BCtA at the Social Good Summit
Geneva, Switzerland; 13 October 2017
'The rest of the world sees changes as dangerous. Entrepreneurs don't. They see changes as necessary’ said Daniel Ryan, Head of Research at the Swiss Re Institute, in his opening remarks at the Social Good Summit held in Geneva last October. Ryan knows that the future lies within entrepreneurs; their ideas, resourcefulness and boldness will be the conditions sine qua non for the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals, globally.
Over 230 different industry representatives from 50 countries joined their strengths for the 2017 SGSGeneva, organized in partnership with BCtA as well as the Impact Hub, the UBS Optimus Foundation, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation, SwissRe and the Republic and Canton of Geneva. High-level decisions-makers, entrepreneurs, investors, governments, large companies and international organisations made their second rendez-vous in Geneva to discuss the best way to foster collaboration for achieving the SDGs.
The 2017 SGS also featured the second edition of Accelerate2030, who received this year 324 applications by ventures from 17 countries across 4 continents in sectors ranging from building sustainable transportation, access to education and health services, waste management and sanitation, and agriculture. Out of the 2017 finalists, five entrepreneurs from Rwanda, the Philippines, Colombia, Brazil and Mexico presented their inspiring innovation and were provided with a unique opportunity to tap into the resources of Geneva International to solve some of their bottlenecks.
Among the outstanding innovators present in Geneva, Barrett Nash, CEO and Founder of SafeMotos in Rwanda, convinced the audience with his uber style ride hailing company disrupting the informal transport sector in African cities. SafeMotos, a new BCtA member, aims to bring higher safety on the Rwandese roads by tracing safe drivers thus aiming to significantly reduce the 80% of the traffic accidents caused by motorcycle taxis.
Three key themes were discussed throughout the day: the scaling up of social enterprises, their financing and the best models of intersectoral collaboration. The event promoted a stronger engagement of the private sector to achieve the SDGs, advocates for increasing the mobilization of private capital for development and creates the conditions for effective partnerships around the SDGs between Swiss, European and developing countries entrepreneurs, impact investors, large companies, international organizations and governments.
Matchmaking and impact investment events around the globe are gaining momentum but what makes the annual SGS different is the unique opportunity of being hosted in Geneva. The ecosystem brings together the financial sector and the international Geneva and the city is emerging as one of the most important hub for sustainable finance.
To watch the pitching session: here.