Around the world, the voices of women, minorities and the economically marginalised are not heard nearly enough, and this affects the quality of solutions being put forward on issues affecting their rights. We’ll look at different strategies being used to bring out a diversity of voices, including …

Universal basic income has begun to receive a lot of attention in recent years as a possible solution to rising inequality and disruption of the labor market by automation. Besides eliminating poverty and providing economic security to all Americans, basic income has the potential to significantly alter …

How does your life experience shape your view of the world? How does it seep into your interactions, or into the products and services you’re designing and funding? “Designing for Worldview” is an interactive workshop that applies the problem-solving power of human-centered design to the challenge of …

Most people think that impact investors are only looking for potential investments in companies where its core strategy is to generate environmental and social impact, but we are going to prove this statement wrong. Emprenta is transforming businesses with no social or environmental focus into responsible companies, …

The session looks at how tax reliefs can be used to rectify failings in the traditional investment model and to encourage more individuals to engage in impact investment. There will be examples of how social investment tax relief has operated in the UK and the learnings that …

Even as Silicon Valley’s millionaires multiply, many of its residents are being plunged into financial distress. This widening gulf between the “haves” and “have-nots”—and all the attendant social destabilization that comes with it—is hardly unique to Silicon Valley. However, we would argue that Silicon Valley has a …

Entrepreneurs around the world are address pressing challenges through the creation of innovative hardware technology. We are just beginning to see the potential for hardware technology to address issues such as energy access, clean water, clean cooking and sustainable agriculture. Entrepreneurs building hardware face unique challenges to …

Measuring impact is challenging, but when done thoughtfully it can strengthen program efficacy and promote highly rational decisions about funding. With a growing number of standardized impact measurement tools developed for the burgeoning social impact field, there exist other sets of tools to assess impact in sectors …

A lack of know-how and limited access to talent is the leading barrier to progress for social entrepreneurs around the world. The latest report from ANDE highlights that a lack of technical skills (like financial planning ) as well as soft skills (like leadership) are severely hindering …

Over the past 60 years, international non-profit organizations have served the role of providing support to improve the welfare of the most vulnerable of society. While there has been great success in establishing social capital in communities, there hasn’t always been the success in building long term …

According to the WHO/UNICEF (2012) lack of access to clean water supplies throughout Kenya stood at 59% and many reported cases of drinking water getting contaminated during the delivery process either in the piping system, water tanks or from the source. UNICEF (2012) observed that 10% of …

Innovative financing is an approach to funding enterprises and interventions that optimizes positive social, environmental and financial impact. It uses all available financial and philanthropic tools to support the growth of these enterprises, interventions and entrepreneurs and, when the existing tools don’t work, it creates new ones. …

From Watergate to the Panama Papers, quality media deliver huge social impact on a local, national and even global scale. As independent media emerges as an important theme in impact investing, the intersection of media and tech is providing a wealth of opportunities for innovative media to …

The premise of the presentation is that a corporate social responsibility (CSR) program must be profitable in order to do any good and that one that is profitable can do infinite amounts of good. As much as I’d like to say that adding purpose always adds profit, …

How do for-profit businesses with social mission organize themselves to compete in the future economy? What is the optimal legal structure (traditional corporation, LLC, benefit corporation)? What do larger impact investors such as foundations, family officers look for in investment opportunities? What metrics should for-profit social mission …

As financial inclusion transforms into inclusive fintech, stupendous barriers remain ahead of the industry. The startups that will lead the charge from emerging markets have difficulty raising capital to accelerate their traction and the lessons they learn are usually not shared widely. To address those twin challenges, …

Companies are no longer focused on diversity for the sole purpose of representing differences. Instead, they are focused on how to best harness these differences to create value. Tech equity goes beyond hiring practices, and needs to consciously address how we are building cultures of belonging. Pro …

Discount and free products for nonprofit organizations are a norm in the tech industry. But adoption and use continues to be a struggle. Pro bono volunteering can help nonprofits better understand, implement and utilize donated products. Learn how by coupling product donations with pro bono volunteering, you …

Leadership has changed. To thrive in the rapidly changing global business environment, leaders must employ a different set of competencies. Leadership is a top business and HR priority for companies of all sizes. And yet, current approaches to developing leaders fall short when addressing this critical need. …

Social impact has no borders. Existing challenges require committed networks that support and reflect the social diversity around the globe. Taproot and BMW Foundation have created a Global Pro Bono Network which now exists in over 30 countries. Focused on scaling high quality non-legal pro bono worldwide, …

Everyone is seeking purpose. But there’s another “p” phrase that makes purpose possible: “proportional investment”. Companies want to offer employees ways to feel personally fulfilled and connected to their communities and workplace. When companies create purpose opportunities for their employees, what do both sides of the equation …

Extinction or Extension? Will existing corporate and INGO institutions be overtaken by start-ups and social enterprises, or can their business models be extended to include partnerships that benefit both the small enterprise and the institution? This session will explore perspectives of institutions and social enterprises, and what …

This panel will discuss the trends of impact investing in healthcare and approaches different impact investors are taking to build healthcare investment portfolios in emerging markets. The session will start with the moderator providing a general overview of key trends in healthcare impact investing. This will be …

The workshop will simulate a future where we can share and exchange our resources with our communities using our reputation. People will reflect on the resources they have or the resources that they are looking for, and add them to the ‘resource bank’ for the SoCap Community. …

“Am I making an impact?” This question keeps many mission-driven leaders up at night. The deep desire to change the world can lead to frustration, disappointment and fear - and stop social entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders and even impact investors in their tracks. Join this workshop and learn …