How will EFSI Equity for Social Impact work in practice? How can VP/SI practitioners apply? What are the eligibility criteria? How do these innovative equity instruments complement the other funding instruments currently available to support their work? These and other questions will be at the core of EVPA’s 8th EU Webinar, gathering EU experts and VP/SI practitioners, and taking place on the 23rd of November 2016 (15:00 - 16:30 CET). Click for me details!
Since EVPA’s first webinar on how VP/SI practitioners can access EU funding, the European landscape has evolved significantly with the launch of the ‘European Fund for Strategic Investments’ (EFSI), also referred to as the ‘Juncker Plan’. EFSI is implemented by the European Investment Fund and offers a new set of equity instruments, called the "EFSI Equity for Social Impact", which are specifically designed to support social entrepreneurship and social impact investors.
Providing at least EUR 150m to social enterprises and sector social organisations which are located or active in EU Member States, EFSI Equity for Social Impact will directly target financial intermediaries linked to incubators, accelerators or incubation services, business angels supporting social enterprises in their early and expansion stages, as well as payment-by-results schemes targeting social enterprises and social sector organisations delivering social impact. Financial intermediaries are invited to express their interest to be part of this framework by 5 May 2018 (here).
Together with some key initiatives launched under the European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI), such as the EaSI Guarantee Financial Instrument whose capacity is to be doubled thanks to EFSI, as well as the Social Impact Accelerator (or SIA, a fund of funds managed by the EIF) or the European Social Innovation Competition, the new social impact pilots instruments launched under the EFSI Equity Product is yet another strong sign of the continued commitment of the EU to support social entrepreneurship.
How will EFSI Equity for Social Impact work in practice? What are the eligibility and application criteria? How do these innovative equity instruments complement other funding instruments currently available to support the work of VP/SI practitioners? These and other questions will be at the core of EVPA’s 8th EU Webinar, "EU Funding Update for VP/SI Practitioners - EFSI Social Impact".
Gathering key experts from the European Commission and the European Investment Fund, this session will take place on the 23rd of November 2016 (15:00 - 16:30 CET).
Shadin Viratham
Shadin is a policy officer at DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion in the unit responsible for the implementation of the EU's Social Business Initiative, including developing policy and EU-level financial instruments under the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI)
He has been working for the European Commission since 2015 and he specialises in instruments designed to improve access to finance for micro- and social enterprises, promoting job creation and boosting entrepreneurship opportunities for under-represented and vulnerable groups. Previously, he worked in management consulting, advising multinational corporations in diverse sectors including life sciences, healthcare and financial services.
Georgia Efremova
Georgia Efremova is a Policy Officer for Social Impact Investment at the European Commission, Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs, where she currently coordinates the work of the Directorate on EU policy development and financial instruments in the area of social investment, developed together with the EIB Group and other IFIs and contributing to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
This builds on her previous experience working with the United Nations Development Programme on area-based development and social inclusion in CEE. Georgia has also previously worked in the fields of urban policy and poverty reduction, CSR and finance. Her academic background includes studies in Economics (UIC Chicago), Political Science (CEU Budapest), and doctoral research in Social Anthropology (UCL London).
Yvette Go
Silvia Manca
Silvia Manca is responsible for the social impact programs within the Institutional Business Development team at the European Investment Fund (part of the European Investment Bank Group).
She joined the EIF in 2008 as a project manager, and she has been working in the design and implementation of new programs between EIF and other institutions to support access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, with a particular focus on microfinance, social entrepreneurship and impact investing.
Prior to joining EIF, Silvia held positions at State Street Bank. She holds a Master's degree in Economics and Management of Arts, Culture and Communication from Bocconi University in Milano, and studies in international management at the Copenhagen Business School (CBS).
Elinor de Pret
Elinor de Pret worked for EVPA from 2014 till June 2017 as Head of Policy, after almost ten years working in Public Affairs for the European Commission in China and with a consultancy in Brussels.
Being a Board member of a Belgian foundation focusing on education, Elinor is also involved in the first Belgian social impact bond and has been a member of the Belgian Ashoka Support Network since 2010. She holds a Master in Business Engineering (Namur) and in European Economics from the College of Europe (Bruges), attended the Oxford Impact Investing Executive Programme and completed the Certificate in Management of Social Enterprises at the ULg.
Simon Ott
Simon Ott joined the EVPA team as an intern in January 2016. He holds a Bachelor in Socioeconomics from Friedrich-Alexander Universität in Nürnberg, Germany and a Master in European Studies and International Relations from Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
Previously, he worked as a project assistant intern at the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in Geneva as well as in the project management of different international NGOs based in Ramallah and Rabat. He speaks German, French and English.