RFI Summit 2018: Bringing technology and impact finance together in support of sustainable growth

Transcription

1. Bringing technology and impact finance together in support of sustainable growth RFI Summit organizers open early-bird registration and release RFI Summit 2017 post-event report Zurich , Switzerland, February 14, 2018 – The Responsible Finance & Investment Foundation (RFI) and Swiss Arab Network (SAN) are excited to announce the opening of early-bird registration for the RFI Summit 2018. In addition to opening registration at exclusive discounted rates, the organizers have released a post-event report summarizing the RFI Summit 2017, which was held on May 3-4, 2017 in Zurich, Switzerland. Based on the experience and feedback provided by participants in the RFI Summit 2017, the organizers have aligned the RFI Summit 2018 around the theme “Impact Finance and Technology”. The development in impact finance has been impressive. With a growth rate and is the fastest growing segment of responsible finance, growing at an annualized 56% between 2014 and 2016. 1 The upcoming Responsible Finance & Investment (RFI) Summit 2018 will host 200 leaders from across responsible finance bringing their ideas about how to make ‘impact finance’ relevant across the financial sector, including in Islamic finance from 26-27 April in Zurich, Switzerland. The rapid growth in impact finance, where many projects involve investments in the millions of dollars into projects that have both social and financial returns, created a market reaching a quarter of a trillion dollars in assets as of 2016. The RFI Summit 2018 will convene in Zurich during the period April 26-27, 2018 and will focus on scaling impact finance to a bigger market by highlighting similarities between Islamic & impact finance. The Summit aims to build upon their common values and objectives to encourage greater engagement by a diverse cross-section of the responsible finance market and increase the uptake of impact finance. One priority at the RFI Summit 2018 will be to identify strategies that harness the power of technology to unlock scale in impact finance and deliver greater positive social & environmental impact. The RFI Summit will bring together leaders, share case studies and encourage participants to collaborate to identify actions that will mainstream impact finance across the financial sector to support more equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth. Blake Goud, CEO of the Responsible Finance & Investment Foundation (RFI) said: “In order to expand from billions to trillions, impact finance will have to combine clear measure the positive social impact it creates with technology to bring down costs. We’ve found that responsible financial institutions are willing to address impact, but there are common challenges in achieving scale that require greater sharing of experience.” Mounir Khouzami, Co-Founder & President of the Swiss Arab Network (SAN) said: “We are excited to welcome participants to the RFI Summit 2018. As we convene this event, we have designed it so that 1 Global Sustainable Investment Alliance. 2016 Global Sutainable Investment Review. Available from: http://www.gsi-alliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/GSIR_Review2016.F.pdf
2. our participants will learn about innovative case studies and apply their knowledge to help the RFI Summit to have a lasting impact .” Please visit the Summit website, www.rfisummit.org to download the post-event report for the RFI Summit 2017 and to register for the RFI Summit 2018. About the Responsible Finance & Investment Summit 2018 The Summit, to be held on 26 and 27 April 2018 at the Atlantis Hotel by Giardino in Zurich, Switzerland, brings together key stakeholders within responsible finance to build connections to new growth opportunities and more measurable impact. The RFI Summit will play a vital role in connecting representatives from across the responsible finance industry to build on the growing cooperation between SRI, ESG and Islamic finance. The RFI Summit in Zurich is an initiative of the RFI Foundation and Swiss Arab Network to build awareness of shared values that can bring socially responsible investing (SRI), environmental, social and governance (ESG) and Islamic finance together to increase their positive impact. About RFI Foundation The RFI Foundation is a non-profit organisation with a mission to identify a neutral, nonpartisan and universal value proposition that encourages convergence of responsible finance practices. RFI evolves Sustainable, Responsible, Impact Investing (SRI), Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and the Islamic finance sectors towards a convergence of their shared standards, and engages stakeholders to build the responsible finance industry as a catalyst to support equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic development. Visit us at www.rfi-foundation.org About Swiss Arab Network The Swiss Arab Network (SAN) is a non-profit networking organization with headquarter in Zurich and affiliations in the Arab world that strives to bridge gaps, promote sustainable exchange and intensify the mutual understanding among Swiss and Arab people. SAN is a networking platform and organizes events and gives speeches on topics like Swiss and Arab finance, business, culture, art and film. Established and high-profile organisations from Switzerland and the Arab world are members of the network. Visit us at www.swissarab.org Media Contacts   Blake Goud, Chief Executive Officer, RFI Foundation: blake.goud@rf-institute.org, www.rfi-foundation.org Mounir Khouzami, Co-Founder & President of the Swiss Arab Network: mounir.khouzami@swissarab.org, www.swissarab.org ### Zurich Switzerland, February 14, 2018