2020 Conference Material

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

  • Danchurchaid, Denmark, Eva Pinada Hansen, Head of Global Funding
  • FCA Investments (Subsidiary of Finn Church Aid), Finland, Jukka-Pekka Kärkkäinen, CEO
  • Bread for the World/Diakonia, Berlin/Germany, Monika Redecker, Head Africa
  • Cui Ruitong, Board Member of GAF Foundation

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

  • Frédérique Seidel, Manager, WCC-UNICEF Global Partnership
  • Hubert Miyimi Muwawa, CEO of State Oil and Gaz Company, RD Congo
  • Collins Beth, Catholic Relief Services and Chair of the Caritas International Impact Investing Working Group
  • Mrsg Lucas Kalfa, Burkina-Niger, President John Paul II Foundation for Sahel, Vatican

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