2030 Finance | October 19, 2020

What’s on at SOCAP 2020

Amy Cortese
ImpactAlpha Editor

Amy Cortese

ImpactAlpha, Oct. 19 – ‘Radical change’ is a fitting theme for this year’s SOCAP, which kicks off virtually today on computer screens everywhere. The impact gathering comes just two weeks before a major U.S. presidential election, amid a global pandemic, at the start of a critical decade of action to stem the climate crisis and as citizens from Nigeria to the U.S. take to the streets to protest.

Look for Main Stage announcements throughout the week from Sorenson Impact Foundation, the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, BlueMark and Google for Startups Black Founders Fund.

Th SOCAP agenda is jam-packed with nearly 200 sessions. Here are some highlights (in Pacific Daylight Time):

Monday

Jamie Arbib of big-think tank tank RethinkX and sustainability guru John Elkington will discuss the “regenerative evolution” today at 8:10 AM… Amy Duffuor, Prime Impact Fund, Ceniarth’s Greg Niechen, Laura Grattan, Mission Driven Finance, and Howard Fischer of Gratitude Railroad and Basso Capital Management will explore bold and innovative initiatives for the post-COVID world from 2:00 PM – 2:55 PM… gender lens investing is the focus of two fireside chats with Vicky Lay of Artesian (2:30 – 3:00) and Jenny Abramson of Rethink Impact (3:00 – 3:30 PM)… BYOB and head over to a Toniic networking happy hour from 4:15 PM – 5:15 PM.

Tuesday

Explore Investing for Equity with Oweesta’s Chrystel Cornelius, Buen Vivir Fund’s Gaithiri Siva, Kenya Community Development Foundation’s Janet Mawiyoo and Opportunity Finance Network’s Lisa Mensah from 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM… Bill Bynum of HOPE Enterprises and Robert Smith of Vista Equity Partners discuss how corporations can help close the wealth and opportunity gap from 9:15 to 9:35, and Bynum joins Netflix’s Aaron Mitchell and Goldman Sachs’ Margaret Anadu to continue the conversation at 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM… Ibrahim AlHusseini of FullCycle, an early investor in a Tesla, Bloom Energy, Aspiration Inc., Cornerstone Capital, and CleanChoice Energy will discuss climate-critical infrastructure at 10:15 AM – 10:30 AM…

Cathy Clark, Fran Seegull and Monique Aiken lay out the state of impact investing 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM… Also at 11:30, how young leaders including TRIBE’s Wainright Acquoi, VISFORFARMER’s Andrew Akuaku, Africa Startup Academy and CASL Trust’s Respect Musiyiwa, Syrian Youth Empowerment’s George Batah and Empower Global’s Samantha Karlinare discuss how they are changing the narrative for developing countries… Investing in Black and Brown fund managers is the topic of a panel featuring Living Cities’s Demetric Duckett, Goldman Sachs’ Kimberly Marshall, Portfolia Rising America Fund’s Lorine Pendleton, 1863 Ventures’s Melissa Bradley, Cake Ventures’ Monique Woodard and Jacmel Growth Partners’ Nick Jean-Baptiste 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM.

Wednesday

Beneficial State Bank’s Kat Taylor and Kataly Foundation’s Regan Pritzker discuss Economic Healing Through Return, Repair & Restoration at 9:15 AM – 9:35 AM… Ford Foundation’s Darren Walker and Sir Ronnie Cohen, chairman of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment, take the stage for a fireside chat 9:50 AM – 10:20 AM… Pro-democracy funders and accelerators including Blue Haven Initiative’ Liesel Simmons, BHI’s Ian Simmons, Propel’s Sarah Williams, New Media Ventures’s Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman and Higher Ground Labs’s Shomik Dutta talk democracy and civic tech at 11:30 AM – 12:25 PM… hear how women are shaping the future of impact investing with The Philanthropic Initiative’s Ellen Remmer, Resilience Capital’s Dr. Gillian Marcelle, Artemis Financial Advisors’ Kathleen McQuiggan, IGNITE’s Kristin Hayden, and The 22 Fund’s Tracy Gray from 1:00 PM – 2:15 PM.

Thursday

Peter Bratt of The Village at Friendship House, Justice Capital and Nexus Global’s Christina Hollenback, Full Spectrum Capital Partners’s Taj James, Birth Center Equity Fund’ Leseliey Welch, and Inside Circle’s Eldra Jackson III discuss capital innovations for community wealth at 8:15 AM – 8:40 AM… explore the Cultural New Deal for America with Lori Pourier of the First Peoples Fund; Carlton Turner of the Mississippi Center for Cultural Production; YBCA’s Deborah Cullinan, and The Center for Cultural Power’s Favianna Rodriguez at 9:20 AM – 9:50 AM… dissect alternative term sheets with Upspring Associates’s Drew Tulchin, consultant Genevieve Chavez Mitchell, Ten Capital Network’s Hall Martin and Mission Driven Finance’s Lauren Grattan 10:30 AM – 11:45 AM.

Friday

Geek out on impact measurement with The Center for Sustainable Finance & Private Wealth at the University of Zurich at 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM… immerse in radical collaboration with impact investors including Raamayan Ananda of Unify, Adam Bendell of Toniic, Nichol Bradford of the Transformative Tech Lab, Kate Byrne of SOCAPGlobal/Intentional, and Gagan (Jared Levy) of We Are Guru Marketing from 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM.