RFI Summit outlines a collaborative approach to create impact with “A New SRI”
The Responsible Finance & Investment Foundation and Swiss Arab Network are excited to provide an updated programme for the RFI Summit 2019, which will be held at Abu Dhabi Global Market on 29 April 2019. The RFI Summit will combine expert insights, real-world case studies, and participant input to discuss whether sustainable, responsible & Islamic finance can deliver more impact together.
The RFI Summit begins with a panel discussion featuring financial industry participants working to support a transition towards a low-carbon economy. Speakers will highlight the risks associated with financing unsustainable activities, as well as opportunities where financial institutions who focus on enabling the solutions can build a competitive advantage relative to their peers. Building on the panel discussion, the Summit will feature case studies from across banking, asset management and capital markets, including:
Expanded linkages between positive impact finance and Islamic finance, presented by Société Générale;
Prudent Ethical Investment developed by SEDCO Capital, which combines Shari’ah compliance and environmental, social and governance (ESG) screening for improved financial outcomes; and,
A pioneering social impact sukuk being issued by the International Federation for Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Islamic Development Bank.
The programme includes an opportunity to recognise the winners of the Support Disruption for Good Challenge, sponsored by DDCAP Group. The SDG Challenge identified three FinTech companies whose products demonstrate market traction and whose technology helps the financial sector to increase the scope and impact of its responsible finance activities.
Three winners of the SDG Challenge will receive their awards and the organiser will announce the highest scoring winner who will receive a cash prize and a fast-track opportunity with the Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF) Accelerator. All three winners will present their companies and how they are using the power of technology to improve capabilities within responsible finance.
The RFI Summit will be interactive and concludes after an ‘unconference’ session that will give participants the opportunity to weigh in on the future of responsible finance. During this final session, those present will discuss outcomes from the Summit as well as presenting recommendations from the pre-Summit roundtable on Strategic Philanthropy and Islamic Finance. These will be discussed to create the final recommendations of the RFI Summit 2019 to create “A New SRI” that brings together sustainable finance, responsible finance and Islamic finance to deliver more impact together.
Blake Goud, CEO of RFI Foundation commented: “The RFI Summit is designed to be interactive, and participant engagement is extremely important to create actionable outcomes. In line with this year’s theme, we will focus the Summit conclusions on creating “A New SRI” using all the tools that the finance sector has to work with including investing, financing, and philanthropy.”
Mounir Khouzami, Executive Board Member, Chairman of the Advisory Board and Co-Founder of Swiss Arab Network added: “Through open discussion, we can connect the insights from panel discussions, case studies and participants’ input into actionable conclusions. Together with the RFI Foundation, the Swiss Arab Network looks forward to kicking off a year of action after the Summit concludes.”
For more information about the RFI Summit, and to register, please visit www.rfisummit.org.
