International Conference for Christian Development Agencies and Investors

FaithInvest: Impactful Cooperation

 

Friday 17 January 2020, 9am – Saturday 18 January 2020, 5pm

Geneva/Switzerland, Ecumenical Centre

I. Books for downloading: 

2nd enlarged Faith at Work Directory 

II: Presentations

1) Opening Addresses

  • Christoph Stückelberger, Executive Director Geneva Agape Foundation
  • Martin Palmer, President FaithInvest, Bristol/UK
  • Isabel Phiri, Deputy General Secretary World Council of Churches

2) Keynotes

Church Investments in Africa. Successful Examples and Strategy for the Future.

  • Bright Mawudor, Head of Finance and Deputy General Secretary of the African Conference of Churches AACC, Nairobi/Kenya

Sustainable Finance: UN and Geneva Build Innovative Bridges

  • Nicholas Niggli, Deputy Secretary General at the Republic and State of Geneva, Promotor of the International Network of Financial Centres for Sustainability FC4S, Initiator of the Building Bridges Week Geneva.
  • Roland Schatz, Founder and CEO, United Nations Global Sustainability Index Institute (UNGSII), Vienna/Geneva

3) Investment Strategies of Development Agencies and Churches: Presentation of investment strategies and experiences of (Christian) development organisations and churches

4) Needs and Offers. Group Discussions

Table discussions about investment and development needs and offers. Every participant focusses on 1-2 example projects. Mixed groups

5) Keynotes: Investments with Public-Private Partnerships

  • Jean-Pierre Sweerts, CEO Water Finance Facility and Board Chairman of DOB Equity, Kenya
  • UNEP Finance Initiative, Nairobi/Geneva, Kai Remco Fischer, Head Climate Change
  • World Bank, Mafalda Duarte, CEO Climate Investment Fund, USA, with
    Internat. Organisation for Migration IOM, Laura Thompson, Deputy Director General
  • Liu Baocheng, Director Centre for Business Ethics, Beijing/China, Advisor to the Chinese Government on CSR Performance of Chinese Outbound Investments in Africa (Video)

6) Investment Strategies and Offers of Investors and Banks. Presentations

  • LGT, Liechtenstein/Zurich: Oliver Karius, CEO LGT Venture Philanthropy and Representing LGT Lightstone
  • Pax Bank, Köln, Germany: Gregor Kuhl, Head of Investment/ Asset Management
  • Evangelische Bank, Kassel, Germany: Helmut Kotschwar, CEO, Sustainable Investment Management.
  • Hauck&Aufhäuser Switzerland, Private Bank, Roman Limacher, CEO, Prime Values Funds
  • The Global Impact Investing Network GIIN, New York: Sean Gilbert, Director of Capital Mobilization Programme 

7) Divestment Policies and Blended Finance. Podium

8) Plenary Discussion on sections 5-7 

9) Chapel prayer

10) Keynote

FaithInvest: Goals, Programmes, Perspectives, Members

Martin Palmer, President, CEO of FaithInvest, Bristol, United Kingdom

11) Innovation: Academic Research Projects, Project Pipeline, Pooled Fund, Institution-building, regulatory investment requirements and tax issues

  • Overview: Christoph Stückelberger, Executive Director Geneva Agape Foundation
  • Mapping Academic Research projects on faith and investments: Oxford and Princeton University, Faith & Work Initiative, USA. Nicoleta Acatrinei, Associate Research Scholar
  • Regulatory Requirements: Karl Pilny, International Investment lawyer, Senior Investment Advisor Geneva Agape Foundation

12) Progress Reports/Lessons Learnt/Promotion of initiatives presented at the conference in January 2019

  • Timo Plutschinski, Director, the World Evangelical Alliance Business Coalition, Department Theological Concerns, Hamburg, Germany
  • Ulrich Möller, Member of the Church leadership, Protestant Church of Nordrhein Westfalen, Germany, President of OneClimate Fund
  • Stephan Werhahn, Board member for International relations of the Workgroup Responsible Finance of the Alliance of Catholic Entrepreneurs (BKU), Germany
  • Nicolas Lorne, Founder of Waterpreneurs, Innovate for Water Marketplaces, Lausanne, Switzerland
  • Beris L Gwynne, Impact Bridges Group for Impact of Social Programmes, Canada.

13) Investment/Development Projects by Topics:
Sustainability in Water, Agriculture, Education, Technology, Buildings, Energy

Mixed Group discussions between development agencies, churches and investors

14) Pitching: Bilateral Cooperation based on prior registration and spontaneous decisions

15) Plenary: Strategic Planning, Lessons Learnt, Next Steps, Conclusions

Closing