Investing for inclusive growth

Thanks to our speakers, delegates, media partners, sponsor and GreaterCapital team, the SA network for Impact Investing Conference 2012 was a resounding success. Here are all the tweets from the conference and some of the great feedback we received.

@HMabaso: Great SAImpact conference. Lovely networking platform. Inspiring in every way. @GreaterCapital well done!

8 May

@GreaterCapital: And as my battery dies it’s goodbye from #SAImpact. Keep an eye on http://www.saiin.co.za for more from the conference. Adios.

@GreaterCapital:  TUHF success story- former domestic worker now a property entrepreneur. “she owes us over R5mil but I don’t lose a wink of sleep over it”

@GreaterCapital: TUHF don’t finance housing, they finance emerging property entrepreneurs #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: TUHF has a commitment to urban regeneration, see themselves as a “good business doing good” #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: TUHF is an inner-city housing development specialist #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Jackson: housing backlog in SA is somewhere between 1 and 2 million. Post 94 housing has not led to significant integration #SAimpact

@GreaterCapital: Now Paul Jackson from the Trust for Urban Housing Finance #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: challenges: Investors don’t understand agricultural development finance; Access to markets is complex; a lack of technical skills #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Silva: agriculture has huge job creation potential, but significant challenges #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Now Siphamandla Ndawonde from Mvuno Capital on finance for small scale agriculture #SAimpact

@GreaterCapital: 2 problems for low cost private schooling: 1 don’t reach poorest of poor, 2 lack resources to become centres of excellence #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Teachers at public schools often send their kids to low cost private schools #cde #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Average fees at a low cost private school: R650/month #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: CDE findings: private school teachers might be less qualified, but much more dedicated. #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: CDE findings: parental apathy is a myth. Parents go to great lengths to get kids into schools they believe are better #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: CDE research findings: 30% of schools in SA are private (not 4% as official stats suggest) #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Why so much growth in private schools? Dysfunctional public schools, more parental control over curriculum, English as medium of instruction

@GreaterCapital:  Private education growing twice as fast as public schooling in Africa #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Basically, you’ll find private schools in most poor places where you might not expect #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Deprived urban slum in Ghana: 64% in private schools. Same in poorer parts of Colombia #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Schirmer: in India 40% of learners attend registered private school. Up to 70% including unregistered schools #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Schirmer talking about low fee private education. #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Up next prof Stefan Schirmer from the CDE on innovation in education #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Nice. @SMEasy’s system doesn’t use any accounting jargon. No ‘debtors’ or ‘creditors’ simply ‘who we owe’ and ‘who owes us’ @SAimpact

@GreaterCapital: Menzies: why do people try to teach entrepreneurs a whole new language of accounts? Just give them tools that they need.#saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Menzies: @SMEeasy helps small businesses meet their accounting and financial needs #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Darlene Menzies talks about the gap between the needs and the reality for small business owners #saimpact http://twitpic.com/9ir521

@GreaterCapital: First up is Darlene Menzies from @SMMeasy #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: The session will look at impact investment case studies in healthcare, education,social housing, agriculture and entrepreneurship #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: We’re going to kick off our last session at #saimpact just as soon as we can tear the delegates away from the dessert buffet…

@GreaterCapital: Big challenge: investors view risk and return differently. How to balance their expectations? #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Now Gary Herbert from Leapfrog. Quick to point out it’s not the estate agency, but an investment company. #saimpact

@GreaterCapital:Jackson: Cadiz experience is that they can deliver competitive returns AND social impact. #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Better integration between advanced and less-developed economies can kickstart a virtuous circle #SAimpact

@GreaterCapital: SA’s current growth path is unsustainable, says Jackson. Narrow tax base, high welfare #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Jackson: SA is really inefficient at allocating our savings. We’re too conservative. #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Jackson: there’s R4 trillion in SA’s saving pool. Combined with huge social needs there is supply and demand for impact investment #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Cadiz SRI fund seeks out impact investments. First issue they faced: building pipeline #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Up next Heather Jackson from Cadiz Asset Management #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Here are lessons from financial crisis where people lost billions in supposedly risk-controlled investments #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: SG: it’s difficult to disentangle causes of financial performance. Skilled asset manager? Luck? ESG requirements? No clear answer #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: SG: post econ crisis we must be concerned with *how* economies grow. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: First panelist has very Twitter-unfriendly name: Dr Stephanie Giamporcano. #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Next panel: does there have to be a trade off between financial returns ans social impact? #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Paul zille says that we need to understand what is stopping successful incubators from reaching economically excluded #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Heading into session on economic growth and smmes with Paul zille from genisis analytics and nazeem martin from business partners #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: In first round, jobs fund received applications for over R320bil for only R2bil funding. #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Applications to the jobs fund are all assessed in terms of 1 eligibility, and 2 impact #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: We’re being taken through the jobs fund’s 4 funding windows, which each aim at overcoming a different job creation constraint #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: At R8 billion, jobs fund is the biggest ever “challenge fund” #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Jobs fund aims to incentivise risk taking. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Up next is Najwah Allie-Edries, head of the jobs fund. #saimpact

@clearchange: Loving the live tweeting from #SAimpact it’s as if I am there with @GreaterCapital

@pas_eka: Only 1 in 8 people have a job in South Africa. National Treasury #SAImpact

@pas_eka: We need to experiment with different funding tools to invest successfully into small businesses #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Donaldson: to create jobs SA needs much stronger labour demand. #saimpact

@GreaterCapital: Donaldson calling for more effective public-private partnerships. #SAIMPACT

@GreaterCapital: Donaldson thinks youth wage subsidy is a good idea, but must be careful not to distort labour market. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Donaldson is taking us through some government job creation programmes. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Andre Donaldson from Treasury kicks us off this morning #SAImpact. http://twitpic.com/9ioidc

7 May

@GreaterCapital: big challenges 2: not enough track record to win over sceptics (yet) #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: big challenges to sector: shortage of intermediaries that have a diversity of skills (both social and financial) #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Mancebo: these kind of metrics are becoming really important in credit committee decisions. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Cadiz SRI fund has 94000 direct beneficiaries, almost a million indirect beneficiaries. Investees have built over 38k houses #SAImpact.

@GreaterCapital: We’re in a joint venture with Cadiz Asset management, providing social measurement and due diligence on their SRI bond fund #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Next up is our very own Elena Mancebo #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: GIIRS has found a big interest in Africa from funds and investors. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: GIIRS have aggregated data from the 7000+ businesses they have assessed. Allows for accurate benchmarking. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: GIIRS has 4 ratings sections: governance, workers, community and environment. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: GIIRS are on Twitter btw. Follow them here: @GIIRSRatings

@GreaterCapital: GIIRS provides social and environmental performance ratings. Verified, comparable data. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Muiru: GIIRS is a rating tool that has its origins in Bcorp in the US #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Muiru: We can’t make impact investments until we can measure impact. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Up next, Olivia Muiru a rating associate at GIIRS #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Fonzi, not Fozi. Sorry CJ.

@GreaterCapital: Fozi: 2011 was the Year of the Benchmark. It’s getting easier to see how results of your work compares to peers #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Impact evaluations don’t need to be carried out by everyone. but important to keep an ear to the ground and know new trends #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Numeric reporting allows for better comparisons, setting tagets and managing towards goals #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Ratings requires more rigour. But it’s jmportant to get a more holistic assessment of your organisation. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Stories will always be important to communicating mission, demonstrating potential and building positivity and commitment #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: 4 way to report impact: Stories; Ratings; Numeric reporting; impact evaluations #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Fonzi: selecting the right indicators is extremely important. How? Start with your theory of change #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Most common indicators are not too challenging – often businesses collect these anyway. Shouldn’t be a big cost burden #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: IRIS has loads of indicators. But nobody is expected to report on them ALL – it’s far more important to find a few that are right for you

@GreaterCapital: GIIRS is a rating agency for the space – like a Moody’s #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: PULSE is a management tool, similar to SAP but purpose built for social impact measurement #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: IRIS is a system of concepts – provides standards like definitions and metrics #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Three big names in impact measurement standards: IRIS, GIIRS and PULSE. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: CJ Fonzi from Dahlberg is first up. He worked extensively on developing IRIS http://iris.thegiin.org/ #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: going in to a panel on measurement trends and challenges in impact investing #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Comment from the floor: Regulations have enormous downstream impact. in the US, pension regulations drastically increased SR Investments

@GreaterCapital: Kalam: key point – Socially Responsible investments do not necessarily mean lower returns. Results show this. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Kalam is taking us through Futuregrowth results to show that SRI funds can outperform its benchmarks #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: but, says Kalam, unlisted investments are *harder*. More work, often a lack of skills, possibly reduced liquidity. HIGH COST #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Unlisted investments offer better diversity to investors #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Better protection for investors because you can structure terms to include security. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: in unlisted market: smaller, but “juicier” deals with more impact. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Listed bond market is growing – but returns aren’t great #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: problems with listed bonds(?) banks dominate, there are few protections for investors, few listed deals, a lack of diversity. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Kalam: Reg 28 increases possible investment into unlisted debt to up to 25% of a fund. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Regulation 28 protects investors by promoting transparency. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Kalam’s going to look at unlisted investment opportunities for pension funds #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: now for Angelique Kalam from Futuregrowth #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Kirima: need to colloborate in the sector. The FSB, Treasury, Labour, fund managers, asset owners etc must all be included. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Kirima Chairs the Sustainable Returns Project. Check it out: http://www.sincosinco.com/resources/2012_Sustainable_Returns_Project_factsheet.pdf (links to pdf) #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Kirima: A pension fund that pays cash, but ignores need for roads, hospitals, infrastructure prob isn’t serving best interests of members

@GreaterCapital: Kirima: What does this regulatory environment mean for pension funds? #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: next up Wanjiru Kirima from the POA #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Hunter: investment policy statements are legally required. Can contain exclusions (tobacco, arms), AND inclusions (promoting development)

@GreaterCapital: Hunter: Regulation 28 sets out principles to guide boards in relation to fund investments. Includes consideration of ESG factors #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Hunter: board needs to act in best interest off the fund (not just it’s current members) #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Hunter: There is no legal impediment to Socially Responsible/Impact investing for pension funds #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Hunter: wrong in law to talk of interests of “members” when members are changing. What about future members? #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Hunter: But in retirement funds it *is* appropriate to take into account interests of the members, which aren’t exclusively financial.

@GreaterCapital: Hunter: Traditional view that pension fund cannot look at social considerations because it violates their fiduciary duty #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: Panelists: Wanjira Kirima (Principal Officers Association), Rosemary Hunter (Bowman Gilfillan) and Angelique Kalam (Futuregrowth) #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: First panel after lunch: “Leveraging Pension funds for economic growth”. #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: … and we’re back from lunch at #SAImpact with the right wireless password. Let’s see about this live-tweeting business.

@GreaterCapital: Philanthropic pioneers key to social investment, funding projects that don’t fit trad grant-making/impact investing http://www.philanthropyuk.org/news/2012-05-03/pioneer-gap-social-investment-market-can-be-filled-philanthropists

@AspenANDE: We r not an incubator we r a prosperator Allon Raiz, Raizcorp #SAimpact

@AspenANDE: When you look at what we as a sector do to foster entrep it often ignores the lessons of entrep J. Mwangi @dalbergtweet #SAimpact

@GreaterCapital: Does incubation increase SMME success rates and can it be profitable? Morning panel with @Raizcorp, Dalberg and @ImpactAmplifier #SAImpact

@PieterErnst: @GIBS_SA attending the #SAimpact investment conference hosted by #SAII and @GreaterGoodSA.

@ImpactAmplifier: Margot Brandenburg from @Rockefellerfdn speaking at the SAII conference #saimpact http://pic.twitter.com/4VTsHsYK

@SMEasy: @GreaterCapital Opening comments by Chief Executive of Greater Capital Bridget Evans. Looks like a great programme for next 2 days #SAImpact

@GreaterCapital: And we’re off! Plenary session about impact investing’s affect on Africa, South Africa, the transformation agenda and growth. #SAImpact