March 1-5, 2021 Circular Economy Week was organized with the cooperation of Business for Goals (B4G) and DCube Circular Economy Cooperative (DCube). Etkiyap Chair of the Executive Committee Şafak Müderrisgil participated as a speaker at the panel on Circular Economy Financing and Impact Investment, held on March 5, 2021, of the event, whose press support was undertaken by Dünya Newspaper. You can find the details of the program here.
In her speech, “Why did companies decide to be good and what is the potential for this transformation in the business world?” Answering the questions, Şafak Müderrisgil reminded the 2008 Global Crisis by looking at how new economic models emerged in order to evaluate this change that companies went through. Şafak Müderrisgil stated that the 2008 Global Crisis, which revealed the importance of risk management as well as financial profitability, led to the emergence of the concept of venture capital that would respond to the needs of technological initiatives, and gave her speech that the concepts of social and environmental impact, which started to develop since the 2000s, were introduced by the United Nations in 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. She continued by mentioning that by announcing her purpose, it became more visible and impact-oriented investments became a paradigm. “This paradigm shift has of course started to affect economies as well. A change in preference has begun to create a positive impact besides making a profit from the capital.” Şafak Müderrisgil added, “What is the potential of this transformation in the business world?” in response to the question:
“Due to Turkey’s geopolitical position, it reveals the advantage it has in the eyes of North Africa and the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Turkic Republics and OIC countries. Again, Islamic capital, which overlaps with the concept of impact investment, is considered as an important potential in the eyes of OIC countries. Investment areas that will enable the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals in the context of Turkey: refugees’ livelihood, women’s empowerment, financial inclusion, renewable energy, health technology.”
Şafak Müderrisgil emphasized the importance of measuring the impact of the investment and said that Impact Investments should be an investment subject in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, which are three important elements, that the intention to create impact is formed at the very beginning of the investment, and that it is included in the entire investment strategy, including feasibility, and that the impact is measured from the very beginning of the investment. Şafak Müderrisgil stated that impact measurement transforms the measured social or environmental impact into an economic value and ensures that that investment or project is scalable.
