The first ever summit on Impact Investment in Bangladesh is to be held on 10th of November at The Westin Dhaka, said a press release.
The summit, namely Impact Investment Summit Bangladesh, with the theme “Driving the Sustainable Agenda” has been initiated by Build Bangladesh and will be organized by Bangladesh Brand Forum.
The summit has been designed with several keynote sessions and three panel discussions by global and local veterans.
The summit aims to develop an understanding of the status of the global impact investing market, as a critical input to future investments and engagement to grow this market in Bangladesh.
Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, MP, Honorable Minister, Ministry of Finance, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh will grace the summit as the chief guest.
Mr. Fazle Kabir, Governor of Bangladesh Bank will join the summit as the principal guest, Dr. M. Khairul Hossain, Chairman, Bangladesh Security and Exchange Commission as the honorable guest, Mr. Kazi M. Aminul Islam, Executive Chairman, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority as the special guest and Architect Farhadur Reza, Founding President, Build Bangladesh to stress the introductory remarks.
A rather new term, Impact Investment was first coined in 2007 by Rockefeller Foundation. As defined by The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), impact investments are such investments made into companies, organization and funds with intention to generate social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.
The daylong summit will have multiple engagement opportunities for the attendees so that they can take away the needed information and lessons which will benefit the entire fraternity.
There will be four specialized panel discussions which will focus on four fundamental industries – Impact Investment: Financial Institution, Agriculture and Food Security, Ready Made Garments (RMG), and Health & Well-being.
The discussions will explore the current scenario and possibilities of Impact Investment in these sectors in Bangladesh.
Distinguished speakers to present their keynotes are – 1) Rosemary Addis from Australia, Founding Chair, Impact Investing Australia; Chair, Australian Advisory Board on Impact investing, 2) David Carrington from the United Kingdom, Vice Chair, Supervisory Board of Triodos Bank NV; Founding Non-executive Director, Big Society Capital, UK, 3) Abhijit Ray from India, Co-founder and Managing Director, Unitus Capital, 4) Corrine Proske from Australia, General Manager, Digital & Retail, Good Shepherd Microfinance; Board Member, The Difference Incubator; Former Head, Community Finance and Development, National Australia Bank, 5) Luke Branagan from Australia, Director, Philanthropic Services, JBWere; Founding Committee Member, Impact 100 Sydney; Former Executive Manager, MLC Community Foundation, 6) Shawn Cole from the United States of America, John G. McLean Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School.
Experts who have consented to moderate the discussions are – Faisal Ahmed, Senior Economic Advisor to the Governor of Bangladesh Bank; Prof. Dr. Shamsul Alam, Member, GED, Planning Commission, Government of Bangladesh; Dr. Syed Ferhat Anwar, Professor, IBA, University of Dhaka; and Dr. Reza Ali, Emergency Specialist & Academician.
