Vatican Conference examines how impact investing can serve the poor

(Vatican Radio)  A two-day symposium in the Vatican this week is examining  “impact” investing and how it can serve the poor.  Entitled “Investing for the Poor”, the conference (from June 16-17) is being jointly sponsored by the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, Catholic Relief Services and the Mendoza College of Business from the University of Notre Dame.  The conference is an opportunity to learn core concepts of impact investing, to discuss how it aligns with Church mission and to discern how the Church might use or promote impact investing to serve the poor.

Pope Francis has called on the global community to find ways to use money to serve people.  The term “impact” investing  describes investments made with the intention to generate measurable  social and environmental impact alongside financial return and holds great promise as a tool to serve the poor.  By unlocking significant amounts of private capital to complement public resources and charitable donations, impact investing presents the opportunity to utilize market-based solutions to foster social justice and to help solve global challenges such as sustainable agriculture, affordable housing, accessible healthcare, clean energy and financial services for the poor.