Is Europa het zorgenkindje van impact investors?
Het was een gloedvolle oproep die een jonge investeerder deed aan het begin van Pymwymic’s Impact Days. Hij investeert zijn geld in sociale ondernemingen in Europa en krijgt van vrienden en collega-investeerders regelmatig de opmerking waarom hij niet in een ontwikkelingsland zit. ‘Daar is toch veel meer te doen? zeggen ze dan. Dat is toch veel aansprekender? Mijn antwoord is dan telkens dat er ook in Europa nog heel veel te doen is. We mogen Europa niet vergeten. Als we niet uitkijken dreigen we zelfs achterop te raken,’ zo hield hij de zaal voor.
Money, food and passion
There are roughly 3 things that make most people instantly tick: money, food and passion. And right those 3 came together during Pymwymic Impact Days at the Deepdive Casestudie of Willem&Drees, a supplier of local fresh food for supermarkets. The room was more than fully packed, and everybody was more than inspired by the story that Willem Treep, one of the 2 entrepreneurs, was telling. He told the audience how they started the enterprise, what they encountered and what their dream is. ‘We see a trend that people are more and more conscience that what they buy is not real food anymore. And that they want to know who is the producer of their food. And lucky enough supermarkets started to realize this as well. And that is where we come in.’ As Treep explained the audience, this was the start for the growth of their company. Within a few years they grew from just 4 local supermarkets to a cover factor all across the country.
‘Get your feet wet!’
What do you have to keep in mind when you’re going into impact investment? During a masterclass on the Pymwymic Impact Days in Amsterdam, wealth holders and investors heard all about it. “Impact investment? Invest in a specific object that gives positive impact and financial return.’” The Swiss social impact expert Julia Balandina is in lead of a Masterclass for wealth holders and investors about her knowhow.
Impact investment still in its early days
A panel of European experts gave this afternoon an update in The Grand Hotel in Amsterdam about impact investment in their countries. This main session on the Pymwymic Impact Days was busy with interested visitors. The British expert: ‘The UK was the first and is still ahead in Europe when we talk about impact investment.’ The problem he sees are the missing track records from these funds. ‘Impact investment is still in it’s early days and we don’t know how this market will develop.’ A risk is that when these products are designed, they put the investors first instead of the social enterprises, he said.
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