Stay tuned for our next Impact Fire Talks in 2025
Our Impact Fire Talks allow pioneers, movers and shapers to kindle their fire for impact, challenge the status quo and talk practice. Thought-provoking topics meet diverse perspectives and personal experiences. This event series is co-funded by the European Union and free for investors. Come and join us!
What was hot in our last Impact Fire Talks
From Constraints to Catalysts: Unlocking Impact VCs Full Potential
Traditional venture capital logic continues to shape the impact investing space, prioritizing market-rate returns, short investment cycles, and rigid risk assessments. This structural financing gap for profound, systemic innovations creates untapped opportunities for investors and society. How can we reconceptualize capital allocation to unlock its full potential for meaningful impact?
Leading voices in our discussion are Espen Daae (Investment Chief Social Impact at Ferd), François de Borchgrave (Partner at Impact Expansion & KOIS), Inès Mertens (Impact Funds Lead at Impact Europe) and Dr. Markus Freiburg (Founding Partner at ECIIF & FASE). Hosted by Juliane von Boeselager, FASE.
For some key insights in this session, see our LinkedIn post.
Read the Pioneers post articleIs Democracy a Compelling Investment Case?
This very timely question is at the heart of this session – and it seems to get the least attention from investors to date. Should they engage more to strengthen democratic participation and enable citizens to assert their democratic rights? And if so, will a hybrid mix of public and philanthropic funding plus private sector investment help overcome fundraising challenges for such solutions?
Thank you for a multifaceted discussion with leading experts: Prof. Dr. Sébastien Mena (University of Fribourg / Rebalance Project), Sara Egetemeyr (PENEMUE), Patrice Schneider (Media Development Investment Fund / Pluralis), hosted by Kai Wagner (FASE).
Dormant Bank Accounts: A Solution For Large-Scale Impact?
The UK is the front runner and has shown that waking up the sleeping bank account beauties can pay off for the impact world. Now, Germany is on the (h)edge to follow suit. But how to unleash the full potential of this yet-untapped source of capital? What needs to be done differently in other ecosystems such as Germany? And which mistakes and obstacles should be avoided?
We sincerely thank our great speakers in this inspiring session: Cliff Prior, CEO of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investing, Zarah Bruhn, Founder & CEO of socialbee and Commissioner for Social Innovation at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Dr. Markus Freiburg, Founder & Managing Director of FASE, and Martijn Blom, Impact Funds Advisor at EVPA, who was also the moderator.
Diversity Beyond Gender: Where Funders Have Blind Spots
This myth-busting session explored how to truly create a more diverse fundraising environment for impact entrepreneurs. While the DEI topic has stirred a wave of new investment practices, they seem to have barely scratched the surface. Therefore, we handed the mic to those who experienced first-hand the biases and blind spots that funders still have. We also discussed solutions to the diversity dilemma by picking the brains and creativity of diversity pioneers and peers in the impact space.
We are grateful for our fantastic speakers: Leanne Mair, Founder and Managing Director of Benefactum Consulting, Pablo Santaeufemia, CEO and Co-Founder of Bridge for Billions, and Stefania Quaini, Managing Director of Angels4Women, who also moderated this important discussion.
Exit Pathways During Econimic Downturn: Mission Impossible?
Exits are one of the key concerns of impact VCs, especially in times of economic downturn. Questions such as “What is my exit strategy in times of recession and how can I ensure that impact stays at the heart of my portfolio ventures?” are typical and pressing. In this session, we sought to answer them by looking at the best practical hacks and strategies in phases of high uncertainty. Our experienced experts discussed from different angles – investor, investee and economist – and made this session lively, interactive and multi-faceted. A big thank you to Zoé Constantin, Partner at Impact Partners, Prof. Rudy Aernoudt, economist and professor at Ghent University, Walter Zantinge, Chief Veggi Officer at Wholy Greens, as well as Ines Mertens de Wilmars, Impact Investing Lead at EVPA and moderator of this Impact Fire Talk. The session was hosted by Saja Chander from FASE.
Here are some key insights from this very interactive session. This article on Pioneers Post summarizes the thought-provoking discussion for you.
How much Impact is in SDG Investing?
This provocative question is at the heart of this top-down session. We will dissect SDG from impact investing strategies and investigate the concrete effects of recent regulatory and sector wake-up calls: How deep is the chasm between impact promise and practice? What can we expect from certain labels? How do we move from lip service to reliable impact? Our experts in this session were Charly Kleissner, Ph.D., Co–Founder of Toniic & KL Felicitas Foundation, and Laurence Laplane-Rigal, Head of Impact Investing of Amundi. The session was moderated by Nathalie Nebelius from Toniic and hosted by Juliane von Boeselager from FASE.
For some key insights in this session, see our LinkedIn post and read the summary article on Pioneers Post!
Who are our Media, Co-funder and sponsoring partners
For this year’s Impact Fire Talks we partnered again with Pioneers Post, the news platform for the global impact community.
The FASE Impact Fire Talks are co-funded by the European Union 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.
