IE UNIVERSITY AND IMPACT BRIDGE PROMOTE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND IMPACT INVESTMENT

MADRID, October 5, 2022.- IE University, through the IE Foundation, and Impact Bridge, promote quality academic research to contribute to the transformation of current social and environmental problems.

Both institutions held today the opening ceremony of the Impact Bridge-IE Chair in Social Entrepreneurship & Impact Investment at the IE Tower in front of more than 300 attendees.

The session, opened by Salvador Carmona, Rector of IE University, included a presentation by  Rachida Justo, PhD. director of the Chair; the co-founders of Impact Bridge, Arturo Benito (CEO) and Íñigo Serrats, CFA (Managing Partner) and top-level speakers on impact generation, including Tom Adams, co-founder of 60 Decibels; Osman Umar, founder of Nasco Feeding Minds; Saskia Bruysten, co-founder of Yunus social Business; Silvia Dorado, Professor at UMass Boston; Rebecca Eastmond, CEO of Greenwood Place and Isabela del Alcázar, Global Director of Sustainability at IE University.

Arturo Benito, CEO and co-founder of Impact Bridge: “The launch of this Chair is directly linked to our vision and values ​​since the birth of the company. For quality impact investing, it is critical to understand the complex societal changes taking place. The rigor and tools that the academic world offers us are essential for this.” 

The purpose of the Impact Bridge-IE Chair is to offer, through academic research, an innovative vision of entrepreneurship and investment, taking into account the latest trends in the field of impact. The research will be carried out along three main lines: the social and environmental challenges of the planet, the strategic and transformative potential of committed investors, and, finally, the measurement and integration of the impact with the generation of economic value.

The chair is led by Rachida Justo, PhD in Economics and Development and author of numerous articles published in prestigious academic journals such as the Journal of Business Ethics or Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. He has collaborated with various organizations, such as the OECD, the European Commission or the Spanish Ministry of Equality, among others.

Rachida Justo, PhD., director of the Chair: “The Chair aims to identify and examine the main challenges of social entrepreneurship and impact investing and, based on scientific evidence, propose innovative models and practical tools that help face these challenges . Our mission is to build a bridge between academia and practice to produce research that contributes to building a better world.”

This alliance between Impact Bridge, the IE Foundation and IE University shares the common goal of building a fairer and more sustainable world and demonstrates the commitment of both institutions to sustainability, social entrepreneurship and the generation of a positive impact.

IE University strives to improve the quality of education as a means to drive change and supports cutting-edge research that benefits society at large and the academic community.

Impact Bridge, a Spanish investment fund manager specialized in quality impact investment founded in 2018, invests in projects with an intentional, measurable and authentic social and environmental impact, with the mission of contributing to solving some of humanity’s most serious problems. It has a multidisciplinary team with extensive professional experience in impact investing globally.