Country Profile – Argentina & Uruguay

The Global Steering Group (GSG) for Impact Investment, the leading independent steering group has called for a shift to ‘Impact Economies’ at its annual Summit, attended by over 500 impact leaders, investors and entrepreneurs from over 40 countries.

The ‘Impact Economy’ makes traditional capitalism more humane, by embedding impact in every business, investment and consumption decision. An impact economy is designed to deliver social, environmental and economic justice for people and the planet.

“We are overthrowing the dictatorship of profit and putting impact firmly by its side to keep it in its place. With ESG investment crossing $30 trillion and impact investment $500 billion, we are beating a path to impact economies. The urgent transformation of capitalism is already underway. It will make our economic system more compassionate and just. Impact is bringing to Adam Smith’s invisible hand, an invisible heart to guide it.” – Sir Ronald Cohen, Chair of GSG

Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, sent a message from The Vatican, “I encourage you to take advantage of this meeting in order to recommit, and to be even more innovative about the ways we can face and eliminate the sources of poverty and inequality, and about the way we can stop ecological degradation.”

This is the first time GSG has taken its Impact Summit – the leading global gathering of impact leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, businesses and philanthropists – to Latin America.

The Summit discussed how to implement a Risk-Return-Impact decision-making framework across the economy, boosting investment allocations for impact, and the transition to Capitalism 2.0. The global forum also highlighted the advance of the impact movement, and, enabled the sharing of best practices.

The Summit was supported by ACTO, Almado, Bertelsmann Stiftung, British Council, Credit-Cooperatif, Enel, Enviu, FMO, Fundacion Emprender, The Rockefeller Foundation, and, ZomaLab.

Over 100 speakers from around the world addressed the Summit, including Sir Ronald Cohen, GSG Chair & Co-Founder Apax Partners, Amit Bhatia, CEO, GSG, Alejandro Preusche, GSG Latin America Ambassador, Maria Eugenia Vidal, Governor of the Province of Buenos Aires,  Mario Quintana, Former Deputy Chief of the Argentinian Cabinet, Nick Hurd, Minister for London and Minister of State, UK, Ulrika Modeer, Assistant Administrator- UNDP & Former Swedish Development and Climate Minister, and, Christophe Itier, High Commissioner – Social & Solidarity Economy and Social Innovation.

María Eugenia Vidal, Governor of the Province of Buenos Aires talked about the large-scale change that impact investment can bring in the lives of the underserved and the need for intelligent private sector involvement.

Nick Hurd, Minister for London and Minister of State said “The shift in value systems has extraordinary power. Governments need impact investment to deliver better results to the people.”

Amit Bhatia, CEO of the GSG called for The Impact Act, which mandates annual measurement and reporting of Impact, to be the basis for a new “social contract”. He identified three sets of measures to catalyze the transition to an Impact Economy: new corporate forms (e.g., Profit with Purpose companies & B-Corps), fiscal & regulatory incentives; outcomes funds & impact bonds; change in fiduciary duties; impact measurement; and legislation in the form of an Impact Act.

At the Summit, Sir Ronald Cohen and UNDP’s Ulrika Modeer, signed a cooperation agreement between GSG and SDG Impact, a UNDP initiative to accelerate progress towards the SDGs through SDG Assurance Standards that provide guidance to investors and enterprises on how to contribute to the SDGs.

 The GSG also celebrated Impact heroes from across the world through its annual Impact Honors awards. The 2019 winners were Tarun Mehta, Ather Energy – GSG Millennial Entrepreneur of the year, Dr. Consulta – Impact Entrepreneur of the Year, PGGM – Impact Institutional Investor of the Year, Zurich Insurance Group – Impact Asset Owner of the Year, Sonen Capital – Impact Asset Manager of the Year and the City of Buenos Aires – Impact Market Builder of the Year.

Buenos Aires is a leading Latin American hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. In 2016-17, Impact investors invested $4.7 billion in Latin America and the Caribbean, with local investors doubling investment capital over two years. In countries like Brazil, impact investment has become a national priority, supported by a national strategy that promotes enterprises capable of creating market solutions to social and environmental problems.

Following the meeting, Sir Ronald Cohen led a GSG delegation to Santiago, Chile, and an Impact Summit Workshop with more than 150 participants from Chile formulated policy recommendations to help Chile recover from its recent wave of unrest.

GSG is driving the growth of the impact movement globally. It has National Advisory Boards (NABs) covering 32 countries and the EU which drive impact policy-making and catalyze initiatives to improve lives and the environment.

For more information please visit the GSG Impact Summit 2019 website: https://gsgii.org/summit

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