Dialogue between representatives of the institutions and key actors from global social impact financing sector
After Washington, London, Paris and Berlin, the latest meeting of the Social Impact Investment Task Force (SIIT) has taken place in Rome, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The SIIT was set up in 2013 under the United Kingdom’s G8 Presidency.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Minister Lapo Pistelli and opened by the Secretary General at the Farnesina, Ambassador Michele Valensise. The Secretary General’s welcome address was followed by presentations by Sir Ronald Cohen, chair of the SIIT, and Giovanna Melandri, chair of its Italian Advisory Board.
Other representatives of the institutions who took the floor included Graziano Delrio, Under-Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office; Giuliano Poletti, Minister for Labour and Social Policies; Stefania Giannini, Minister for Education; Franco Bassanini, President of the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti; and Armando Varricchio, diplomatic adviser to the Prime Minister and G7/G20 Sherpa. Also present were the Ambassadors of the USA, Mexico and South Africa and representatives of Australia (G20 Presidency), Germany (G7 Presidency) and Brazil.
Discussion by representatives of the institutions and key actors from social impact investment sector
The event was an opportunity for representatives of the institutions and key actors in the global social impact financing sector to discuss issues such as the social impact agenda, the European outlook in the sector, and the expansion of social impact investment to the G20 countries. The possibility of adopting social impact investment in Development Cooperation projects was also examined, not least in light of the presence at the meeting of the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and senior representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP).
The Rome meeting of the SIIT took place just over a month from the presentation of the international report on Social Impact Investment. The report presents a new paradigm for investment to harnesses entrepreneurship to solve social problems. It contains recommendations for the development of a global market for social impact investment and finance. The Italian Advisory Board has also drawn up its own report which estimates that the funding flow for social impact investment will be around 30 billion euro by 2020, and contains 40 Impact Agenda proposals for the Government.
The international report, the Italian report and material from the meeting are available at the Human Foundation’s website: www.humanfoundation.it
