How corporate impact investment can solve a $6 trillion global problem
By: Moses Choi
Tags: Sdgs, Startup, Corporate Innovation, Cvc, Impact Investing

Note: This article originally was published on May 30, 2018 on Orange Silicon Valley’s Medium site.

In 2015, the United Nations published 17 Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The SDGs explicity call on the private sector to maximize positive outcomes related to social, environmental, and economic conditions for the world’s population, and achieving those goals represents $12 trillion in business opportunities, according to the Business & Sustainable Development Commission. In order to fully realize those opportunities, however, a $6 trillion annual funding gap (as identified by the UN) needs to be filled.

Orange Silicon Valley’s 2018 Corporate Impact Summit on June 28 will take a look at the questions raised by the UN’s SDGs, as well as what major corporations are already doing to fill that $6 trillion gap in the eyes of investors, entrepreneurs, and prominent thought leaders.

Image credit: United Nations (public domain)

Because the UN’s SDGs encompass a wide range of complex problems, including poverty, hunger, access to education, and the availability of affordable clean energy, the solutions will require collaboration on many fronts. Achieving the SDGs will require cooperation between the public and private sector, in addition to investment capital, technology innovation, and engagement of the world’s citizens. In addressing these needs, OSV’s summit will ask participants to consider the following questions:

How should corporations engage with all of these stakeholders in a viable and sustainable way to ensure long-term, sustainable development?

Which technological innovations will play instrumental roles in achieving the SDGs?

How do investments make an impact while also generating appropriate returns?

How can corporates — through their innovation, investment, and operational footprint — work with early-stage companies to accelerate sustainable growth and development?

Considerable efforts in impact investment can already be seen among multinational companies who have also tilted their efforts to address the SDGs. In fact, the majority of UN Global Compact companies — a network of more than 13,000 companies committed to responsible business — have acted to address the SDGs through their operations. For Orange, which has a significant footprint across Africa and the Middle East (130 million mobile customers across 21 countries), contributing to the SDGs enables long-term sustainable growth, and Orange has committed to the program from the outset. Moreover, Orange’s commitment to sustainable energy availability can be seen in its recently announced partnership with BBOXX, a UK-based renewable energy firm, to bring off-grid solar kits across key markets in Africa.

Corporates that are committed to sustainable development have a critical role to play in spurring innovation while scaling impactful companies and their technologies. By mobilizing their resources (product, technology, and operations), market intelligence, distribution capabilities, and brand, corporates are uniquely situated to drive strategic value and impact.

In 2017 alone, over $3.4 billion was committed to private equity and venture capital pursuing impact investments, according to Pitchbook. Institutional investors such as TPG Growth, KKR, Bain Capital, and Partners Group have all announced newly dedicated impact investing growth equity strategies, and within venture capital, $10 billion has been raised by impact-oriented venture capital funds since 2010; those investments were made to generate returns “because of, not in spite of, an impact-oriented investment thesis,” according to investor Ted Rheingold.

Corporate venture capital (CVC) activity is one of the most visible arenas where these efforts can be channeled. CVC invested more than $30 billion in 2017 alone, according to CB Insights. As an increasing number of investors and corporates consider the opportunities created by the SDGs, it will be important to understand how to maximize both strategic value and shared value. The summit will distill how we can collectively ensure that technology serves, at its core, society’s best interests.

We’re looking forward to the beginning of a healthy conversation.

Guests at the summit will include corporate venture capital groups, corporate innovation teams, VCs, and members of the sustainable investing community. Speakers and partners already include GSMA, TPG Rise, the University of California, Salesforce Ventures, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, BBOXX, Mines, and others. For more information or to request an invitation, please visit the 2018 Corporate Impact Summit website.