Curious about the Social Finance Forum? Here are six sessions that will bring you up-to speed
Why It Matters
Social finance has the power to bring people together, mobilize capital, drive change and create impact. But access to capital remains a challenge for many social purpose organizations and ventures — understanding the limitations of current systems is the first step towards reimagination and innovation.
Since its inception, the Social Finance Forum has helped catalyze the growth of Canada’s social finance system. And with over $20 billion in impact assets under management in Canada — and another $700 million entering the market through the federal Social Finance Fund — there’s no better time to learn from the best, brightest and most innovative social finance leaders in Canada.
This year’s forum, the first to be held since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, brought together 700 participants and 125 speakers who participated in 22 sessions and 46 Braindates.
“Future of Good and SVX spent a year and a half listening and engaging leaders from across the ecosystem to rebuild the experience from the ground-up,” said Future of Good CEO and publisher, Vinod Rajasekaran. “The end result was a powerful learning experience for social purpose teams.”
Participants learned about Indigenous finance, climate finance, social purpose real estate, gender-lens investing, corporate impact investing and much more, he said. There were tense, but constructive discussions on topics such as reimagining power, language, impact measurement and access to capital, Rajasekaran added.
This was also the first Social Finance Forum held since the Murder of George Floyd and the confirmation of thousands of unmarked graves at Canada’s former residential schools, putting intersectionality, reconciliation and representation at the forefront.
“These movements call us to have more accountability and conversation about who is in the room, who is on stage and who is making decisions,” said Anouk Bertner, Future of Good’s managing director.
“Now that we have reimagined, let’s keep doing hard work. Let’s shift capital. Let’s shift power. Let’s create inclusive language. Let’s redefine what access means.”
Discover or revisit the 2023 Social Finance Forum’s most impactful sessions for yourself to learn more about how changemakers everywhere are reimagining and reshaping our relationship with capital.
Reimagine Power
Watch, listen, learn and re-imagine as nine leaders from across Canada’s social finance sector debate whether power has genuinely shifted in recent years. Who has access to capital is deeply tied to the legacy of colonialism in this country — can that change? Or has change already begun?
Trends and developments in social purpose real estate
Impact investors and asset owners need to shift their attention — and their capital — towards affordable housing if Canada hopes to bring its housing crisis under control. But does commodification of housing stand in the way? Tune into this lively discussion looking at the future of social purpose real estate.
Trends in Climate finance
Drought, wildfires, heat and flooding; never has addressing the climate crisis been so urgent. But what role can social finance play in this rapidly evolving field? This panel explores the latest trends in climate finance and discusses the implications for Canadian impact leaders. Listen as our expert panelists delve into investor trends, innovative financing models, emerging investment opportunities and the evolving political and regulatory landscape.
Reimagine Access
How has access to social finance shifted in the past five years? Who has better access to financing and who doesn’t? What are factors that contribute to more equitable access? In this plenary, changemakers with lived experience and insights from the ground share their perspectives on who has made promising strides in equitable access to financing and how they did it.
Investing in Indigenous communities
How are Indigenous communities catalyzing and capitalizing positive impact through social finance? This panel dives into the uniqueness of investing in Indigenous community initiatives, examining both the community and investor perspective. What lessons and opportunities await? Explore what it means to envision a richer and more thoughtful Indigenous community investment landscape as we head into the future of social finance.
Reimagine Capitalism
What is the purpose of social finance? And what do we want social finance to accomplish by the end of the decade? Let’s face it, capitalism needs major reimagining and rewiring. There are alternative economic models, currencies and marketplaces out there that are thriving but we seldom hear about. Are changemakers doing enough to create financial systems change?
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