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

The India Just Transition Summit organized by WRI India, along with Just Transition Research Centre IIT Kanpur, is a conference and research symposium that brings together thought-leaders, policymakers, researchers, civil society, and community representatives to deliberate upon India’s key just transition issues and potential solutions as the country charts its energy and economic transition.

Note: Deep Dives are hour-long Zoom Meetings: Live Q&A Sessions (as opposed to our Webinars, where the audience is in View-Only Mode) between our featured guest(s) and registered attendees. Be sure to come bearing questions! Premium members of Impact Entrepreneur get complimentary admission to all live and archived webinars, among other benefits. To RSVP for your spot as a Premium Member, visit the calendar.

Shaping the Future of Impact Investing: A Conversation with Fran Seegull

Join us for a comprehensive Deep Dive conversation with Fran Seegull, President of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and Executive Director of the Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing. This session will delve into the future of impact investing, bringing Fran’s unique perspective as a field builder and funder committed to scaling the field with integrity. Participants will explore critical market drivers, innovative investment strategies, and the evolving public policy landscape that shapes how impact investing can be a powerful tool for fostering a sustainable and equitable economy. Expect to gain a deeper understanding of the strategic tools available for driving progress and how to effectively collaborate within the impact investing community. This dialogue will cover a range of topics from system-level investing and the ‘ownership economy’ to navigating nonpartisanship in a polarized climate and key public policy priorities that promote shared prosperity.

Featured Guest

Fran Seegull is President of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance. The Alliance works to increase awareness of impact investing in the U.S., foster deployment of impact capital across asset classes globally, and partner with stakeholders, including government, to build the impact investing ecosystem. The Alliance and B Lab co-lead the Coalition on Inclusive Economic Growth, a broad-based group of 60+ impact-oriented business and investor organizations dedicated to coordinating public and private sector action to generate inclusive economic growth.

Seegull also serves as Executive Director of the Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing—a grantmaking donor collaborative focused on growing the field with impact integrity by funding public policy, public engagement, and impact data, metrics, and measurement.

Previously, Seegull was Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director at ImpactAssets, where she headed investment management for The Giving Fund—now a $3B impact investing donor advised fund. Before joining ImpactAssets, Seegull was Managing Director at Funk Ventures, an impact venture capital firm. She also served as VP of Business Development at Novica, an online retailer representing artisans in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Seegull has a BS in Economics from Barnard College at Columbia University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She serves on the Board Credit Committee of Calvert Impact Capital, the Board of Align Impact, the Advisory Board of the CASE i3 Initiative at Duke University, and the Investment Advisory Council of the Social Finance Impact-First Fund of Funds. Previously, she served on the Investment Committee of Align Impact and the Goldhirsh Foundation and the G7 Social Impact Investment Task Force Working Group on Asset Allocation.

Time: 12:00 – 1:15 PM ET

The Impact Acceleration Group is an Impact Europe programme that gathers progressive corporate social investors (CSIs, i.e., corporate foundations, impact funds, CSR and Corporate Citizenship teams) to explore their role in accelerating the related corporate impact journey. This has been identified as a key opportunity in the corporate social investing ecosystem to accelerate positive change for people and planet at scale on top of their core mission to serve their end beneficiaries. The group dives into this topic during regular intimate meetups to innovate and share learning in that area. These meetups last 1h30 and are kicked off by an expert/ practitioner presentation followed by a peer discussion to share challenges, successes, and reflections.

The October meetup will take place on Thursday 17 October 11:00 – 12:30. The session will focus on “Inclusive Business Strategy: From Experimentation to Scale”. We will explore the key success factors that enable large corporations to launch, and later scale, an inclusive business, building on key lessons learned gathered by Hystra after 15 years working with large corporations. The discussion will include practical tips on how to build a convincing business case toward different types of internal stakeholders, as well as mechanisms that can protect an inclusive business from leadership changes and budget cuts.

If you would like to learn more and join this programme, express your interest by sending an email to Charlotte Galbiati at cgalbiati(at)impacteurope.net. Please note that only corporate social investors (i.e. corporate foundations, impact funds, CSR and Corporate Citizenship teams) are admissible to join.

If you are not a member, join now!

Time: 11:00-12:30 Spain

Discover the future at the India Blockchain Summit, organized by Giakaa Capital in collaboration with Industry partners amidst the vibrant capital, Delhi. This Summit promises to reshape India’s digital future. Join government officials, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, academia, tech influencers and technology experts as we discuss the impact of blockchain on various sectors and initiatives. With a focus on sustainability and empowering women, expect lively discussions and insightful talks.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to be part of India’s largest blockchain revolution!

Join the Center for Global Development as Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Ilan Goldfajn sits down with CGD President Emeritus Masood Ahmed to take stock of multilateral development banks’ progress on adapting to the challenges of the 21^st century. Increasing shocks, chronic fragility, and geopolitical fragmentation all pose new and unique challenges to the MDBs that will require an effective and coordinated response. As the outgoing chair of the Heads of MDBs Group, Goldfajn will share his perspective on driving reforms as these institutions seek to finance the energy transition and reverse slowing global growth.

At his own institution, Goldfajn has sought to improve efficiency and address the underlying causes of lower growth prospects. Goldfajn will reflect on these efforts, shedding light on the obstacles facing MDB reform and the innovative strategies being employed to overcome them.

Time: 11:00—12:00 PM EST | 4pm – 5pm BST

A networking lunch will start at 12:00pm, with discussion starting at approximately 12:45pm.

The importance of gender equity in development is widely recognized, yet gender equity within the institutions responsible for carrying out development often lags far behind those values. While there has been some progress—women constituted half of newly hired economists at the World Bank in 2022—women’s representation in top leadership roles, including the executive boards, across the international financial institutions (IFIs) is still lacking.

Join CGD for an event alongside the Annual Meetings to explore key questions including: What barriers prevent women from ascending to higher leadership roles? And how can we ensure transparency and accountability at the IFIs as the push toward internal gender equity continues? The dialogue will also explore the role influential stakeholders play in advocating for equal representation in both politically-appointed and technocratic leadership positions.

Time: 12:00—2:00 PM EST | 5:00 – 7:00 PM BST

Countries are facing a polycrisis—the aftermath of a global pandemic, the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases, and economic and fiscal challenges—recovery from which will require both revenue and strengthened health systems.

This event will discuss the findings from a new report by the Task Force on Fiscal Policy for Health, of which CGD is the secretariat. The report advocates for implementing and increasing health taxes as a timely policy solution to raise revenue and save lives. The consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages leads to over 10 million annual deaths worldwide and economic costs of over $4 trillion. The report finds that if taxes were increased such that the price of these products increased by 50 percent, 50 million lives would be saved over 50 years and US$3.7 trillion raised in just five years. US$2.1 trillion of this would be raised in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)—enough to increase government health spending in these countries by 40 percent.

Implementing and maintaining effective health taxes will require bold leadership from politicians, including collaboration between ministers of finance and of health, supported by international institutions, such as the World Bank. This event will consider the role of ministers and international finance institutions, discuss effective messaging they can use, and draw on country experiences to explore how to successfully implement health taxes.

Time: 3:00—5:00 PM EST | 8:00—10:00 PM BST