98 Sparks attended the 38th TBLI Family Conference 2019 in Beijing to provide expertise in how to assess impact investing funds & share water investment opportunities.
About TBLI Family Conference 2019
The opening of the 38th TBLI Family Conference 2019
TBLI is the world-leading authority on ESG & Impact Investing. TBLI has been educating & advising institutional investors for over 24 years. TBLI Family Conference 2019 in Beijing is the 38th annual conference organized by TBLI Group. This event offers participants a wide range of sessions but all had a strong focus on helping ESG & impact investors to understand the market comprehensively & learn about new opportunities about impact investment. Those sessions included tailored programs, practical workshops, masterclasses, plenary sessions, and entrepreneur pitching sessions moderated by prominent thought-leaders & experts.
98 Sparks participated in the ”How to Assess Impact Investing Fund” workshop
Job van Schelven, CFO & Partner of 98 Sparks, was one of the speakers for the workshop on the topic of ”How to Assess Impact Investing Fund” together with Sara Olsen – Founding Partner of SVT Group, Yong (Walter) Ge – Founding Partner & Managing Director of Green Startups, and Luqman Nadeem – Executive Director of Flatrock Associates. The workshop was moderated by Christina Lee, founder of Global Green Connect.
The workshop topic was inspired by the goal to achieve the success of the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to solve social & environmental issues. The workshop topic underlined the importance of the rapidly growing number of impact investors have become key in addressing the world’s most urgent environmental & social changes. As such, the workshop was created with the intention to help participants identify ongoing challenges & hurdles in this area, as well as, outline solutions to these challenges.
Job van Schelven shared: “The panel discussion of the workshop was all about measuring impact & assessing impact funds. I used this opportunity to address & advocate global water issues & opportunities”.
98 Sparks shared water issues insights & impact investing expertise at the workshop
During the workshop, Job stated that: ”The core of the water issue is that water is a fixed and increasingly contaminated supply whilst there is an unstoppable rising demand. We need to rethink our water cycle”. Job continued: “Research projects show that the gap between the water demand and supply by 2030 cannot be closed with increased investment in existing systems. That’s why new technologies are required. PureTerra Ventures – our portfolio company invests in those required groundbreaking technologies, but that is not enough”.
Job van Schelven spoke about water issues & investment opportunity for impact investors
Moreover, Job also said that: ”98 Sparks believe that to assess impact funds on their impact requires to assess to what extent they invest in sustainable technologies and business models and what specific SDG is countered. Impact and financial returns should go hand in hand. Our impact could be measured against the aim of “no non-performers in the fund” as well as the volume of water treated, made available, the quality of water, etc. Even in a niche sector as we are in, measuring impact can be a tough challenge, yet one should not get stuck in it and just start measuring, take consistent measures and develop from there”.
Additionally, Job also shared his key takeaways from this event: ”The conference was a small and intimate conference with a large number of very experienced people in the impact investment field. Thanks to that, I have made many new connections and valuable discussions about impact investment”.
In brief, 98 Sparks believe that we need to invest in technologies to solve the water challenges and create a direct impact in the world. We’d like to thank all the speakers & participants that joined the 38th TBLI Family Conference in general, and the workshop in particular. We look forward to meeting you again in the future event!
