Impact Investments for the Well-being of Latin America

CAF—development bank of Latin America—hosted the webinar “Investing with Impact: Trends and Good Practices​.” The objective of this open online event was to give visibility to the Impact Investing approach CAF has been advancing for several years. The speakers and representatives of the development bank of Latin America explained the concept of Investing with Impact, describing the new standard and the international trends of this practice.

The meeting was chaired by Jorge Velarde, director of the bank’s Impact Funds and Investments, who gave the welcoming remarks and then gave the floor to the two speakers.

Erik Wallsten, Impact Investment Fund Manager at ADOBE CAPITAL, was the first panelist of the session. Wallsten explained that his company has been acting as a catalyst for entrepreneurship across the region for 10 years. Despite the shortcomings, investments have generated a perceptible change in the societies where they have been implemented.

The next presenter was Daniel Izzo, ​Impact Investment Fund Manager at VOX CAPITAL. Online from Brazil, the prominent Brazilian executive provided examples of his company’s impact investments, e.g. in Magnamed, a respirator factory that has supplied 80% of the demand in Brazil during the health crisis. For Izzo, businesses that deliver value to society should have good economic indicators.

Speaking on behalf of CAF, Roman Vélez, Chief Executive of the Impact Funds and Investments Directorate, presented the bank’s work in supporting Impact Investments for the past years. CAF performs impact measurements and has implemented a method to systematize investment options according to their benefits. Vélez acknowledged that there is room for improvement, and that the work is being performed by a multidisciplinary team that constantly analyzes the social and integration impact that each disbursement entails.

To adjourn the event after the Q&A, Velarde thanked the guests for their participation and reiterated CAF’s interest in the objectives rather than the indicators.