13 July 2017: On the sidelines of the 2017 session of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), UN officials, entrepreneurs, UN Member States, and other stakeholders discussed innovation and impact investment for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and highlighted different SDG innovative approaches.
The Permanent Mission of Armenia organized the meeting in collaboration with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) on 13 July 2017 at UN Headquarters in New York, US.
Cihan Sultanoğlu, UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), outlined the need to leverage more capital flows to support development objectives and to make innovation a central element of work, citing the relevance of UNDP innovation labs in various countries. She remarked that the “P” in UNDP should also be understood as “partnerships,” and noted the benefits of coordination within the UN to better manage data. She said SDGs 1 (no poverty), 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) and 17 (partnerships for the goals) are key, as their achievement will help meet all the other Goals.
Bradley Busetto, UNDP Resident Representative, Armenia, reported on the first Impact Investment for Development Summit 2017, saying it helped to spark new way of collaborating and doing business and brought together stakeholders. He noted the intent to host another such Summit in two years to assess progress, adding UNDP is exploring development of an impact investment fund in partnership with leading players in the impact investment world.
Panelists then shared examples of innovation and impact investment in Armenia, a country with an entrepreneurial culture, where business and governments are engaged and want to have an impact, according to Hans Wahl, INSEAD.
Armenia will host the first SDG innovation lab, with the support of UNDP and Stanford Change Labs, to explore how to convert the SDGs into concrete actions.
Alex Khachatryan, Center for Strategic Initiatives, Government of Armenia, said his government is exploring ways to change Armenian legislation to make impact investment more attractive. He reported that his country has designed a vision for Armenia 2030, and will host the first SDG innovation lab, with the support of UNDP and Stanford Change Labs, to explore how to convert the SDGs into concrete actions, including through impact investment.
Garo Armen, Chairman, Children of Armenia Fund, said the Fund seeks to empower Armenian youth in neglected rural villages. He stressed the importance of technologies and proficiency in English to connect the Armenia’s rural population with the global community, adding that Fund plans to build 20 smart centers in Armenia that will target 1,500,000 rural Armenians. He said the first smart center is being built in Lori province and its model is globally adaptable.
Souren Aloyan, Chairman and CEO, Dasaran Educational Program, presented Dasaran, an online school platform that connects all schools across Armenia, with a community of nearly one million users, including school children, parents, teachers, and principals. He also introduced the E-Stat Diagnostic Tool on Public Education (eSDT), an online statistical-analytical tool that aims to provide comprehensive insights into the school education system and allows for monitoring of public schools and education indicators throughout the country. He highlighted the contribution of these initiatives to SDG 4 (quality education) and 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure).
Marie Lou Papazian, CEO, Simonian Educational Foundation, presented the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies that provides free after-school programmes in Armenia and aims to build 21st century skills, along with competitive portfolios. She highlighted the importance of investing in teenagers as an investment in social impact. Papazian announced that Tumo is planning to develop teenage startups, which will allow for independence, creativity and competitiveness, and will be a “natural antidote” to immigration, corruption and other development obstacles in the country.
Participants then discussed global perspectives on innovation and impact investing. Banny Banerjee, Director, Stanford Change Labs, noted the need to scale up ways in which impact investment is done and to build capacity and work quickly on systems innovation and leadership.
Kevin Jones, Co-founder, Social Capital Markets (SOCAP), said investment metrics do not fit with the SDGs’ timeframe, explaining that investments are in “linear frames” instead of being part of “a more comprehensive framework.” Mika Pyykoö, Impact Investing, Sitra (Finnish Innovation Fund) reflected that the SDGs are a good framework to understand what is going on globally, but implementation requires increased specificity about what the Goals mean in practice.
The HLPF is taking place from 10-19 July 2017 in New York, US. [IISD Coverage of HLPF 2017] [Meeting Webpage] [HLPF 2017 Website] [UNDP Impact Investment Webpage] [IISD Sources]