The Responsible Finance & Investment Summit (RFI Summit) is an initiative of the RFI Foundation and Swiss Arab Network to build awareness of shared values that can bring socially responsible investing (SRI), environmental, social and governance (ESG) and Islamic finance together to increase their positive impact. This Responsible Finance & Investment Summit brings together key stakeholders within responsible finance to build connections to new growth opportunities and more measurable impact. The RFI Summit will play a vital role in connecting representatives from across the responsible finance industry to build on the growing cooperation between SRI, ESG and Islamic finance.
OBJECTIVES
SUMMIT PILLARS
In panel discussions, interactive sessions and through participant contributions, we will focus on the five pillars of the Responsible Finance & Investment Summit
Benefits from responsible finance
Address shared values to build bridges between responsible investment & faith-based finance
Responsible investment principles already touch one-third of global financial assets
Attracting responsible finance
Building on efforts in Europe and the Middle East where different forms of responsible finance are reaching critical mass
90% of responsible investment assets are located in developed markets
Measuring the impact
Increase the quantity and quality of social impact data
Target data which is financially material and useful for asset owners
Sharing the benefits
Support effective approaches that are relevant in emerging and developed markets
Ensure the growth of responsible finance reaches beyond those who are bankable today
Broadening the base
The global Muslim population is 1.6 billion people, with a young demographic and a majority living in emerging markets
Emerging markets are expected to grow more than twice as fast as developed markets where growth is likely to stay under 2%.
SDG CHALLENGE
The RFI Foundation, in partnership with the Swiss Finance + Technology Association, Finocracy and the Responsible Finance & Investment (RFI) Summit partners, launched the Support Disruption for Good (SDG) Challenge to find the most promising ethical, responsible or Islamic FinTech innovation and connect them to the leading institutions in the responsible finance industry.
All applicants were judged against a transparent set of criteria by an independent judging panel drawn from across the responsible finance and FinTech industry. During the review process judges evaluated the ability of each entrant to effectively scale, contribute to financial inclusion, contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals while being financially sustainable.
The following three finalists were selected to present their innovation on 4 May 2017 during the RFI Summit in Zurich:
– Tez Financial Services
– Pintail
– AgriFunder
Delegates will cast the final vote to select the winning innovation. The winner of the SDG Challenge will have the chance to work closely with the judging panel as well as gain exposure during the Summit and have their story told to the wider responsible finance industry after the Summit ends.
SDG JUDGES
Dr. Rob Straw
Director of Education, Swiss Finance Institute & Expert
Global Fintech Association
Fawzia Naqvi
PROGRAMME
Conference Day 1
3rd May 2017 – Executive Sessions (with INCEIF)
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8:30 - 9:30 Arrival of participants
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9:30 - 9:35 Keynote remarks via video – Islamic finance and responsible finance— Tan Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz (Chairperson, Council of Advisors, RFI Foundation)
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9:35 - 10:15 “Building Bridges, Expanding Impact” - Islamic Finance, Sustainable, Responsible And Impact (SRI) Investments and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”
— State of Global SRI
— Islam and Islamic Finance
— Philosophy of Islamic Finance
— Prohibitions in Islamic Finance & Rationale behind the prohibitions
— Maqasid al Shariah, UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Responsible Finance
Daud Vicary Abdullah (President & CEO, INCEIF)
(Download Presentation) -
10:15 - 10:55 Islamic Finance as responsible finance— Norms of Islam that can support ‘responsibility’ in finance
— Building awareness with emphasis on shared values and similarities
— The role for regulation and institutions
— Outlining overall opportunities in the context of responsible investment
Stuart Hutton (CIO, Simply Ethical)
(Download Presentation) -
10:55 - 11:15 Tea break
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11:15 - 11:50 Islamic Impact Investing – The role of Awqaf— Innovative social financing in Islamic finance
— Benchmarking endowment impact investing against Islamic awqaf
— Case studies of innovative endowment models used for awqaf
Mr. Rafi-uddin Shikoh (CEO & Managing Director, Dinar Standard)
Mr. Tayyab Ahmed (Senior Associate, Dinar Standard)
(Request Presentation) -
11:50 - 12:30 Session 4 – Interactive session
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12:30 End of half-day Executive Sessions
FinTEthics – Bridging responsible finance through Ethical FinTech
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11:30 - 12:00 VIP and Sponsor’s reception
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12:00 - 13:30 VIP and Sponsor’s lunch
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13:30 - 14:00 Registration and reception
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14:00 – 14:10 Welcome Address & Ice Breaker
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14:10 - 14:15 Welcome Address
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14:15 - 14:45 Opening Remarks – Ethical FinTech perspectiveDr. Jarmo Kotilaine (Economist, Economic Development Board of Bahrain)
(Download Presentation) -
14:45 - 15:20 Session 1: FInclusion – Financing Impact for the Base of the Pyramid
— Moderator:
Mr. Stuart Hutton (CIO, Simply Ethical)
— Speakers:
Mr. Justin Sykes (Managing Director, Innovest Advisory)
Ms. Joann Enriquez (COO, Ethis Ventures & General-Secretary, Muslim Women Tech)
Mr. Arthur Wood (Founding Partner, Total Impact Capital) -
15:20 - 16:05 Session 2: FInclusion – ESG for the masses
— Moderator:
Mr. Kurt Lieberman (CEO, Magni Global Asset Management)
(Download Presentation)
— Speakers:
Dr. Philipp Aeby (CEO, RepRisk)
Ms. Stephanie Feigt (CEO & Founder, 3rd-eyes GmbH)
(Request Presentation) -
16:05 - 16:25 Networking and refreshment break
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16:25 - 17:10 Session 3: Regulatory Approach to FinTech
— Moderator:
Mr. Blake Goud (CEO, RFI Foundation)
— Speakers:
Mr. Christian Dreyer (CEO, CFA Society Switzerland)
Mr. Michael Gassner (Founder, IslamicFinance.de)
Mr. Johannes Engels (Banking Supervision, BaFin) -
17:10 - 17:55 Session 4: Incubating Responsible FinTech
— Moderator:
Ms. Amal Daraghmeh Masri (Chief Editor, Middle East Business)
— Speakers:
Mr. Omar Lahyani (General Partner, Alpha Omega Venture Partners)
Mr. Mohammed Raafi Hossain (CEO, Finocracy)
Dr. Boris Battistini (Partner, Metellus AG – Board Member, Swiss Finance + Technology Association) -
17:55 - 18:00 Outlook for the next day
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18:00 Flying Swiss & Arabic Dinner
Conference Day 2
4th May 2017 – Emerging convergence of SRI, ESG and Islamic Finance
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8:00 - 9:00 Registration and breakfast reception
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9:00 - 9:10 Welcome Address & Ice Breaker – Swiss Arab Network
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9:10 - 9:20 Welcome Address – RFI Foundation
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9:20 - 9:40 Keynote Address – H.E. Governor Kairat Kelimbetov, Governor of the Astana International Financial Centre
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9:40 - 9:45 Introduction by moderator about the universal appeal of responsible finance and how Islamic finance is built on similar values
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9:45 - 10:35 Session 1: Finding shared values in responsible finance
— Moderator:
Ms. Sabine Döbeli (CEO, Swiss Sustainable Finance)
— Speakers:
Mr. Hasan Al Jabri (CEO, SEDCO Capital)
Ms. Phyllis Costanza (CEO, UBS Optimus Fund)
Mr. Andrew Wold (Head of Official Institutions Client Strategy London & Sub-Advisory, State Street Global Advisors)
Dr. Jan Amrit Poser (Chief Strategist & Head Sustainability, Bank J. Safra Sarasin) -
10:35 - 10:55 Networking and refreshment break
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10:55 - 11:45 Session 2: Connecting ESG integration & faith-based investment
— Moderator:
Ms. Stella Cox, CBE (Managing Director, DDCAP Group)
— Speakers:
Mr. Andreas Feiner (Co-Founder & Head of ESG, Arabesque)
Mr. Abdulla Al Awar (CEO, Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre)
Mrs. Laurence Roth (Senior Policy Advisor, Financial Market Policy Section, State Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF), Federal Department of Finance, Switzerland) -
11:45 - 12:30 Session 3: Support Disruption for Good (SDG) Challenge
— Moderators:
Blake Goud (CEO, RFI Foundation)
Mr. Mohammed Raafi Hossain (CEO, Finocracy)
Dr. Boris Battistini (Board Member, Swiss Finance + Technology Association)
— Finalists:
Naureen Hyat, Business Head – Savings & Investments, Tez Financial Services (Download Presentation)
Chris Laurent, CMO & Head of Funding & Claire Vinçonneau-Perrot, Country Head, France and Francophonie, Pintail (Download Presentation)
Tanvir Uddin, Head of Operations, AgriFunder (Download Presentation) -
12:30 - 14:00 Lunch & Coffee break
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14:00 - 14:05 Introduction of Keynote Speaker
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14:05 - 14:30 Keynote Address 2: H.E. Ambassador Marc Bichler, Ambassador-at-Large for Climate Change & Human Rights (Luxembourg)
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14:30 - 15:00 Moderated Q&A: Addressing Environmental Impact in Ethical and Islamic Banking
— Moderator:
Dr. Tariqullah Khan (Professor of Islamic Finance, Hamad bin Khalifa University)
— Speakers:
Mr. Rafe Haneef (CEO, CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad)
Dr. Marcos Eguiguren (Executive Director, Global Alliance for Banking on Values) -
15:00 - 15:45 Session 4: Using the SDGs to guide responsible finance decision-making in Muslim majority countries
— Moderator:
Dr. Ingeborg Schumacher-Hummel (Board Member, Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen)
— Speakers:
Mr. Khaled Al Aboodi (CEO, ICD)
Mr. Ajay Madiwale (Senior Officer, Multilateral & IFI Partnerships)
Mr. Ray Soudah (Founding Partner and Chairman, MilleniumAssociates) -
15:45 - 16:30 Session 5: Financial inclusion & responsible finance
— Moderator:
Mr. Daud Vicary Abdullah (President & CEO, INCEIF)
— Confirmed Panelists:
Prof. Dr. Azmi Omar (Director General, IRTI)
Mr. Graham Burnside (Advisory Board Member, Islamic Finance Council UK)
Mr. Husain Benyounis (Secretary-General, New Zealand Awqaf) -
16:30 - 16:50 Networking and refreshment break
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16:50 - 17:35 Session 6: Do emerging market (EM) asset owners care about ESG?
— Moderator:
Mr. Sachin S Vankalas (Director, Operations & Sustainability, LuxFLAG)
— Speakers:
Mr. Ammar Radhi (Senior Business Manager, Thomson Reuters)
Mr. Fred Werneck (Advisor and Co-Founder, Clarmondial AG)
Mr. Maximillian Horster (Director, Financial Industry, South Pole Group)
Ms. Daniela Herrmann (Chairman & Founder, Topan AG)
(Download Presentation) -
17:35 - 18:15 Session 7: Unconference: Moving towards a shared language
— Moderator:
Blake Goud (CEO, RFI Foundation) -
18:15 - 18:30 Wrap-up / Q&A / Ceremony
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18:30 Flying Arabic & Swiss Dinner
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
H.E. Ambassador Marc Bichler
Ambassador-at-Large for Climate Change & Human Rights (Luxembourg)
Ministry of Foreign & European Affairs, Luxembourg
PANELISTS
Dr. Boris Battistini
Partner
Metellus AG & Board Member, Swiss Finance + Technology Association
Ajay Madiwale
Senior Officer Multilateral and IFI Partnerships
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
Laurence Roth
Senior Policy Advisor
Financial Market Policy Section State Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF) Federal Department of Finance, Switzerland
MEDIA
Our Partners for the Responsible Finance & Investment Summit
Sponsors
Partners
Why Attend?
The Responsible Finance & Investment Summit gives you an exclusive opportunity to engage with key leaders in responsible and faith-based finance gathered together to identify growth opportunities and strategies to deliver more impact. Here are the few important reasons to attend the summit.
- Become a part of the pioneering initiative to connect Islamic finance and ESG together to make the responsible finance industry more impactful.
- Learn from the global thoughts leaders in responsible and Islamic finance about the new trends in the industry, particularly in impact finance.
- Be the first to learn about initiatives from policy makers and regulators in the industry.
- Meet 200 other senior professionals in the industry who are interested in expanding connections within responsible finance markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
- Learn about new initiatives using technology to drive impact in responsible finance through the Support Disruption for Good Challenge which will recognize a new leader in enabling impact finance.
- Become a part of the critical conversations with a global audience via the social media and engage with others in the responsible finance industry.
- Have the opportunity to interact directly with thought leaders in panel discussions and in an open format where you can shape the way forward.
Who’s Attending?
In addition to the board of trustees of the RFI Foundation, the summit will be attended by:
- International business leaders in the responsible and Islamic finance industry
- Dignitaries, policy makers, regulators
- CIOs, economists, strategists, business specialists and professionals, mid-level management, business development managers, analysts.
- Leaders in rating, accounting and professional services
- Global thought leaders and experts in research
- Lawyers and legal experts
- Professors, academics and journalists