Today, Said Business School at the University of Oxford and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) announced that they have teamed up to launch the Oxford Impact Investing Programme.
This initiative aims to bring together philanthropists, financial professionals, principals from impact investment funds, institutional investors, private investors, managers, advisors, and more from around the world to develop an advanced understanding of the impact investing field, as well as refine their impact investing strategy.
“The Kellogg Foundation could not be more pleased to join with one of the world’s leading business schools to enrich our foundation’s impact and to contribute our insights to the program. This program is a wonderful opportunity for two global leaders to collaborate and expand the field of impact investing,” said WKKF president and CEO, Sterling Speirn.
This program couldn’t come at a better time. Impact investing is estimated to be an emerging asset class with $1 trillion of invested capital over the next ten years. Plus, this year will be the Skoll World Forum’s 10th anniversary, which is a forum on social entrepreneurship held annually at the Said Business School. The first Oxford Impact Investing Programme will take place on April 13-16, directly following the Skoll World Forum which takes place on April 10-12.
During this four-and-a-half day program, participants will gain an understanding of venture capital, financial instruments, how to value loans, identifying how to exit projects, and how to measure the social impact of an investment and communicate returns on investment.
“This new program is created with 21st century business challenges in mind,” said Alex Nicholls, University of Oxford’s co-programme director. ”Our goal is to inspire participants to understand the complex system in which they find themselves with practical tools of doing deals that will result in significant social, environmental and financial change.”
According to a release, the program has attracted attendees from around the globe, including those from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, China, Malaysia, Russia, Georgia, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, the U.S. and the U.K.