On May 23, 2024, IE University and Impact Bridge, in collaboration with AXIS (ICO) and SpainNAB, organized the event “The role of the public sector in the development of the impact economy in Spain” through the Impact Bridge-IE Chair of Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing.
The event featured welcoming remarks from Arturo Benito, CEO and co-founder of Impact Bridge, followed by a keynote address from Guillermo Jiménez Gallego, Director General of AXIS, who noted that “public-private collaboration is key to consolidating a solid impact investment industry that contributes to driving sustainable economic growth, addressing social and environmental challenges.”
Rachida Justo, Director of the Chair, provided a valuable perspective on the role of academia in this area with a presentation on the recent work of the Chair, focused on the role of the public sector in building impact investment. “Public-private collaboration is fundamental for impact investment to realize its potential and generate systemic change,” assured the director, whose research can be accessed here.
The presentation was followed by two panel discussions focused on two highly relevant dimensions regarding the topic: the first, centered on experience in impact funds and capital attraction, with participation from senior executives of public institutions COFIDES and FEI, and management companies MicroBank, Q-Impact, and CREAS. The second focused on the social enterprises receiving this investment and the impact they generate, with speakers from AXIS, ILUNION, and Talento y Experiencia.
The event concluded with a presentation on the evolution of the impact industry in Spain by José Luis Ruiz de Munain, Director General of SpainNAB, who emphasized how the importance of impact investment is increasingly being adopted in government agendas such as Spain’s, especially the social impact and sustainability initiative of AXIS and the Grupo ICO in this case.
His intervention was followed by a networking session among the more than 100 attendees and the event’s speakers and organizers.
You can learn more about the Chair and its latest report here.
