« Impact businesses: combining social, environmental and financial profitability »: green entrepreneurship and finance.

On the theme: “Impact businesses: combining social, environmental, and financial profitability”, this conference, jointly organized by BNI Madagascar and WWF, was an opportunity to introduce and exchange views on socio-environmental impact entrepreneurship and green finance.
 
During her speech, Hahitantsoa Tokinirina Razafimahefa from the ministry of environment and sustainable development, underlines the importance of impact businesses: “Sustainable businesses have a significant source of opportunity for innovation, sustainable economic growth, and long-term value creation. But also, a significant responsibility to educate the market by raising consumer awareness so that their businesses can progress. As we are all aware that sustainable development depends on the harmonization of profitability, social and environmental considerations in all economic activities, such an event deserves to be supported and spread throughout the country”.
 
Four young Malagasy companies (Moli Company, Honey of Madagascar, STCV, and Vohitra Environnement), winners of the BNI Lovainjafy program, were able to present their business models, their relevance and the criteria that differentiate them from more traditional business models. For this emerging business model, the challenge lies in finding the right balance between financial and economic profit, and social equity and respect for the environment. Profits remain important, but must be sustainable, and their added value is created through socio-environmental criteria. Driven by their passion for nature, these entrepreneurs have embarked on a business that is both “green”, concerned with climate and biodiversity issues, and “inclusive”, where communities play a key role in value chains. All this, while guaranteeing sustainable financial profitability.
 
Getting started but how? New opportunities for social and impact entrepreneurs are emerging thanks to the rapid development of green and sustainable finance. For Barijaona Ramaholimihaso from BNI Madagascar: “Green finance doesn’t just apply at international level, but also on our own small scale, we need to act. That’s why we have started a process, though still limited, but we have managed to engage other private sector players, we hope to be able to improve things for our country”.
 
Speeches by the main technical and financial supporters, including BNI Madagascar, WWF and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, helped to enlighten the audience on the opportunities and challenges associated with financing impact projects. These supporting organizations and impact businesses form a dynamic ecosystem that must adapt to a changing socio-economic context, and where each has a role to play: as catalyst, facilitator and capacity builder for the private sector. The financial commitments for these private impact initiatives are mainly aimed at the global climate. And biodiversity conventions, in relation to which Madagascar still has more to do.
 
For Nanie Ratsifandrihamanana from WWF Madagascar, she reiterates the importance of this conference: “The world is engaged in a race to 2030, whether in the fight against climate change, the fight against biodiversity loss or the achievement of the sustainable development goals. In this race, the private sector and the financial sector have an essential role to play in accelerating the transition to a greener, fairer and more sustainable economy”.