Chinese philanthropists have joined hands to promote impact investing as the coronavirus outbreak rekindles awareness of the importance of sustainable development.
The China Global Philanthropy Institute recently set up a new impact investing division at its Global Philanthropy Leaders Club in Shenzhen, drawing 33 new members.
Many philanthropists and investors have realized the significance of impact investing amid the pandemic and decided to act
Ma Weihua, the institute’s chairman and former president of China Merchants Bank
The institution was founded by world philanthropists, including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and US billionaire investor Ray Dalio.
Ma Weihua, the institute’s chairman and former president of China Merchants Bank, said many philanthropists and investors have realized the significance of impact investing amid the pandemic and decided to act.
Impact investing — a term coined by the Rockefeller Foundation in
2007 — refers to investments made with the intention of generating positive,
measurable social and environmental effects alongside financial returns.
“The coronavirus outbreak is a warning from nature, and we must learn to respect nature,” said Fu Changbo, the institute’s associate president and a professor at Beijing Normal University’s School of Sociology.
He urged world philanthropists to make a systematic change to existing development models, using impact investment as a tool.
According to Fu, many members of the GPL Club have made contributions. Last month, Shenzhen-based Link Accessibility, founded by club member Fan Shiyuan, launched a mini program on WeChat to provide coronavirus-related information for people with visual disabilities.
The program is the only app of its kind on the mainland, benefiting more than 1 million visually impaired people, he said.
