AVCA Sustainable Investing in Africa Summit

About the summit

The Summit will convene founders, investors, and industry leaders to facilitate thought-provoking dialogue as we examine the potential for sustainable investing to act as a catalyst for growth and development across the continent. With expert insight, we will deeper delve into issues including but not limited to impact, climate, gender, digitization and innovation.

The Summit will be followed by AVCA Connect, an informal evening of networking over drinks and nibbles, from 5.30 pm.

Venue

Experience London’s vibrant beauty at the InterContinental London Park Lane, 1 Hamilton Place, London, England, W1J

Agenda

7:00 AM – 2:00 PM: Registration
9:15 AM – 9:20 AM: Opening Remarks
9:20 AM – 9:40 AM: Keynote address / Fireside chat

9:40 AM – 10:25 AM: Panel 1: Africa at the Forefront of Sustainable Investing Globally

The history and evolution of sustainable investing in Africa tells a unique story of patient capital serving as a cornerstone for economic growth and sustainable development on the continent. This panel charts the popularization of sustainable investment strategies in contemporary investment practice; explores how fund managers are integrating ESG standards at the firm and portfolio level to create value; and compares the presence and performance of sustainable investing in Africa to other emerging markets.

10:25 AM – 10:45 AM: Networking Break

10:45 AM – 11:30 AM: Panel 2: Sustainability in Practice: Investing and Innovating for Social Change

Addressing Africa’s sustainable development priorities not only requires investors to adopt a sustainable lens in their capital allocation, but also requires founders to deliver innovative, effective, and sustainable solutions to pressing social and environmental challenges. This panel looks at the founders, impact investors and philanthropic players advancing sustainable development on the ground and how African social entrepreneurs are creating a new wave of for-profit but sustainable enterprises.

11:30 AM – 12:15 PM: Panel 3: Digitalization: The Last Mile in Unlocking Sustainable Development

A digital revolution is well underway in Africa, modernizing and transforming whole industries. How can Africa’s digital transformation be harnessed to service sustainability? Can we achieve sustainable growth at scale without digitization? This panel addresses these important questions, drawing on best practices from emerging and developed markets further along in their digital journey to explore the catalytic role technology can play in implementing and achieving greater sustainability for economic development.

12:15 PM – 1:15 PM: Networking Lunch

1:15 PM – 2:00 PM: Panel 4: Financing Africa’s Climate Transition

No longer a distant predicted future, climate change is now an imminent and alarming reality. As the momentum of the global transition to a Net-Zero future accelerates, climate resilient assets have emerged as a necessary and lucrative investment opportunity for private capital. This panel examines the state of climate financing in Africa; the breadth of investors active in this space; and which sectors are leading the charge in terms of opportunity.

2:00 PM – 2:30 PM: Spotlight on Climate Adaptability

Best practice on portfolio company adaptability and transition in Africa and also what fund managers can do. Would be good to either have a few managers and their companies that are leading the charge here or perhaps some global best practice practitioners to participate.

2:30 PM – 3:15 PM: Panel 5: Profiting from Parity: Closing Africa’s Gender Gap

A gender lens is key to sustainable investing. The fifth of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals places gender equality as not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world. This panel explores a critical, but often marginalized, dimension of sustainable finance. It highlights the impact of integrating gender goals in sustainable investments; the long-term value in understanding gender-differentiated needs to build environmental sustainability and resilience; and the role private capital can play in the promotion of women’s leadership and participation in economic activities.

3:15 PM – 3:35 PM: Networking Break

3:35 PM – 4:20 PM: Panel 6: Making ‘Impact’ Meaningful: Strategies to Monitor and Measure Sustainable Investments

While the importance of sustainable investing and integrating ESG considerations in investment practice is now undisputed, confusion and inconsistencies abound for how to monitor and measure social and environmental impact given the alphabet soup of existing reporting frameworks. This panel dives into how impact ought to be conceptualized in Africa, convening a range of industry stakeholders to discuss how the industry can overcome ‘greenwashing’ to establish practical and context-specific metrics and targets for sustainable investing.

4:20 PM – 5:00 PM: Panel 7: New Threats, New Paradigms: Innovative Investment Structures

This panel explores new and innovative ways to mobilize finance for sustainable investing. The pace of progress towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is far from uniform, and variations in the capital intensity of implementing these goals geographically problematize optimal investment planning. In this ambiguous and evolving context, what alternatives outside the traditional GP-LP structure (such as collective initiatives, green bonds, digital and crowdfunding platforms) can be deployed to facilitate sustainable investing objectives? This panel reviews these new avenues of capital mobilization, exploring their suitability, advantages, and disadvantages.

5:00 PM – 5:05 PM: Closing Remarks

5:30 PM – 9:00 PM: AVCA Connect