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Tim Draimin

Social Innovation Europe Initiative Launched in Brussels :: wbc-inco.net - 0 views

wbc-inco.net/...112035.html

social innovation europe innovation socialenterprise

shared by Tim Draimin on 06 May 11 - No Cached
  • On March 16 and 17, 2011, Social Innovation Europe was launched in Brussels. Funded by the European Commission, Social Innovation Europe will create a dynamic, entrepreneurial and innovative new Europe. The time has come for Europe to embrace the broad concept of innovation and set an example globally. By 2014, Social Innovation Europe will have become the meeting place - virtual and real - for social innovators, entrepreneurs, non-profit organisations, policy makers and anyone else who is inspired by social innovation in Europe. Through a series of gatherings, and a new online resource, Social Innovation Europe will: connect projects and people who can share experiences and learn from each other; develop an easily accessible resource bank - so you can find about other projects, organisations and ways of working; develop a resource bank of up to date policies at local and national levels and provide information on funding opportunities; facilitate new relationships between civil society, governments, public sector institutions and relevant private sector bodies develop concrete recommendations in financing and in upscaling/mainstreaming of social innovation in Europe Download the conference report.
  • Tim Draimin on 06 May 11
     
    Social Innovation goes mainstream in Europe as European Union launches SI Europe March 2011 conference with presentations by Geoff Mulgan, Vickie Cammack of Tyze, many others including José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission. His speech included: SPEECH/11/190 José Manuel Durão Barroso President of the European Commission Europe leading social innovation Social Innovation Europe initiative Brussels, 17 March 2011 Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a pleasure to be here and see all of you around this very important issue - how to pursue our dialogue on social innovation. I would like to thank Geoff Mulgan and Diogo Vasconcelos for their kind invitation and also to congratulate them together with Louise Pulford for having won the call to set up the pilot initiative "Social innovation Europe". I also would like to thank DG enterprise for having organised this launch event today. As you know the Commission is fully involved. Lázsló Andor was with you yesterday. Máire Geoghegan-Quinn will be with you today, so this idea of innovation is indeed a major issue for the Commission I am proud to lead. Europe has a long and strong tradition of social innovation: from the workplace to hospices, and from the cooperative movement to microfinance. We have always been a continent of creative social entrepreneurs who have designed systems to enhance education, health, social inclusion and the well-being of citizens. By nature social innovation is an ever-evolving field to keep pace with fast-changing challenges in society. But what concretely do we mean by social innovation? I think it is important to recognise that this concept is not yet fully accepted in the political debate. I think social innovation is about meeting the unmet social needs and improving social outcomes. It is about tapping into the creativity of charities, associations and social entrepreneurs to find new ways of meeting pressing social needs, which are not adequately met
Peter Deitz

MIT TechTV - Legatum Lecture : Sir Ronald Cohen, Chairman, The Portland Trust and Bridg... - 0 views

techtv.mit.edu/...res-director-of-social-finance

mit impact investing sir ronald cohen uk video

shared by Peter Deitz on 27 May 11 - No Cached
  • Cohen, Sir Ronald Chairman, The Portland Trust and Bridges Ventures Director of Social Finance Sir Ronald Cohen is Chairman of The Portland Trust and Bridges Ventures and a Director of Social Finance. He was the founding partner and former chairman of Apax Partners. Founded in 1972, Apax Partners is one of the world’s leading private equity investment groups, operating in nine countries across Europe, the USA, Israel and Japan. Apax advises and manages funds of over $35 billion. Sir Ronald is member of the Harvard Board of Overseers, on the Board of Dean’s Advisers at Harvard Business School, a Vice-Chairman of Ben Gurion University and a member of the University of Oxford Investment Committee. He is also a Trustee of the British Museum. He was a founder director and past chairman of the British Venture Capital Association and a founder director of the European Venture Capital Association. He was also a founder and former Vice-Chairman of EASDAQ and former director of NASDAQ Europe. He was Chairman of the Social Investment Taskforce and the Commission on Unclaimed Assets. He has recently published “The Second Bounce of the Ball – Turning Risk into Opportunity” about entrepreneurship. He is a graduate of Oxford University, where he was president of the Oxford Union, an Honorary Fellow of Exeter College, and has an MBA from Harvard Business School, to which he was awarded a Henry Fellowship. Recipient of the HBS Alumni Achievement Award.
Peter Deitz

Coming in from the 'Dark Side' - Down to Business Blog - 0 views

www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/...Coming_in_from_the_'Dark_Side'

uk impact investing social enterprise

shared by Peter Deitz on 25 May 11 - No Cached
  • The lazy yet dominant financial market preconception of social entrepreneurs is of fluffy tree-hugging do-gooders who couldn't cut it in the 'real world'. Indeed, my peers from business school and the financial markets in the City still think I am simply going through a 'charity phase' and will eventually return to the fold. But I'm not going to. I have been lucky to come across a pioneering market place and I'm signed up for the duration. Social enterprise is about sustainability, financial viability, commercial solutions to social needs. It is not about inefficiencies of investment, or the black hole of grant donations. The guys at SOCAP in San Francisco name this space the intersection of money and meaning. What are we at UnLtd doing to help increase the awareness of this intersection? For a start we've just launched the Big Venture Challenge to accelerate the entry of business angels into the social investment market place. We are looking to find 25 of the most ambitious social entrepreneurs with scalable ventures - and then 'de-risk' any investments by providing matched funding and some high calibre support from ourselves, Accenture, Deutsche Bank, Coutts, Thomson Reuters, Hogan Lovells and others.
  • This is certainly an international phenomenon, albeit operating at different paces throughout the world, but with clear exporting/importing of talent, knowledge and experience: The UK market place has been swamped with interest in how to replicate our own work with both government-led as well as private delegations from Canada, Vietnam, China, Thailand, Japan, Australia and Continental Europe just in recent months. UnLtd ourselves now have three sister organisations, which operate different business models, but with the same vision of helping social entrepreneurs in India, Thailand and South Africa, with many more in the offing. Similarly, the UK's School for Social Entrepreneurs has expanded to Australia and has many more international partners queuing up. Volans is now operating out of London and Singapore.There is the Global Impact Investing Network and the Global Impact Investing Reporting Standards coming out of the US but with international intentions (it's in the names!)There are (formative) social stock exchanges/trading/donation platforms in the US, Singapore, Italy, Brazil, UK, South Africa, KenyaThere is a well established European Venture Philanthropy Association, with a sister organisation opening in SingaporeWe have SOCAP Europe for the first time bringing a US conference to The NetherlandsThere are also a glut of crowd-funding mechanisms evolving to avoid traditional financial machinery, harnessing the Facebook generation: Kiva, MyC4, CrowdCube, Profunders, Buzzbnk, Ethex, Markets for Good.
Peter Deitz

Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship Blog - 0 views

skollcentre.wordpress.com

uk socap

shared by Peter Deitz on 31 May 11 - No Cached
  • We’re thrilled that several of our Oxford MBA students and faculty have the opportunity to attend the event and help out our friends over at SOCAP.   They’ll be keeping us posted on all the latest and their perspectives on the gathering. If you can’t make it to Amsterdam, be sure to follow along online and keep up with all the buzz on twitter at #socapeurope (Tweets are a’flying!). You can also watch the entire event via livestream. We’re excited to see what comes out of the gathering – a few hours in, and already looks like exciting things. For one, check out the newly released Social Investment Manual by the Schwab Foundation.  Looks like a must read.
  • SOCAP, the conference at the intersection of money and meaning, came to Europe last night at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam. Since I was volunteering at the conference, I was unable to witness the  keynote speech by HRH Princess Maxima, UN Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development.
Peter Deitz

Stock Exchanges for Local Businesses - WSJ.com - 0 views

online.wsj.com/...4563104576357680647926882.html

thesvx local impact investing loca-vesting

shared by Peter Deitz on 02 Jun 11 - No Cached
  • Local stock exchanges once were common but faded as face-to-face trading shifted to electronic platforms and the biggest U.S. stock-exchange operators acquired smaller rivals. Among the few remaining exchanges, the former Philadelphia Stock Exchange is now an options exchange owned by Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. A minicomeback might be around the corner. In April, Hawaii lawmakers agreed to begin examining the state's securities laws to possibly create a "locally focused, Hawaii-based stock exchange."
  • In Toronto, organizers of the Social Venture Exchange, or SVX, are expected to launch this summer a specialized exchange to link institutional investors with local companies having a social or environmental impact. The fledgling market is backed by Toronto Stock Exchange owner TMX Group Inc. Local exchanges are also in the works in Europe, Africa and Asia.
  • But other efforts at "loca-vesting," as the concept is known, have struggled. Investbx opened in 2007 in the U.K. city of Birmingham to serve small companies in the West Midlands region. Last month, the exchange was sold for a token £1 ($1.6352) after bringing just three companies to market and absorbing more than £3 million ($4.9 million) in public subsidies.
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  • Dow Jones Reprints: This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visit www.djreprints.com See a sample reprint in PDF format. Order a reprint of this article now MARKETS JUNE 2, 2011 Stock Exchanges for Local Businesses
  • Peter Deitz on 02 Jun 11
     
    Wall Street Journal article referring to TheSVX.
adamspence

Stock Exchanges for Local Businesses - WSJ.com - 1 views

online.wsj.com/...4563104576357680647926882.html

social finance impact investing locavesting local exchanges

shared by adamspence on 02 Jun 11 - No Cached
  • Local stock exchanges once were common but faded as face-to-face trading shifted to electronic platforms and the biggest U.S. stock-exchange operators acquired smaller rivals. Among the few remaining exchanges, the former Philadelphia Stock Exchange is now an options exchange owned by Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. A minicomeback might be around the corner. In April, Hawaii lawmakers agreed to begin examining the state's securities laws to possibly create a "locally focused, Hawaii-based stock exchange." David Fisher, an economic development and business consultant involved in the effort, says the electronic-only exchange would help Hawaiian investors keep their money closer to home, while connecting local entrepreneurs with capital. Honolulu's stock exchange shut down in 1976. In Toronto, organizers of the Social Venture Exchange, or SVX, are expected to launch this summer a specialized exchange to link institutional investors with local companies having a social or environmental impact. The fledgling market is backed by Toronto Stock Exchange owner TMX Group Inc. Local exchanges are also in the works in Europe, Africa and Asia.
  • adamspence on 02 Jun 11
     
    Wall Street Journal article on the development of local stock exchanges in North America.
adamspence

Santander invests £1m in game-changing social enterprise | Social Enterprise - 1 views

www.socialenterpriselive.com/...ame-changing-social-enterprise

deal uk impact investing social finance

shared by adamspence on 11 May 11 - No Cached
  • A brace of £1m debt finance deals is just the beginning of a much bigger plan to take banking services to excluded communities, Faisel Rahman tells Chrisanthi Giotis The business case for social enterprises lending small amounts to the poorest people in the UK is about to be seriously tested as east end lender Fair Finance partners with global financial powerhouse Santander.
  • Santander is the latest big bank to invest in Fair Finance putting in £1m in debt finance, to follow the £1m debt finance Fair Finance raised from Societe Generale and BNP Paribas – this earlier deal last month was possibly the first commercial deal of its kind for a personal finance community lender in western Europe.
  • adamspence on 11 May 11
     
    Debt financing deal for community lender in the UK.
  • Peter Deitz on 11 May 11
     
    Interesting article. Thanks Adam for sharing with the group.
Tim Draimin

FT.com / UK - Crisis and disasters boost zeal for reform - 1 views

www.ft.com/...4c-11e0-afc5-00144feab49a.html

big society bank social finance UK

shared by Tim Draimin on 15 Jun 11 - No Cached
  • Crisis and disasters boost zeal for reformBy Patrick Jenkins, Banking Editor Published: June 15 2011 16:43 | Last updated: June 15 2011 16:43
  • All this has given the concept of sustainable finance momentum over the past year. The values of sustainability – a longer-term horizon and a greater focus on the counterparties with which banks do business – are becoming mainstream.
  • A minority in the banking world has long specialised in “ethical” behaviour, restricting investments to a “whitelist” of companies deemed to act responsibly. But the environmental disasters in particular have been a spur to such institutions, says Joachim Straehle, chief executive of Bank Sarasin, whose predecessors turned the Swiss institution into a “sustainable bank” after a domestic chemical disaster 25 years ago.
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  • “We have a sustainable matrix system that allows us to invest in high-impact sectors like oil only if the company is exceptionally sustainable,” Mr Straehle says.
  • It remains to be seen how permanent that caution is, but the political shift away from nuclear in Europe, particularly in Germany, could restrain European banks from funding such projects further afield.
  • This may just be current pragmatism, but it reflects homegrown changes in business strategies by banks with international reach.
  • For example, in recent months mainstream British banks have been drawn, sometimes screaming, into doing more to assist the broader society. The so-called Project Merlin agreement between the big UK banks was centred on government lending targets, but it also bound the banks into several other do-good projects that are more ambitious in their scope than standard government-sponsored financing initiatives.
  • The biggest idea is the creation of a £2.5bn ($4.1bn) private equity-style Business Growth Fund to kick-start small business investment, while a further £200m has been committed to the Big Society Bank, a project conceived by David Cameron, UK prime minister, to support regional development ventures.
  • There is a theoretical promise of commercial returns for the banks, but few expect them to be generous.
  • Tim Draimin on 15 Jun 11
     
    Financial Times reporting on pressure building on banks post crisis
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