First conference was "a triumph"

"A triumph"... "One of the best conferences I have ever been to"... "I cried twice" (!)... Our ground breaking multi agency central London day conference was a resounding success.  

The event was a TEN initiave and jointly hosted with Christian Aid Salt Network; Angello; Openwell and Transformational SME.  Delegates were mainly those in business and wanting to explore further how enterprise could be used in the fight against poverty, while building dignity and without creating dependency. NGOs seeking enterprise solutions to poverty also attended.

The five partners are all organisations supporting enterprise solutions to poverty. Our aim was to inspire, equip and connect Christians with a business background (entrepreneurs, investors, advisors) so that they are better able to use their skills, experience and networks to alleviate poverty. 

The event took place on 14 June in the main hall at 10 Union St, London SE1 1SZ (near London Bridge). It was an inspiring and action oriented day.

It began with a welcome from The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, by video. The video can be viewed here.  

International impact entrepreneur and investor Dr Kim Tan gave a Biblically based keynote talk, drawing on principles of Jubilee and describing some of the extraordinary impact investments he has been involved in: the Kuzuko Game Reserve and lodge; the Agape prison call centre in Changi Prison, Singapore; the 5200 hectare Spekboom Reforestation and many others.

Five case studies - stories from entrepreneurs from around the world - gave much food for thought:

• Digital social enterprise in Uganda: Emmanuel Trinity, era92 Group 
• Eco cattle rearing, Mongolia: Pat Amboule, XR
• Micro loans in Malawi: Tamanda Liyao, Christian Aid 
• Creating city centre charitable space in the UK: Patrick McDonald, Openwell
• Creating 250,000 micro businesses in Kenya: Kennedy Ojunju, Grace Development Foundation.

Before lunch, delegates participated in a "Hackathon" facilitated by Samuel Williams, Private Sector Development Lead, Christian Aid, loking at a real issue around a honey business in Kenya. 

After an excellent lunch, Jo Plummer from on Business as Mission was interviewed by  Jeremy Matheson, Transformational SME; and Ezechiel Hatungimana, a serial entrepreneur with a big vision for Burundi, was interviewed by Jerry Marshall.

Finally, a panel gave "stories of personal engagement" to illustrate the ways delegates to be involved or more involved in finding enterprise solutions to poverty. 

The plenary was led be Paul Lindsay, Angello; closing Q&A by Jeremy Matheson; and the event closed by Alex Lloyd Davies, Openwell.

We are grateful for the support of our event sponsor. Bates Wells is a truly purpose-driven law firm and the first in the UK to become a B Corp. Do look at their website to understand the ways in which they support individuals, organisations and businesses in the impact economy and beyond.