December 2022

Welcome to Wealth, Power & Social Change, our quarterly LinkedIn newsletter about how we can create a more sustainable and equitable world together through philanthropy, impact investing, and ESG. 


What masterclass topics do you want to see from Lebec Consulting in 2023? 

We shared in our September issue that we celebrated two years at Lebec Consulting. As part of that celebration, we are looking to offer four masterclasses throughout 2023 – and we want your input!  

Please let us know by completing this one-minute survey.  Thanks!

We really enjoyed LinkedIn’s latest roundup on what to expect in the year ahead. Here are some additions on what we at Lebec Consulting expect to be the #bigideas2023. 

"We anticipate an exciting wave of world-changing women-owned and led start-ups, businesses, and emerging fund managers in emerging economies that are playing a vital role in creating climate-resilient communities and cities, responding to the unique consumer needs of 51% of the world’s population, and accelerating the transition to net zero. Expect to see an influx of highly innovative women-led businesses reimagining key industries such as agriculture, healthcare, fashion, and energy in emerging markets, and disrupting traditional business models and supply chain challenges.

Why? Because women in developing and emerging economies are on the frontlines of climate change."

Read More

Lebec Consulting has had a busy fourth quarter moderating panels and attending conferences in Guatemala, London, and New York, as well as joining many conversations via Zoom.

Guatemala

In partnership with Pro Mujer and Alterna, Lebec Consulting moderated three sessions at the GLI Forum LATAM and FLII CA&C conferences held in Antigua, Guatemala in November. The GLI LATAM 2022 forum is the first event in Latin America focused on promoting investment with a gender lens as an effective driver to advance equality and promote economic development in the region. This year, GLI joined forces with the FLII CA&C conference to hold an incredibly impactful week of panels and workshops. 

In between moderating panels (below), Alix attended events sponsored by Skoll Foundation, Wakami Guatemala, Pro Mujer and Alterna – all wonderful opportunities to see old friends, make new ones, and have inspiring conversations about the great progress and opportunity at the intersection of impact, gender equality, and economic inclusion.

Panels:

Women are the biggest emerging market opportunity in the world.”—Indra Nooyi, Former CEO of PepsiCo 

Women are leading the world in so many ways. It’s time we really invest in them. This includes women from emerging markets whose purpose-driven businesses are generating tremendous value for underserved consumers and communities around the world.

These companies are outperforming their peers, creating better workplaces for their employees, and driving real social impact alongside financial profit. With ESG set to become a $53 trillion industry by 2025, these women-led businesses represent a huge opportunity for an ESG market eager to avoid greenwashing and reach ambitious climate change targets. Alix led a panel that unpacked how we can address this and tap into what is a $1.7 trillion market opportunity. 

Panelists included: Carmen Correa from Pro Mujer, Carolina Garcia Jayaram from The Elevate Prize Foundation, Hector Mujica from Google, and Leonor Gutiérrez from Root Capital.

Finding Solutions for the Global Water Crisis

A clean water supply is the backbone of a healthy economy, but it is woefully under-prioritized globally. By 2025, two thirds of the world’s population will face extreme water scarcity.

Today, water infrastructure globally remains antiquated and has unnecessary carbon emissions, and neglects to reach the 2 billion+ people who still lack access to safe water and sanitation. Without solving for water, we cannot solve for gender inequality, climate, and education. And while women disproportionately bear brunt of this global crisis, they remain grossly underrepresented in decision-making roles across the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) labor force in developing countries and across financial leadership roles worldwide. With only 1.9% of commercial finance reaching water infrastructure and development assistance falling short by $100 billion a year to achieve universal access to water by 2030, the time to double down on women, catalytic philanthropy, impact investment, and stronger government policies has never been greater.

Panelists included: Sarah Evans from Well Beyond, Jimena Ortega Flores from Water.org, Elizabeth Ellis from iDE (International Development Enterprises) and, Elisa Colom from Global Communities.

What is the Future of Venture Capital and Impact Investing? Where are the Women? 

The global impact investing market has topped $1 trillion, according to the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN). Meanwhile, the global venture capital industry is set to reach $130 billion by 2023. And yet risk aversion and the lack of investment capital targeting opportunities across the risk, return, and impact spectrum continues to hinder the industry’s ability to accelerate progress towards net-zero and reducing inequality.

The global pandemic, war in Ukraine, disrupted supply chains, and the lack of diverse and gender-balanced leadership are holding financial markets and society back. Today, women represent only 14% of leadership at global financial institutions. Only 2% of venture capital goes to women-owned and led businesses. This gender inequality in finance is a global problem that limits not only women's financial opportunities but also their potential to influence a better future for the planet. If women were to invest at the same rate as men, there would potentially be an additional $1.870 trillion dedicated to responsible and impact investing. How do we bridge these gaps in critical regions, including Central and Latin America, to ensure significantly more capital reaches the diverse founders, organizations, and social innovations creating value for all people?  

Thank you to the leaders who participated in the closing panel with Alix: Marcie Cook - Population Services International, Michael Hokenson - Community Investment Management, Lia Gonzalez - Incofin Investment Management, and Maryam Khosharay - U.S. International Development Finance Corporation

London

Rafia Qureshi, Lebec's Chief Strategy Officer, Europe, attended the GenderSmart Summit in London. Below is her reflection on the impactful event:

Rafia with Susan McPherson | CEO, McPherson Strategies | Lebec Consulting Strategic Advisory Board Member

After nearly three years of not going to any conferences, the GenderSmart summit (DATES) was the perfect way to get back into the circuit discussing key issues such as #inequality and #climatechange and how #genderlensinvesting can provide some of the solutions we need. Ending the week back at Lebec Consulting with some hopeful reflections: 

Rafia with Susan McPherson | CEO, McPherson Strategies | Lebec Consulting Strategic Advisory Board Member

ONE. We have all the #data we need. Let’s start using it properly to tell the stories of the phenomenal women shifting barriers on a daily basis. Especially the stories of those women and people that are on the front lines, building solutions to some of the biggest challenges humanity is faced with today.   

TWO. #power. It’s a big word. Let’s not be afraid to use the power we have. Let’s lean into this power and instead of asking for a seat at the table – let’s take the seat that’s not only rightfully, but evidently, ours. Data shows that women-led companies performed 63 percent better than all-male founding teams. Data shows that women-led teams generate a 35 percent higher return on investment than all-male teams. Let’s use our power to, finally, stop building the case for investing in women because the data already makes this crystal clear. 

THREE. As per the ever-wise Laurie J Spengler, “the future is not carved in stone.” Despite the fact that today, in some aspects such as #climatechange, it feels like we are going backwards rather than forward. Let’s remember that in life, sometimes you may have to go backwards in order to go forward. Let’s leap forward with that approach today – an approach of hope – because we have all we need – the data, the brain power, and the will power, to shape a better future for our children and the world.  

Massive thanks again to Suzanne Biegel for her leadership and to the entire GenderSmart team for a phenomenal gathering. Amazing to be in the company of inspiring leaders Sana Kapadia Lisa Witter Bonnie Chiu Leah Pedersen Susan McPherson Jen Braswell Grégorie Muhr Kalsoom Lakhani Sarah Mathies and so many more! 

And a warm welcome to the newly merged 2X Global bringing together the power of GenderSmart and 2X Collaborative, under the leadership of Jessica Espinoza, to push forward the gender smart deployment of capital across asset classes and markets. #tractiontotransformation #gstransform 

Rafia with Suzanne Biegel | Co-Founder, GenderSmart

Rafia with Suzanne Biegel | Co-Founder, GenderSmart

Rafia with Leah Pedersen | Senior Director, Convergence

New York

Katie Orr, Lebe's COO and Head of ESG, moderated at panel at the 9th Annual Real Estate Global Forum in New York. Her reflections are shared below:

At the 9th Annual Real Estate Global Forum in New York, I moderated a panel of dynamic women in commercial real estate - who discussed how women remain greatly underrepresented on C-suites, boards, and leadership teams, despite a wealth of data that suggests they perform better, on average than their male counterparts. We spoke about the barriers, why they exist, and how we can overcome them to elevate women in CRE. Heather Fernstrom Border, Co-Founder of Alliance Global Advisors - and a strategic partner of Lebec Consulting - was one of the dynamic women on the panel. It was incredible to be in conversation with these women. And I would be remiss to not mention that this panel was all women, which was really powerful to be a part of.

Over the past few months, the Lebec Consulting team has been busy writing about these possibilities at the intersection of ESG, impact investing, and philanthropy in the Thrive Global, Business Insider India, Infrastructure Investor, Real Leaders and more. To browse all our past articles, click here.  

Lebec Consulting is fortunate to work with many incredible people and organizations, and there has been much to celebrate on their behalf. Below we share exciting updates and publications from the leaders in our ecosystem:

Yasmina Zaidman | Chief Development and Partnerships Officer | Acumen

READ: European community of investors, corporations, and philanthropists speak the languages of impact in Brussels | Yasmina Zaidman | Alliance

"While debates were welcomed at the Summit, there was a pervasive sense that groups that have so often been siloed need to come together, whether in blending capital, sharing expertise, or creating more unified voices around regulatory change. For this to happen people need to speak multiple languages. And I don’t mean French, Italian, and English, though I heard all of those and more at the summit, including Armenian! I mean the languages of impact, finance, business, and policy. The strength of the EVPA community is in its diversity but the joy of this community is in the shared sense of purpose."

Hector Mujica | Head of Economic Opportunity, Americas | Google.org

READ: An Immigrant and Google.org Official Finds Finds a Home in Giving Circles | The Chronicle of Philanthropy

“In my experience, philanthropy is not something that’s exclusive to people that are high net worth, that are of a certain background, or age, or gender, or racial group. It’s really something that that’s within reach for anyone,” [Hector Mujica] says. “The intent is really about the opportunity to show grace to people on the margins. I think there’s something uniquely powerful about giving back.”

READ: Beyond Capital Ventures Announces Groundbreaking Final Close of Venture Fund

"Beyond Capital Ventures (BCV) is pleased to announce the final closing of its emerging markets venture capital fund, bringing 2022 to a momentous conclusion. Beyond Capital Ventures launched on April 30, 2021 to invest in early-stage companies in India and East Africa in “need-to-have” sectors such as healthcare, climate adaptation, and fintech, helmed by conscious leaders."

READ: Inclusion Pays: The Returns On Investing In Women In Agriculture | Root Capital

The business case for women’s leadership is clear. But little data exists on small and growing enterprises, especially in emerging economies. Even less data is available on the agricultural industry—a sector that 2.5 billion people globally depend on for their livelihoods, and one in which women receive only 7% of total investment. 

Through an analysis of 10 years of Root Capital’s global data, Inclusion Pays: The Returns on Investing in Women in Agriculture sheds new light on the benefits—to women, businesses, and investors—of investing in women in agriculture.

EDWARD BERTHELOT—GC IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES

READ: Adidas dropping Ye after anti-Semitic remarks is accountability culture in action—leadership that requires all of us | Ellen McGirt | Fortune

"But we should also talk about what it would take to for society to manage the impulse to be entertained by toxic figures while normalizing the enormous harms they breezily inflict just because they’re rich and famous."

Eve Rodsky - transformed a “blueberries breakdown” into a catalyst for social change when she applied her Harvard trained background in organizational management to ask the simple yet profound question: What would happen if we treated our homes as our most important organizations? Her New York Times bestselling book and Reese’s Book Club Pick, Fair Play, a gamified life-management system that helps partners rebalance their domestic workload and reimagine their relationship, has elevated the cultural conversation about the value of unpaid labor and care. In her highly anticipated follow-up, Find Your Unicorn Space: Reclaim Your Creative Life in a Too-Busy World, Rodsky explores the cross-section between the science of creativity, productivity, and resilience. Described as the ‘antidote to physical, mental and emotional burnout,’ Rodsky aims to inspire a new narrative around the equality of time and the individual right to personal time choice that influences sustainable and lasting change on a policy level. 

Rania Anderson - is an international keynote speaker, executive coach of 25 years, Founder of TheWayWoMenWork.com, and author of two ground-breaking books: WE: Men, Women & The Decisive Formula for Winning at Work; and UNDETERRED: The Six Success Habits of Women in Emerging Economies. She is originally from the Middle East and has lived, traveled, and worked all over the world. Her own corporate career and experience as an immigrant and woman of color have contributed to her unique perspective and clear, actionable advice for her clients, like PepsiCo, Bank of America, and Harvard Business School, among others

About Lebec Consulting  

Lebec Consulting is a women-owned and led company working across philanthropy, impact investing, and ESG. We help clients break with conventionality and think outside the box to achieve their greatest social impact. With over two decades of experience, Lebec supports clients with their strategy, core messaging, and leveraging every tool in the capital toolbox. With our community of partners and clients, we are ecosystem builders, co-creators, disruptors, collaborators, and storytellers.

Lebec-Consulting.com | Meet the Lebec Consulting Team

Watch season one of our show, Women+ We’ve Been Waiting For: Conversations on Wealth, Power & Social Change with Alix Lebec on YouTube!