a programme dedicated to early-stage entrepreneurs generating a social-environmental impact in Luxembourg.
Photo: Luxemburger Wort
Once the pitching was over, the expert panel consisting of Romain Poulles from Luxembourg’s EcoInnovation Cluster, Kenneth Hay from LMDF and Larissa Best from Equilibre shared their thoughts on Luxembourg’s catalysts for change.
“The foundation is there, we now need to stimulate more business,” said Romain Poulles, while Larissa Best asked the audience about “what else can be done to bring more change”.
Kenneth Hay also praised all presenters for their “amazing passion” and said that “if you can state in one sentence the problem you are trying to solve, then you will certainly find the solution.”
“Money is important, think about how to generate money and then you can really make a social impact”, concluded Hay.
The event on Tuesday night was born as an initiative of the Luxembourg Microfinance and Development Fund — financed to date more than 40,000 micro-entrepreneurs in 21 countries — and aimed at bringing companies together to create valuable social impact.
“Innovative partnerships and diversity are at the heart of our fund. As one of the earlier players on Luxembourg’s impact scene, we now want to share our experiences with other players and learn more about other successful partnerships promoting social change,” said Kaspar Wansleben in a press release.
Cities will house 70 percent of the world’s population by 2050 and require urban infrastructure investment of at least $3.7 trillion per year. The only way to meet the challenges of soaring population growth and climate change is to build infrastructure that meets both social and environmental needs. “We must design and implement strategies that articulate the benefits of nature – economically, socially and as a critical piece of building future resilience,” argues Elizabeth Yee of the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities initiatives.
The city of El Paso, Texas, for example, is making the business case (with help from the consulting firm Earth Economics) for preserving and restoring its surrounding desert land. In Medellín, Colombia, early-warning alerts for potential natural disasters and “community risk management” can build social cohesion in crime-intense neighborhoods. In New York, Dutch engineering firm Arcadis is working with Rebuild by Design on a U-shaped flood protection zone around Manhattan that also provides parks and public spaces. Such landscapes can be more effective than traditional flood control measures.
“Traditional models of conservation and regulation alone cannot catalyse the kind of systemic behavioural change that will renew our relationship with the environment,” Yee writes. “Rather than endlessly plugging proverbial holes in concrete walls, we can help nature synchronise with such economic needs.”
This post originally appeared in ImpactAlpha’s daily newsletter. Get The Brief.
Article published on ImpactAlpha’s website
Photo credit: Rebuildbydesign.org
