Hope over Hopelessness
In the flurry of participants at Impact Week, the local partners of Impact Europe's EU-funded market building work brought fresh eyes to an already dynamic and ever-changing impact space. For them, events like these are part of a larger networking puzzle that is weighed down by conflict in their regions.
“Impact investing is the quiet rebellion against despair. It’s the courageous act of choosing hope over fear, and opportunity over charity. Because amidst the rubble there are communities that are ready to rebuild: entrepreneurs, educators, farmers and innovators. Impact investing in regions like ours is not just about capital; it’s about humanity. It’s the bridge between survival and revival.”
These are not our words – they are Maya Rahal’s. Maya is working with Alfanar Lebanon, our market building partner in the EU-funded Impact Together! project. As you may imagine, it has been a difficult year for the entire Alfanar team there, with geopolitical conflict disrupting plans and forcing them to think out-of-the-box. It is a story we know all too well, and one that will ring familiar to our other market building partners in disputed areas.
Alena Kalibaba, CEO of SILab Ukraine, our partner in our Eastern Europe market building project, echoes Maya’s call for more impact capital. “In Ukraine, social enterprises are on the frontlines today, tackling critical challenges: providing humanitarian aid, ensuring energy independence, rebuilding infrastructure, demining and delivering social support to millions affected by war,” she says. Her call to action is simple: invest in resilience, because “impact investment works—even in the most challenging times”.
The proof can be found in the portfolio of the Ukrainian Social Venture Fund. Entrepreneurs in the country have shown great adaptibility and flexibility in responding to challenges we can hardly begin to comprehend. Like them, social enterprises in the Alfanar portfolio, too, have rapidly adapted their activities to offer maximal support to all those afflicted. As such, amidst the many tragedies happening on a daily scale, the story of impact investing can be one of hope, improvement, agency and opportunity.
Meet the Neighbours
We thought it important to include these interventions of both Maya and Alena during the opening plenary of Impact Week, so that their voice could be heard by the almost 1.000 participants to the event. Firstly, because we are proud of the work they have been doing, and we wish to give them the visibility they deserve. But secondly, and perhaps most importantly, because we want to keep pushing the envelope and keep taking next steps in strengthening the impact investing ecosystem in those countries that perhaps need it the most.
Gert Jan Koopman, Director-General of the DG Near, adressed
all participants to Impact Week through video message.
As a recap, Impact Europe is currently running two projects funded by the DG Near, working both in the Eastern Neighbourhood and the MENA-region. To be precise, this means we have partners in (*breathes in*) Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Moldova. As with any ecosystem, there is richness in diversity. We brought representatives from all these countries together for the first in Tbilisi, almost one and a half years ago. Impact Week in Bilbao served as a second big reunion, as we invited country representatives along with a selection of their stakeholders to participate in our flagship event.
Traditionally, this means Impact Week starts a little sooner for our market building partners, as the day before the official start is dedicated to a stakeholders meeting. Around 100 people gathered in BBK Kuna to take part in this cross-regional gathering, which was kindly introduced and attended by representatives of the DG Near (both East and South). Think of this stakeholders meeting as a mini-Impact Week, concentrated into a single afternoon. Discussions take place within their own country groups as well as with stakeholders from other partner organisations.
The goal is simple: to create new connections around shared challenges, and to introduce new ways of thinking about shared goals. Often, these conversations take surprising turns, as participants gradually see that version of the unique challenges they face also exist in some form in other regions. Or, as one participant put it: “After this afternoon, I feel less alone in dealing with the challenges I face in my country”.
Where the stakeholders meeting is inward focusing, the second pre-event, the so-called Breakfast in the Neighbourhood, is very much outward facing, as it tries to bridge the gap between our regional work and the Impact Europe network at large. In a way, the breakfast offers an opportunity to ask everything you always wanted to know about impact investing in challenging regions, but were afraid to ask. (Patiently awaiting that movie, Woody Allen!).
Turns out quite a few participants were interested in engaging in that kind of discussion. Around 200 people joined one of twelve tables spearheaded by our project partners, as well as our sister networks AVPA and Latimpacto, to learn more about the work they do. Two hours later, even before the start of the main programme, a busload of new connections were already made.
The event also provided a valuable opportunity for our partners in the MENA-region to build further connections with representatives from the DG Near South, as they had a chance to share their experience with Ruta Zarnauskaite, Head of Unit for Regional Cooperation. Over a private lunch meeting, our Impact Together! partners intimated how they envision better collaboration in the future.
Speaking up
With the stage set and the first conversations started, the main programme could commence. Our market building partners were represented throughout the programme, leading sessions on different topics. Enroot Impact Catalyst, our partner in Egypt, led a well-attended session on working with social entrepreneurs in challenging circumstances, while a similar session hosted by SILab Ukraine focused on transforming challenges into opportunities in their country. Alfanar, our partner in Jordan and Lebanon, presented a session that focused on the importance of local ownership when it comes to impact finance in the region.
While meaningful in their own right, these encounters are part of a larger story that tries to connect our partners in Eastern Europe and the MENA-region with European changemakers, capital providers and experienced capacity building organisations. It is a search for partners in 'the quiet rebellion against despair' Maya Rahal described earlier.
It is, most of all, a journey we aim to continue together with our partners, and one we invite all of you to participate in. To truly break the existing silo's, more cross-over contacts across different borders are absolutely vital. If you are interested in knowing more about our market building work, do head over to our dedicated page and don't hesitate to reach out for more.