NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Accelerating ESG practices for Asian LPs

Join them to dissect key ESG factors driving Asian investor portfolios and returns at the Responsible Investment Forum: APAC Investor Day on 16 September.

The Investor Day will create an intimate virtual setting for regional investors to knowledge-share challenges and opportunities associated with responsible investing and ESG practices.

Hear from specialists on Environment, Social, Governance, and beyond to understand best practices in decision-making and due diligence process.

Time: 8 AM UTC / 4 AM EST

Space is limited, register today! Registration deadline: September 17

“Failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.”

From these candid and intimate “talks”, leave with concrete dos and don’ts you can bring to your own life.

Speakers:

• “The Fall and Rise of a Working Mom” | Carla Chamoun, Director of Credit & Operations, VITAS (Lebanon)
• “Humility” | Tine Knott, Senior Vice President, DAI
• “Co-opt, Convert and Take over: The Failure of Diversity in International Development” | Saraounia Mboka-Boyer, Systems and Institutional Governance Technical Advisor, International Rescue Committee

Master of Ceremonies: Kaelan Sullivan Fleury, Senior Specialist, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, Chemonics

Hear the talks, participate in Q&A with the speakers, and then enjoy virtual networking with fellow participants in small groups.

Time: 10:00 AM ET l 2:00 PM GMT

The Impact Investing World Forum (IIWF) is focused on investments that are in line with concerns such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The event will feature speakers from the Big Issue Group, ClearlySo, Goldman Sachs, the MacArthur Foundation, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland) and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation. Among the sessions are “Driving Impact for the Most Vulnerable,” “Multi-Asset Class Portfolios to Accelerate and Expand Impact Capital,” and “The Imperative for Impact: the Global Context.”

Background on Organizer: IIWF, based in London, seeks to develop an investment community driven by “social impact.” This includes encouraging dialogue and action relating to the intersection of traditional arenas – such as investment banking, private equity, stock trading, venture capital and wealth management – with newer topics – such as ESG considerations, social finance, social impact bonds, sustainability, venture philanthropy, and emerging technologies such as blockchain and cryptocurrency. Financial data on the firm are unavailable.

Cost: The fee to attend is GPB 1,350 (USD 1,866) plus a value-added tax of 20 percent. This includes in-person or online access to all sessions, networking lunches and teas, membership in a private LinkedIn group, access to presenters’ slides, video recordings of the proceedings, direct interaction with the speakers, and access to the list of delegates. Discounts of over 60 percent are available as of July 7, until a date that has yet to be finalized.

Event Website: https://impactinvestingconferences.com/

For more information, you may email info[at]impactinvestingconferences.com or call +44 20 8938 3258.

By Teo Lin-Bianco, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

IIWF registration page
https://impactinvestingconferences.com/register/

UN Sustainable Development Goals
https://sdgs.un.org/goals

Did you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.

GSG announces that this year’s virtual GSG Global Impact Summit: Building Impact Solutions for People and Planet will take place on 6-8 October 2021.

Join colleagues from across the impact movement over three days as we come together to work on a global recovery from Covid-19 and shape solutions towards a just and sustainable future. We will discover the best initiatives and real-world examples through engaging discussions, sharing practical tools and solutions to empower and inspire.

This is no ordinary event. This will be a highly connected and immersive experience for everyone involved in developing the impact movement for people and planet.

Driving the rapid replacement of cybersecure IEC 61850 systems within the substation,
inter-substations, to the control room, and across DER infrastructure

5-Day Hybrid Conference, Exhibition & Networking Forum
18-22 October 2021 | Sweden + Swapcard

The 8th annual IEC 61850 Week 2021 draws together IEC 61850 implementation leaders for
a week-long review of the latest standardisation developments, pilot project results, large-
scale implementation experiences, and future application explorations.
The focus of this year’s programme is on driving the deployment of next generation IEC
61850 architectures through more efficient specification, engineering, testing, operation,
and maintenance, as well as innovations in cybersecurity in the context of a more rapid
replacement strategy.
Day one kicks off with a hands-on System Specification workshop. Days two to four
showcase implementation experiences from leading utilities across Europe, Americas, Asia,
Middle East and Africa. The week wraps up with a deep diving seminar into the
cybersecurity issues currently impeding the full deployment of IEC 61850, to help utilities
tighten up their system security today, and leverage the cybersecurity innovations of
tomorrow.

To find out how you can participate as a delegate, sponsor or exhibitor:
Call: +44 (0)20 8057 1700
Email: registration@smartgrid-forums.com
Visit: https://www.smartgrid-forums.com/iec-61850-week-2021-home

With a growing number of Fintech platforms and increased digitalization infiltrating the microfinance industry, the pressure to adapt and implement these technologies in order to stay competitive and innovative puts MFIs to the test. While some microfinance industries excel at digitalization, others struggle to keep up. Part of the challenge of technological transformation is the widespread skepticism of leaving behind traditional operations to adopt more digital ways of working. How well the industry has adapted to these changes and challenges varies from region to region and opens a multitude of possibilities to learn and start shifting from the basics to more complex areas of digitalization.

Changing social expectations, like increased gender equality, and unprecedented external factors, like the outbreak of COVID-19, have major influences on the operational success of MFIs around the APAC region and have become common points of concern. This conference will be a platform for experts and industry professionals operating within microfinance to convene, network, and share knowledge and experiences. The common themes and topics of discussion will include the difficulties of digitalization and key trends for microfinance industry-players, challenging traditional working systems and innovating, and becoming more agile to changing external factors.

Day 1:

• Addressing One of the Great Pitfalls of Microfinance: Over-Indebtedness
• Building Resilience to the Influences of Changing External Factors
• PANEL DISCUSSION: COVID-19 and Microfinance – Impacts and Adjustments in the Asia-Pacific Region
• Addressing the Gender Financing Gap
• Tablet Banking: Looking Beyond the Basics
• WORKSHOP: Finetuning Digitalization – Tools for Creating an Integrated Strategy for MFIs
• Digital Competition: Surviving and Innovating
• Digital Lending: Adapting to a New Lending Model

Day 2:

• DFS Innovations Extending Financial Inclusion
• Mobile Wallets
• PANEL DISCUSSION: Similar Economies, Varied Levels of Financial Inclusion
• Leaving Behind Traditional Risk Assessment Models
• Catering to Customers Unprepared for Technological Transformation
• Exploring Alternative Sources of Capital
• A Detour: P2P Lending
• Resources Per Developmental Stage
• Looking Beyond Capital Funding