The Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. (AKF USA) is proud to be a Community Partner for this year’s SOCAP12 Conference in San Francisco, October 1-4. The Social Capital Markets (SOCAP) annual conference connects leading global innovators — investors, foundations, and social entrepreneurs — to build market systems for social impact at the intersection of money and meaning.

Since its founding five years ago, SOCAP has become the largest and best respected platform for socially minded investors and entrepreneurs.  Aga Khan Foundation’s relationship with SOCAP’s organizers has grown since the 2010 conference, including a panel that showcased the Aga Khan Development Network’s work in urban and cultural development at the SOCAP: Designing the Future Conference in Malmo, Sweden.

For SOCAP12, AKF USA has arranged a panel titled “Growing Opportunity: How Low-Risk, High-Impact Deals Can Scale a Sector,” where executives from Calvert Foundation, The Heron Foundation, Morgan Stanley, and Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. will discuss achieving appropriate risk-return for impact investors. Investment advisors and private wealth managers who have traditionally sought to maximize financial returns have been hesitant to invest in the high-risk deals that characterize impact investing today, even if accompanied by large social benefits. The panel will discuss moves toward very low-risk investments that could generate a positive, if modest, rate of return and at the same time satisfy a desire for social returns.

With this, we are excited to embark on the next chapter of our blossoming relationship with SOCAP.