Panel Discussion at the WAITRO Summit 2022
How can WAITRO Members benefit from Financing Innovative Parternships?
The panel discussion on “Financing Innovative Solutions for the SDGs” is part of the WAITRO Summit 2022, taking place on November 14-15 in Cape Town, South Africa. The purpose of this panel is to consider how WAITRO members can be best prepared to join innovative projects with a focus on SDGs.
Context and Topics
Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require more than funding through grants and donations. Private investment is an attractive target, but private investors require forecasted returns to interest them. An SDG project can pay sufficient returns to attract private capital while not compromising its goals. Furthermore, it can potentially increase the income of the community in and around the project. The latter is particularly important, as sustainability and conservation require community involvement. Scaling and replicability are other issues that are required for private investors. Projects or ideas which can be scaled up or replicated in other places can utilize more capital and have more impact. Deal sizes of tens or hundreds of millions of dollars are required to interest large investors.
With this background in mind, the panel discussion will focus on the following key issues:
- The Risk and Return Gap Between Investors and Developers
- Governance Risk in New Businesses
- Aspects of Bankability
- The Fund Facility Landscape and Difficulties in Accessing the Funds and Facilities
Keynote Speaker
Keiron Brand, Advisor for the Bankable Nature Solutions WWF-Netherlands and African Regional Lead for the Dutch Fund for Climate Development (DFCD), will present the keynote “Catalysing Finance for Innovative, High-Impact Projects”.
Panelists
Jean-Marc Champagne, Founder and Director of Seneca Impact Advisors.
Fungai Musana, Corporate Engagement Manager at World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Zambia.
Andrew Da Costa, Private Equity Specialist, South Africa.
Laura Eck, Strategy Specialist McKinsey and Strategy Consultant at WWF, South Africa.
The panel discussion will be introduced by Dr. Paul Burrows, WAITRO Office China. At the end the participants will have the opportunity to ask questions.
WAITRO Summit 2022 | Innovative Partnerships. Global Impact.
Inspired by the SDG 17 “Partnerships for the Goals”, the upcoming WAITRO Summit will bring together key research and innovation stakeholders from around the world for two days of networking, learning, and forging new partnerships to accelerate the impact on the global goals.
The program will feature keynotes, panel discussions, capacity development workshops, networking sessions and much more.
Registrations are still open! Places are limited!
About the Author: Karla Garcia
