"Dear friends of the NAB,

At the time of preparing this newsletter, I feel a mix of dread and hope. Dread at the alarm raised by the IPCC report and the consequences the man-made climate crisis will have not only on the future of mankind but also already has on its present. The recent extreme weather events close to home and far away are yet again another testimony of what is to come. And, for the first time in years, the progress made on the SDGs has suffered a massive setback during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the same time, I am full of hope that this unfortunate bad news has started to trigger an acceleration of the transition towards sustainability and more equity, a sense of extreme urgency not only among public opinion but also in the public and private sectors. PME, one of the largest Dutch pension funds, recently announced its intention to step out of oil & gas and to replace these investments with renewable energy. More will follow in the financial and corporate sectors.

Now more than ever, newcomers will need the guidance of experienced impact investors, and I am confident that the NAB and the GSG network will bring stakeholders together. 

Now is the time for action."

- Laure Wessemius-Chibrac, Managing Director

G7 IMPACT TASK FORCE

GSG is proud to coordinate the independent Impact Taskforce (ITF) established as part of the UK’s G7 presidency. Focusing its work on driving forward solutions for a sustainable and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and promoting impact-driven economies and societies. In partnership with the Impact Investing Institute (the UK NAB), the ITF will be producing recommendations focused on impact transparency, standard harmonization, integrity, and trust, as well as investigating the creation of new financial vehicles to mobilize private capital at scale for impact.

We invite the members of the NAB to contribute with case studies and examples that can be relevant to this project, by submitting them to contact@nabimpactinvesting.nl.

WORKING GROUPS UPDATE

Since the last newsletter, we have made progress in our working groups. Below you can find a brief update of where we are standing. For more details check our website.

Mapping Exercise

We are finalising the preparation of the survey for the mapping exercise and plan to launch within 2 weeks. The initiative is a collective effort in the Netherlands supported by individual and network organizations among which EVPA, Co-Financing our Future, Phenix Capital, TBLI. And we are in conversation with others.

The purpose of the study is multiple: identifying the Dutch stakeholders involved in the impact investing ecosystem, especially on the supply side, sizing the impact investing market in the Netherlands, and identifying the barriers perceived by the various stakeholders to scaling up the impact investing sector. 

The study will consist of 2 parts: a quantitative and qualitative analysis. The quantitative analysis is based on an online survey (to be shared from 20 or 27 September). And the qualitative analysis is based on follow-up interviews with survey respondents and with representatives of other stakeholders’ groups (policy makers, entrepreneurs, market builders, other networks, and representing bodies). The aim is to establish a diagnostic of what issues will need solving, which is at the heart of the mission of the NAB. 

The questions from the surveys have been aligned to other questionnaires in order to minimize effort from the respondents and to maximize the response rate. The last market sizing in the Netherlands around impact investing was made by VBDO in 2015 so this is a very important landmark study for the sector! 

We hope to be able to cooperate with as many stakeholders as possible to get a broad outreach and high response rate. We would like to invite all our readers to consider participating in this collective effort by sharing the survey in their Dutch network.

Digital Agri-Hub

The NAB is part of the soon-to-launch Digital Agri Hub.

Towards building a sustainable Digital for Agriculture ecosystem, Wageningen University and Research together with the NAB, GSMA and Grameen Foundation, have been mandated by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UK’s FCDO and USAID to build a platform to monitor solutions for digital agriculture, provide data, insights and impact metrics to help focus investments towards agricultural transformation in low- and middle-income countries.  

The Digital Agri Hub will act as multi-actor knowledge and matchmaking platform to contribute with inclusive digital solutions for development and a unique perspective towards scaling up and investing in digital agrIculture innovations. 

If you are interested in knowing more or in participating, you are invited to contact Simona Benvenuti at simona@nabimpactinvesting.nl.

GSG SUMMIT | 6-8 OCTOBER 2021

The GSG Summit is a great opportunity to network and get in contact with other practitioners of the impact community around shared interests. Here's a sneak-peek of what you can benefit from during the summit:

• A session in "Building your career in impact investing" and hand-picked topics including gender, social entrepreneurs, and the road to an impact economy, to provide you with an overview of all that the impact movement covers.
• Via GSG's hosted networking and themed lounge tables, you will connect with 1500 global participants at all stages of their impact journey. 
• Resources for further reading to help you on your impact journey.

You can find the full agenda here.

Please don't forget that as a member of the NAB you are eligible to receive one discounted pass to the GSG Global Impact Summit. Additionally, if you wish to acquire more than 1 ticket, you are eligible for 20% off that second ticket. Please request your code via contact@nabimpactinvesting.nl.

EVENTS

Digital Agri Hub Project Launch

Date: October 12, 2021 @ 16:00 CET

Location: Online

The Digital Agri Hub is hosting its launch event. The event is open to organizations interested in Digital Agriculture. If you would like to receive an invitation to attend, please contact simona@nabimpactinvesting.nl.

ImpactFest by ImpactCity

The NAB will host a round table, "Collecting stakeholder feedback on the preliminary findings of the mapping survey". 

The NAB will host its first members' meeting in the morning, before the ImpactFest. This is a great opportunity for our community to meet. An invitation will follow.

PUBLICATIONS

Want to become a member? For inquires e-mail us at contact@nabimpactinvesting.nl. 

We are grateful for the support of our founding partners!