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

Waves is a one-day summit in Helsinki and online that brings together actors committed to social innovation and systems change: innovators, academia, impact entrepreneurs, private and public actors, and investors.

The Waves hybrid event includes keynote speeches, presentations, panel discussions and workshops with a focus on three main themes:

Our future – Innovation as part of systems change

• During sessions under this theme, hear from Hannah Kuper (Professor in Epidemiology at LSHTM, The Missing Billion initiative), First Ashoka Fellow in Finland Markus Raivio (CEO at Kukunori), and a Q&A and session facilitated by Ashoka.
• Attend a workshop led by Mikko Dufva (Leading Specialist Foresight, Sitra).
• Hear a panel discussion on how can we become great at transformative social innovation from Elisa Vepsäläinen (StartUp Refugees), Mårten Knuts (Managing partner, Krogerus), Mari Tikkanen (CEO and Co-founder Scope Impact), Neslihan Dane (Vice Chair, SKY ry Suomen kulttuurienvälinen yhteisö ry) and Ari Evwaraye (Head of Strategy, Finnish Ministry of the Interior), with Adam Jagiełło-Rusiłowski (PhD, Ashoka Fellow & Advisory Board, President of International Sustainable Education Foundation in The Hague) as moderator.

Acceleration & Support – Building an ecosystem for increased collaboration

• Hear a session led by Sarah Lindeman, Co-founder and CEO of Leapfrog Projects, on “Head, Heart, Will: Building capabilities for transformative changemaking” together with Tomas Björkman (Founder of Ekskäret Foundation and Co-Founder of among others the Inner Development Goals initiative).
• Learn more about creating ecosystems for change from Åsa Skogström-Feldt (CEO of IKEA Social Entrepreneurship) & Liisa Smits (CEO and founder of Ignitia) and attend a discussion facilitated by Agata Stafiej-Bartosik (Ashoka).
• A session on empowering young changemakers will include a panel with Benjamin Pitkänen (Co-founder, Viral Vegans), Ronny Eriksson (Co-founder, Ambitious Africa; Co-founder Norders), Salaado Qasim (Co-founder of the Peace and Well-being organization), moderator Eli Ingvarsson (Ashoka Nordic).
• Hear from Evita Chiang Zanuso (Head of Strategic Partnerships, Katapult Foundation) and Anna Herlin (Development Head at Tiina and Antti Herlin Foundation and Security Trading) in a panel discussion moderated by Sara Lindeman (Co-founder and CEO, Leapfrog Projects) on how to support and invest in social and environmental impact startups.
• Hanno Nevanlinna (Co-founder, Creator of New at Futurice) will also lead a workshop to guide changemakers and help them develop new impactful collaborations. Besides, Zeynep Falay von Flittner (Board Member of Systems Change Finland) and Jari Ala-Ruona (Co-founder of Oxygen ry) will develop the workshop “What do changemakers need to flourish?”

Funding & Investing – Financing possibilities and creating investment portfolios that drive positive societal change

• Attend sessions on rethinking investment strategies and hear from Cristina Ljungberg (Co-founder, The Case for Her) Maria Ahlström-Bondestam (Chair of Unicef International Council; Chair of Ahlström Collective Impact), along with discussion and questions facilitated by Evita Chiang Zanuso (Head of Strategic Partnerships, Katapult Foundation).
• Hear from Mark Cheng (Founder and Managing Partner, Social Innovation Circle) and Dr. Markus Freiburg (Founder and CEO, FASE – Financing Agency for Social Entrepreneurship GmbH) talking about the impact of finance for social change.

Time: 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM EEST | 1:30 AM – 10:30 AM