microfinance & impact investing conference
Is a good project a good investment? in association with
Centre Culturel Tramsschapp Luxembourg - may 27th, 2014
invitation ALFI is pleased to invite you to its Microfinance & Impact Investing Conference 27 May 2014 Centre culturel Tramsschapp, Luxembourg
“Is a good project a good investment?” is the central question at the Microfinance & Impact Investing Conference organised by the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) in partnership with the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) and the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN). High-level experts from asset management companies, investment funds, banks, national and supranational organisations and Microfinance Institutions will look at the following issues: • • • •
Does the aim of achieving a double bottom line force investors to assume higher risks? Does the impact investment sector have the critical size to offer investors financially attractive investment opportunities as well as adequate exit strategies? Is impact investing a fully fledged investment strategy or just the icing on the cake? How can investors effectively measure the actual social or environmental impact of their investments?
The conference will take place in the presence of HRH the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (tbc) and starts with an opening speech by HE Romain Schneider, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Action. The conference addresses asset managers and investors as well as the microfinance and impact investing community at large. For registration, detailed information and sponsorship opportunities, please visit the dedicated ALFI website. I look forward to seeing you in Luxembourg. Yours sincerely,
Anouk Agnes Deputy Director General
programme 08.00 – 09.00
Registration and coffee
09.00 – 09.15
Welcome and introduction Uli Grabenwarter, Co-Chair of the ALFI Responsable Investing Technical Committee, Luxembourg
09.15 – 09.30
Opening Speech H.E. Romain Schneider, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Action, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
09.30 – 09.40
Set the scene: Microfinance Daniel Rozas, Senior Microfinance Expert, European Microfinance Platform, Luxembourg
09.40 – 10.10
Keynote Speech Robert A. Annibale, Global Director, Citi Community Development & Microfinance, London
10.10 – 10.55
Double Bottom Line = Double Risk? Practitioners discuss how to deny this equation: Which criteria are applied in the selection process of MFIs to invest in? Are due diligence procedures in place? How is continuous monitoring ensured? How is social performance taken into account? Moderator: Daniel Rozas, Senior Microfinance Expert, European Microfinance Platform, Luxembourg Panelists: Sara Vermeir, Director Business Development, Incofin Investment Management, Antwerp Christian Etzensperger, Senior Research Analyst, responsAbility Investments AG, Zurich Vincent Oswald, Co-Founder & CEO, Azure Partners, Nyon Kaspar Wansleben, Executive Director, Luxembourg Microfinance Development Fund, Luxembourg
10.55 – 11.25
Coffee break
11.25 – 11.35
Set the scene: Impact Investing Professor Dr. Harry Hummels, European Liaison, Global Impact Investing Network (GiiN), Amsterdam
11.35 – 12.05
Keynote speech Clara Barby, Head of Impact, Bridges Ventures, London
12.05 – 12.50
The Impact Investment Sector: Too small to succeed? Impact investment does not escape the rule: Size matters. Despite the fact that it is growing fast, the sector has still to deal with the allegation that the impact finance market lacks the critical size to offer investors adequate exit strategies, that the typical impact investments are often too small to be financially attractive, that there are few knowledgeable intermediaries able to discover investment opportunities and bring them to the attention of investors, that the market fails to attract the vast majority of socially neutral investors… Are these allegations justified? And if so, what can be done to address the issues? Moderator: Professor Dr. Harry Hummels, Managing Director, SNS Impact Investing, Utrecht Panelists: Clara Barby, Head of Impact, Bridges Ventures, London Monika Beck, Division Chief, Financial Sector Development Africa / Global and Regional Projects, KfW Development Bank, Frankfurt-am-Main Marc Bichler, Executive Secretary, UNCDF, New York Eric Buckens, Manager Social Impact Investment, ABN AMRO, Amsterdam
12.50 – 13.00
Chairperson’s wrap up
13.00 – 14.30
Buffet lunch
programme Afternoon programme 14.30 – 14.35
Chairperson’s introduction
14.35 – 15.05
Special guest speaker Foundations in Impact Investing Jake Benford, Senior Project Manager, Bertelsmann Foundation, Gütersloh, Germany
15.05 – 15.50
Impact Investments: A must have or a nice to have? Representatives from banking institutions, family offices,...debate the pros and cons of impact investing Moderator: Jean-Philippe de Schrevel, Founder & CEO, Bamboo Finance, Geneva Panelists: Philippe Depoorter, Secretary General, Banque de Luxembourg, Luxembourg Johnny El Hachem, CEO, Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild Conseil S.A., Geneva Olivier Lecler, Directeur Banque Privée, Société Bank & Trust, Luxembourg
15.50– 16.20
Coffee break
16.20 – 17.05
How to effectively measure effectiveness Rather than being satisfied with the warm glow of doing a beneficent act, a growing number of investors strive to gain information about the actual social or environmental impact of their investments. Developing a common language, as exists on the financial side of the equation, to measure if invested funds are effectively used to make sustainable change happen, is a real challenge. How useful are existent assessment standards? How to prevent unrealistic expectations from well-intentioned but inexperienced investors? Industry experts address these issues and analyse what assessment can and cannot accomplish. Moderator: Sachin Vankalas, Operations Manager, LuxFLAG, Luxembourg Panelists: Florian Grohs, Credit Director, Oikocredit International, The Netherlands Tom Kagerer, COO, LGT Venture Philanthropy, Zurich Samat Kuljabaev, Risk Manager, Kompanion MFI, Kyrgyzstan Andrew Purvis, CEO, K10, London
17.05 - 17.50
Impact Investment in action: the UK Adoption Bond and beyond Following the launch of social bonds by public sector agencies in the UK, the US, Australia and elsewhere, the formula for these blends of service contract with financial instrument seem to be developing a defined place in the social business world. In 2013 the first Voluntary Sector originated Social Bond, for finding adoptive families for older children, brought a new view of what was possible in impact investing. What can we learn from this, and the other emerging models, and where will these potentially high impact social interventions go next ? Jim Clifford OBE, Head of Advisory and Impact, Bates Wells Braithwaite, London - Co-founder and Chair of “It’s All About Me”: the Adoption Bond.
17.50 – 18.00 18.00
Chairperson’s wrap up of the day Closing drinks
sponsors
microfinance & impact investing conference 27/ 05/ 14
centre culturel tramsschapp, luxembourg