Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms are programmed to feed you content based on your interests, hobbies, patterns, and searches. If you spend more than 10 seconds on a reel of a monkey doing something funny, you will coincidentally - and endlessly - see more funny monkey content. If you haven’t yet disabled your microphone in these apps, simply talking about a trip to Italy or a craving for a specific food will almost instantly trigger a wave of related offers and promotions in your feed. This robot, also known as an artificial intelligence algorithm, has been labelled a major threat by many. However, I dare to say that you reap what you sow.
Those who know me are aware that if you wind me up, I take off - especially when it comes to innovation and social impact. Fortunately, during one of those nights of "thumb exercise" or perhaps in one of those long and intense conversations with many of you, "Saint" algorithm heard me... and an offer appeared: "Impact Investing Programme at Oxford, Scholarships available, apply now."
A few weeks later, I submitted my application, thinking, "If it works out, I’ll figure it out. If not, at least I gave it my best shot." The scholarship covered 50%, and the course was in person. Even with the scholarship, the investment was significant. But the thought that earning it was a form of recognition motivated me (at least, I liked to imagine it that way rather than as a recruitment or sales strategy), and it made me feel responsible for continuing the process.
After a couple of months, I received an email inviting me to an interview. My blood drained to my feet, and I thought, "This is about to get real."
Fifty participants from around the world gathered alongside a team of ten facilitators, also from diverse regions - including Mexico. Notably, Laura Ortiz, co-founder of SVX Mexico and Regenera Ventures, and Maria Jose Espinoza, director of COBI (Comunidad y Biodiversidad, A.C.), were part of the faculty.
Prior to the in-person sessions, we were assigned preparatory readings, including articles, reports, case studies, and a book. The week itself followed an intensive schedule, starting at 8:30 AM and ending at 6:30 PM, with instructors presenting key topics, assigning additional readings, discussing case studies, and leading deep-dive discussions in teams.
Throughout the programme and its content, I encountered many concepts - some new and others renewed. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect was hearing the stories behind how certain concepts were developed, as shared by instructors with over 20 years of experience in the field.
Throughout the programme, we engaged in dialogue with individuals from different countries, roles, and perspectives. For the most part, the prevailing approach was "impact first." However, at the end of all discussions, we always returned to the dilemma of creating sustainable models for investors. But what truly drives impact investing? A new opportunity for generating financial returns, or a profound transformation in social conditions that allows us to live for many more years?
I believe that each person responds according to their respective priorities. If their focus is financial returns, the models will prioritize that indicator; if the focus is philanthropic, the models will prioritize other indicators. However, within impact investing, the opportunity to generate new values is promising and seeks a balance between social and financial returns.
Recently, I heard someone say that, at times, it is important and vital to "sacrifice" profits for the common good. I couldn’t help but feel conflicted.
If this has been our ability to create abundance for a few, I have no doubt that we have the capacity to recreate the system, transcend the disintegration of sectors, and recognize ourselves as gears in a value chain that has people, their dignity, and their rights at both the beginning and the end.
All leadership must be social, all investment must be impactful; the fact that some leaderships and some investments intentionally target systemic impact does make them different and complex, but it doesn’t make them unique. The moment we all adopt or normalize social consciousness - thinking not only about the footprint we leave but also the one that comes to us, the one that accompanies us, and the one we unknowingly provoke - is when we can catapult positive social transformation and awaken to a world that gives far more than what we ask of it, for a long time, for all people.
Let’s rethink and recalibrate the credentials we ask for with trust and investment; let’s not wait for extraordinary leaders with extraordinary projects to come to us. Let’s extraordinarily train leaders, stimulate creativity extraordinarily, learn extraordinarily with each iteration, dream while awake, and maybe when we sleep, we can finally rest knowing that we have been extraordinary, one day at a time.
Find out more about the Oxford Impact Investing Programme
