Are you looking for a delicious, light and healthy lunch, spiced up with a splash of impact?

Then join us for our regular MORE IMPACT FOR LUNCH series. This is where we invite experts from both sides – investors and entrepreneurs – to discuss the best ingredients and recipes for specific impact sectors and solutions. If you’d like to get in touch with spicy variations to the impact finance toolbox, this is your not-to-miss lunch meeting. Check out this page or our LinkedIn account for the next lunch to come! This series is co-funded by the European Union and all sessions are in English, if not indicated otherwise.

What is happening in 2024:

The Impact-Linked Compensation Lunch – September 19, 2024, 12:00 – 13:15 CEST

What do GPs and LPs really think about impact-linked compensation? And how do they make it work in real life?

For most impact asset managers today, it’s common practice to tie their managers’ carried interest to predefined impact targets. However, experience shows that the application in real life is quite debated and diverse. If impact carry is such a great idea, why do some impact funds still don’t like it? What are the benefits and potential pitfalls? In this session, both sides of the investment equation will have their say, LPs and GPs. We’re extremely grateful for the lively and controversial discussion with our experts Diederik Wokke (Wire Group), Kelley Luyken (Aurum Impact),  Lara Viada (Creas), and Alex Bakir (Norrsken Accelerator). Moderation by Juliane v. Boeselager (FASE).

For those who missed this event: Find some key takeaways in our LinkedIn post

Megatrend Demografischer Wandel Lunch – 6. Mai 2024 (in German)

Der demografische Wandel führt zu vielfältigen, gesellschaftlichen und wirtschaftlichen Herausforderungen, u.a. beim Thema Wohnen im Alter. In der Lösung dieser drängenden Probleme ergeben sich nicht nur wichtige Chancen für die alternde Gesellschaft – auch Investor:innen profitieren von neuen Opportunitäten.

Wir danken herzlich unseren Expert*innen: Matthias Günther (Pestel Institut), Hans Nolte & Leif Lewinsk(besser zuhause) und Carsten Baye (BARO Health Asset Management), Moderation: Juliane v. Boeselager (FASE).

What we discussed together in 2023:

Das Systemwandel Lunch – 15. Februar 2024 (in German)

Wie können Unternehmen und Impact Kapital gemeinsam Systeme positiv verändern und wo liegen die Grenzen des Einflusses? Welche Rolle spielen neben den Unternehmen auch Venture Philanthropie und Impact Investing? In unserer nächsten Ausgabe von „More Impact for Lunch“ diskutieren wir mit Impact Investoren und Venture Philanthropen wie Systemwandel gelingen kann. Erfahren Sie außerdem mehr über die erste System-Change-Finanzierung in Deutschland!

Wir freuen uns auf unsere Expert*innen: Caroline Wetzke (FAMTASTISCH Stiftung), Dr. Christoph Schmitz (Gründer von Acker e.V., Impact Entrepreneur 2023) und Rolf Schrömgens (BRAFE SPACE, Trivago-Gründer und Investor). Moderation: Juliane v. Boeselager, FASE.

The Growth Capital Lunch – November 28, 2023

Did you know that SMEs represent 99% of all businesses in Europe? But that’s not all: they’re also a valuable source for ground-breaking innovations with the potential to generate meaningful impact! At the same time, both public and private large-scale financing is needed to unfold these companies’ full economic and impact power.

For this session, we prepared a deep dive into growth capital for impact and discovered the potential of growth-stage investing to create impact at scale while generating attractive returns for investors! A big thank you to our reputable experts from Impact Expansion, Potential Project and the EIF for a vivid discussion!

Das soziale Innovationen Lunch – 21. November 2023 (in German)

Während Climate-Tech-Unternehmen längst in den Fokus von Venture-Capital-Investoren gerückt sind, werden Unternehmen mit sozialen Innovationen von vielen Investoren noch als Philanthropie und nicht als Investment-Opportunität eingestuft. Dies erschwert besonders jungen Impact-Unternehmen den Zugang zu Finanzierung. In dieser Ausgabe erwartet Sie deshalb eine spannende Online-Diskussion zum Thema soziale Innovationen als Investment Case.

Wir freuen uns auf unsere Expert:innen: Marthe-Victoria Lorenz von Klubtalent, Pablo Hoffmann vom Social Entrepreneurship Netzwerk Deutschland (SEND e.V.), und Sébastien Martin von Impact Associates. Moderatorin ist unsere Juliane v. Boeselager.

Das Verantwortungseigentum Lunch – 12. Oktober 2023 (in German)

Was haben Bosch, Zeiss mit Alnatura, Ecosia und Einhorn gemeinsam und wie gelingt es diesen Unternehmen, ihre gesellschaftliche Wirkung langfristig sicherzustellen? In unserer nächsten Ausgabe von More Impact for Lunch erwartet Sie eine spannende Online-Diskussion zum Thema Verantwortungseigentum, auch bekannt als Steward-Ownership, als innovative Eigentumsform. Gemeinsam mit unseren Expert:innen möchten wir die verschiedenen Facetten von Verantwortungseigentum diskutieren, insbesondere die Chancen für Impact Ventures, Investoren und unsere Gesellschaft. Seien auch Sie dabei!

Unsere Expert:innen: Dr. Christoph Bielak (Rechtsanwalt und Partner, Wirth Schmies und Partner), Daria Urman (Investment Partner, Purpose Ventures), Jens Schmelzle (Gründer und CEO, Fryd) und Simon Köhl (Gründer und CEO, Future Cooperative). Moderation: Juliane v. Boeselager, FASE

Das Tech for Impact Lunch – 12. Juli 2023 (in German)

Inwieweit kann Technologie Systemwandel bewirken? Für diese virtuelle Mittagspause haben wir Ihnen spannende Einblicke aus der Impact Investing Praxis zu den folgenden Fragestellungen geliefert: Wie viel Impact können Technologien leisten? Oder braucht es primär einen wirtschaftlichen und gesellschaftlichen Systemwandel, damit Tech noch stärker zu signifikantem Impact beiträgt? Welche Rolle spielt das Investoren-Mindset? Sind Venture Capital Strategien bereits ausreichend zukunftsorientiert oder noch zu sehr am Status Quo verankert? Wie können wir nachhaltig von Diversität profitieren?

Herzlichen Dank für die aktive Diskussion an unsere Expert:innen: Dr. Christin ter Braak-Forstinger, Co-Founder und CEO von Chi Impact Capital sowie Dr. Charly Kleissner, Co–Founder von Toniic und KL Felicitas Foundation.

Das Energiewende Lunch – 1. Juni 2023 (in German)

Energiewende: kaum ein Thema beschäftigt und polarisiert unsere Gesellschaft momentan intensiver. Was kostet uns am Ende mehr – Klimaschutz oder Nichtstun? Wissenschaftler verdeutlichen, dass dem immensen Investitionsbedarf für eine erneuerbare Energieerzeugung noch größere Klimafolgekosten gegenüberstehen. Viele Impact Ventures haben jedoch innovative Geschäftsmodelle parat und können damit wichtige Beiträge zur Energiewende leisten. Eine besonders innovatives Konzept ist die „Bürgerenergie“.

Unsere Experten Felix Schäfer (Gründer der Bürgerwerke eG) und Matthias Willenbacher (u.a. Gründer von Wi Venture, wiwin und weiteren Ventures) haben dieses brandheiße Thema gemeinsam mit unseren Teilnehmer*innen lebhaft diskutieren.

The Circular Economy Lunch – May 22, 2023

Globally, 78 million tons of plastic packaging materials are being wasted annually after being used only once. Single-use packaging is causing one of the greatest environmental harms due limited reuse or recycling properties. At the same time, businesses are increasingly forced by regulators and consumer demands to replace it with more sustainable alternatives.

Do you want to create sustainable change and become part of the circular economy movement? Our great experts on May 22, 2023, inspired the participants with highly impactful bites: Petr Báca, the founder of MIWA, and one of their early investors, Silke Horák of Tilia Impact Ventures.

The SDG 12 Lunch – March 16, 2023

Did you know that 400 million tonnes of plastic waste are produced every year? An incredible one-third goes into packaging alone. This is why responsible production & consumption (SDG 12) stand out as one of the primary topics to build a greener future. In addition to the significant environmental & climate implications, impact investors and ventures can also leverage new regulations and the mega trend towards sustainability. Considering the attractive business opportunities that come with it, not only impact investors jump on circularity and responsible resource management right now. So it’s legitimate to ask: What is the investor additionality of pursuing such a holistic, conscious investing strategy? And how can we avoid the risk of mission drifts?

Our experts Chi Impact Capital and Vytal had a great honest-to-heart discussion with our audience. Stay tuned for the recording to come or check out the LinkedIn post with the key insights!

The Supply Chain Lunch – February 9, 2023

Global supply chains are facing tremendous pressure from new regulations and consumers’ mindset shifts towards ethically sourced and eco-friendly products. At the same time, innovative solutions for a more responsible design and management of global supply chains are opening up new impact investment opportunities. Our experts Dr. Julius Emmrich and Dr. Samuel Knauss – the Co-Founders of ELUCID – as well as Danny Smith – Regional Director for Katapult Africa – took us on a deep dive that nurtured passionate discussions on how businesses, consumers, investors, and regulators can become part of the solution.

The Macroeconomic Lunch – November 9, 2022

The European Investment Fund (EIF) published its 2022 VC Survey, which paints a gloomy picture: The fundraising climate in the VC market is at a record low. Many VCs expect exit prices to decrease, access to finance for portfolio companies to deteriorate, and building co-investor coalitions to become harder. But do their impact-driven counterparts share the same views, conclusions and expectations? Or are they in for the long run, more committed than ever to drive positive, measurable change? Together with our experts Dr. Antonia Botsari (EIF), Harry Davies (Ceniarth) and Dr. Christin ter Braak-Forstinger (Chi Impact Capital) we had a truly inspiring talk on the future of impact investing that has revealed much more silver linings than doom. Pioneers Post has published details from this session:

Read the article

Did you miss a lunch session and would like to know more?

The “More Impact for Lunch” series is brought to you with support from the German National Competence Center for Social Innovation / “Kompetenzzentrum für Soziale Innovationen”. Starting from May 2023, the series continues under the program “ESF-2022-SOC-FIN — Transaction costs to support social finance intermediaries”. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.