Topic: Impact Investing and Sustainable Finance after Covid-19 / Challenges and Opportunities for Development Institutions

Date: 24th July 2020 11:00AM (GMT+3)

Panelists :
1. Ahmet Faruk Aysan
Dean, School of Management and Administrative Sciences at
İstanbul Şehir University
2. Sahba Sobhani
Director, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
3. Dr. Abdelilah Belatik, DBA
Secretary General at General Council for Islamic Banks and
Financial Institutions (CIBAFI)

Moderator : Prof. Dr. Ahmet Faruk Aysan

Introduction:
Covid-19 pandemic has reminded the vitality of impact investment and sustainable
finance once again. Impact investments are made with the deliberate intention to
achieve positive social and environmental impacts in addition to generating financial
returns. It is high time to contemplate further on how investments provide a clear
contribution to accomplish the intended goals. Specific performance indicators and
monitoring metrics are used to quantify, measure and evaluate impact. At the face
of Covid-19 pandemic, there is more room for the development finance institutions
to benefit from the impact investment tools and practices.

Impact investing is a primary tool for the Development Finance Institutions (DFI’s)
to employ in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). This involves financing of environment friendly economical activities, promoting the
employment of youth, women, minorities and contributing to the national
infrastructures of the developing or the least developed countries. There remains
the need for more financing to be deployed in this area. Also, coordination of efforts
among DFI’s is of the essence in order to achieve maximum benefit from such
initiatives.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused massive unemployment and increased
inequality in the society as a number of key industries were forced to halt or
completely shut down their operations because of lockdowns. A drastic decline in
consumption was witnessed as well. This is a key moment for DFI’s to leverage
their balance sheets and their expertise in impact investing to alleviate or reverse
the adverse effects of the pandemic by financing industries which are crucial to
recover lost employments and help national economies to navigate through these
difficult times.

This webinar will be an important opportunity for related stakeholders to come
together and to share their expertise and insights on how to efficiently achieve the
aforementioned objectives.

00:00:00 Introduction – Mr. Fatih Serdar Celik (SDG of ADFIMI)
00:01:39 Prof. Ahmet Faruk Aysan (Moderator)
00:04:51 What have you done in the last months to adjust to the process?
00:05:16 Mr. Sahba Sobhani
00:08:28 What were your initial reactions to the Covid-19 pandemic?
00:08:46 Dr. Abdelilah Belatik
00:14:31 How do you evaluate the involvement of central banks during this process?
00:15:28 Mr. Sahba Sobhani
00:17:36 How will lower interest rate environment affect Sustainable Finance and Impact Investing?
00:18:19 Mr. Sahba Sobhani
00:19:20 What do you think about this low interest rates environment for the Islamic Banks?
00:20:02 Dr. Abdelilah Belatik
00:25:50 What do think about the unemployment issues caused by Covid-19?
00:26:21 Mr. Sahba Sobhani
00:30:15 Would you like to share some results of the recent CIBAFI Surveys?
00:30:38 Dr. Abdelilah Belatik
00:35:35 Mr. Sahba Sobhani
00:37:52 How will the lack of global coordination affect the unfolding of this crisis for the private sector?
00:39:28 Mr. Sahba Sobhani
00:43:07 What particular role do you think Islamic Banks can play in Impact Investing and Sustainable Finance?
00:44:32 Dr. Abdelilah Belatik
00:49:03 Mr. Sahba Sobhani
00:51:11 After Covid-19 do you see the need to change some priorities in SDGs?
00:51:53 Sahba Sobhani
00:53:19 Do you think that Islamic Banks can play a role in Development Finance?
00:54:19 Dr. Abdelilah Belatik
00:58:58 Could you give us some examples that could be even more implementable after Covid-19?
00:59:37 Mr. Sahba Sobhani
01:02:46 Participant Question #1
01:03:36 Mr. Sahba Sobhani
01:07:55 Participant Question #2
01:08:33 Dr. Abdelilah Belatik
01:11:39 Do you think that E-entrepreneurship could be a good potential for developing countries like in Africa?
01:12:49 Mr. Sahba Sobhani
01:14:24 Do you see some opportunities for the Islamic Banks and what will be your recommendations to DFIs about following a path after Covid-19?
01:15:15 Dr. Abdelilah Belatik
01:17:14 Mr. Sahba Sobhani
01:18:20 Webinar wrap up
01:19:54 Closing remarks from Mr. Fatih Serdar Celik

Panelists:
– Sophia Sunderji, Research Manager, GIIN
– Leticia Emme, IRIS and Impact Measurement and Management Senior Manager, GIIN

Description: Introduction to Impact Investing: Curious about how impact investing can help advance your work, industry, or mission? Listen to this breakout session to develop a strong foundational understanding of impact investing and learn from the best in the industry. You’ll leave this session feeling empowered and equipped with the tools to pursue your impact objectives.

What is Sustainable Finance and how can it best support climate action? What role does data play in shaping progress towards decarbonization and climate commitments? Will policies and frameworks that promote harmonization and standardization be essential to get there?

These topics will be discussed in this panel discussion on Sustainable Finance. With experts from different backgrounds and expertise in the field of finance and decarbonization, you will be able to gain insights on the role of finance, data and standardization in the fight against climate change, as well as challenges still to be addressed in the path ahead.

YES-Europe is a community created to empower students and young professionals across Europe. We are driven by the mission of catalyzing the energy transition by giving youth a space to develop ideas, take on responsibility, build their local community and act for change.

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Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2h4itggKSKfgvbHqWaMONR

Find out more about Impact Investing: https://www.responsability.com/en/impact-and-esg/impact-investing

Investors can play a crucial role in helping to solve the global challenges we are facing. However, to fully unlock this potential it needs to be clear how real change can be driven. Meet Florian Heeb, co-author of “The investor’s guide to impact”, published by University of Zurich, Center for Sustainable Finance & Private Wealth. He will share his evidence-based findings for investors who want to change the world.

You will learn:

– Understanding the sustainability approach to safeguard your assets
– The difference between investor impact and company impact
– What is more impactful: investing in a “green” company or a “brown” company?

Find out more and join:

Your host SAMUEL BAUMGARTNER:
passionate about investing with purpose

Guest speaker FLORIAN HEEB
Researcher, Center for Sustainable Finance & Private Wealth, University of Zurich