Social Investments: Do You Invest Where There is a Need or an Opportunity?

Dear Kevin,

Perhaps it’s not appropriate to say but you look like a Californian Santa Claus bringing the dream of a good financial markets right from the Silicon Valley. You are either brave or foolish, but I like you.

Europeans are lazy and disillusioned. But your SOCAP Europe reminded them they don’t live on a island… or a fortress anymore.

Besides this I still wonder why we gathered in Amsterdam  this week. I don’t understand what we expect from social investments. Do we look for new opportuniteis for investment or new means to meet untackled needs?

3 hundres were convened in Amsterdam from across Europe and the US. Few from the rest of teh world.

3 days of intensive debates but little more than networking. Many young entrepreneurs were looking for investors to start or grow their enterprises. Few investors attended and there was little interests in such small scale iniatatives: too small too risky.

Don’t call me a marxist but social investments look catering for sensitive kids – fed with champagne and human rights – and retired business guys who feel the need to give back to society before departing for a better life.

All good intentions and nice little exceptions but far from the real needs of  society – especially the scale.

I was running this morning at Giardini Margherita, the Bologna’s public park in my home town in Italy and spotted a group of immigrants – I guess escaped from Northern Africa – squatting in the middle of the park.

I couldn’t resist from asking my self who hell would invest to do something with that guys – giving their dignity back and dropping opportunites for further clashes with citizens fed up with foreigners turning their home in a dump.

In my view a debate on social investments must address this kind of issues.

I have a double concern.  First of all,  such a debate leans on opportunities to attract capitals from mainstream financial markets rather than on priorities.

Secondly, it’s focused on financial and legal tools rather than how to promote a new mindset – a funny mix of innovation, risk-taking and partnership – for practitioners.

I guess this why I started such a crazy project as the international social innovation competition for Naples. It’s the right place to start a cultural and economic revolution. I hope you will join us!