From 25 to 29 November, Bilbao will host Impact Week 2024, a European forum that will bring together the main economic stakeholders in sustainable social impact investing, a market that generated 80 billion euros in Europe in 2022. The holding of this gathering consolidates Bizkaia’s international standing as a pioneering territory in social impact investing.
In recent years, social impact investing has emerged as an innovative response to tackle existing challenges such as inequality, climate change, social inclusion and environmental degradation. This practice consists of investing capital in companies or projects that have a positive social or environmental impact alongside providing a financial return.
In this scenario, the leading European network for the promotion of social and environmental impact investing, Impact Europe, has chosen Bizkaia as the venue for Impact Week 2024, an international forum organised in collaboration with the Bizkaia Provincial Council and the company attached to its Department of Economic Promotion, Seed Capital Bizkaia. Bilbao-Bizkaia takes over from Turin as the main venue for this year’s edition of Impact Week due to its outstanding track record in promoting inclusive economic growth.
The event, which this year is celebrating its 20th anniversary, will transform Bilbao-Bizkaia from 25 to 29 November into an international meeting point that will bring together the main European economic stakeholders dedicated to leveraging capital in order to develop a sustainable economy. A growing market which, according to the latest report published by Impact Europe, was worth 80 billion euros in the EU in 2022.
Impact Week 2024 will be held in iconic places in the capital of Bizkaia such as Euskalduna Palace, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, the San Mamés stadium and the BAT-B Accelerator Tower. More than 1,000 people are expected to attend the various events.
The financial event will be attended by leading figures in the field of social impact philanthropy such as Leslie Johnston (Laudes Foundation), Roberta Bosurgi (Impact Europe) and María Ángeles León (Global Social Impact Investments and Open Value Foundation), Shiva Dustdar (European Investment Bank Institute) and Gilles Vermot-Desroches (Schneider Electric Foundation).
The aim of the event is to promote investments in the development of projects that facilitate genuine social transformation, addressing issues such as sustainability, the reduction of inequalities and the promotion of the social economy.
Capital to transform the planet
“Madness”, “boldness” and “brightness”. These are the three main areas in which Impact Europe has developed the planned themes for this edition of Impact Week. On the first day of the event, the focus will be on “Madness” to analyse the world at present and overcome trade-offs between social and environmental impacts in order to achieve a more coherent future.
On the second day, “Boldness” will bring together professionals involved in social impact philanthropy to discuss and promote disruptive ideas while encouraging participation and networking.
And lastly, on the third day, the focus will be on the “Brightness” needed to be able to plan the next steps towards 2025 through interactive workshops and collective capital mobilisation, with a focus on collaboration and practical impact work.
Leading economic and financial stakeholders
Impact Europe brings together over 300 organisations from 35 countries, including foundations, impact funds, corporate impact actors, financial institutions, public funders, universities, incubators and accelerators and startups, including Seed Capital Bizkaia, which will play a leading role as host of the conference’s 20th edition.
The event will feature different activities organised by the Bizkaia Provincial Council through Seed Capital Bizkaia and leading entities from the Basque and Spanish economic/financial ecosystem such as ONCE Foundation, SPAIN NAB, Mondragon Unibertsitatea, Social Nest Foundation, BBK Foundation and the Basque Institute of Finance (IVF-FEI), among others, as well as the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund.
You can register to attend Impact Week 2024 by clicking here. The final programme with all the activities will be announced in the coming months.
Bizkaia, pioneer in social transformation investing
Hosting Impact Week will boost Bizkaia’s strategy of positioning itself as a leading ecosystem at European level in investing in social and environmental impact projects with a financial return. The Bizkaia Provincial Council is a pioneering public administration at European level in promoting projects with social impact, establishing itself in recent years as a transformative force that reshapes value creation through public initiatives.
Seed Capital Bizkaia has been managing financial instruments for 35 years with a view to promoting innovation and the regeneration of the region’s business fabric. Along these lines, it supports innovative and sustainable projects in areas such as health, circular economy, education and culture and labour insertion and inclusion.
Since the launch of the Entrepreneurship and Social Impact Fund in 2014, it helped companies develop and grow, such as Koiki, a company dedicated to last-mile delivery aimed at providing employment to vulnerable groups and which was the Impact Fund’s first investment (December 2016); Evolv, a manufacturer of medical devices specialising in the development of technological solutions for rehabilitation and Aplanet, a developer of technological solutions (software) to help manage and support the activity of companies in terms of sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR), among other success stories.
About Impact Europe
Impact Europe, formerly the European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA), is a Brussels-based non-profit organisation focused on promoting impact investing in Europe. It is an international network that brings together over 300 organisations (foundations, impact funds, corporate impact actors, financial institutions, public funders, universities, incubators and accelerators) from 35 countries. This year it is celebrating its 20th anniversary. It engages in impact investing, a concept that applies venture investment principles and practices to the social and environmental sphere through a strategic, measurable and innovative approach to achieve a significant and sustainable social impact.
About Seed Capital Bizkaia
Seed Capital Bizkaia is a public company attached to the Bizkaia Provincial Council’s Department of Economic Promotion, founded in 1989. It is committed to managing financial instruments in order to promote innovation and the regeneration of the business fabric in Bizkaia. It aims to contribute to the promotion and development of new or existing companies in the territory, supporting projects that have a positive impact on society. Its core values are efficient resource management, quality of service, respect for the environment, social responsibility, transparency and integrity.
