Providing you with an overview of our current activities and what we expect to be doing next.
Impact 2030
In 2016 we were involved in the launch of IMPACT2030, a private initiative, supported by the UN, promoting the SDG 2030 Goals through corporate social responsibility and volunteering. IMPACT2030 has over the past years launched the so-called Impact Council in Oceania, Middle East and Europe. The first Latin America Impact Council will now be launched in Colombia. As a space where the private sector addresses sustainable development gaps through volunteering. Impact2030 holds their annual meeting at the UNGA in September.
Social Impact Bond
In 2018 we were one of the advisors to the first Social Impact Bond (’SIB’) launched in Colombia by the Fundacion Corona. The focus of the SIB was to formalize youth employment in the city of Bogota. A subsequent pilot was also conducted in the city of Cali.
Advocacy
In 2018 The BC.lab was involved in the launch of the Concordia Innovative Finance Council where we convene leaders from both Private and Public sector through action oriented discussion platforms covering a wide variety of policy areas where the use of innovative finance instruments is the common denominator.
Food Security
Since 2018, and with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we have been working on building an alternative delivery model for healthy and affordable foods for vulnerable communities in Cali, Colombia. Coomacovalle is a grassroots cooperative of 500 community mothers who are delivering Early Childhood Development services to over 10,000 children ( and their families) in Aguablanca, one of the most vulnerable districts in the city of Cali. We are currently preparing to scale the existing model to other cities in the country.
Peace
In 2019 we worked with One Earth Future Foundation and their Colombian program, PASO Colombia, whose work is focussed on building alternative rural schools for IDRs, ex-FARC members and local vulnerable communities, in an effort to build sustainable peace through governance. The BC.lab has been working on building awareness, attracting stakeholders and investigating alternatives to achieve long term program sustainability. For that purpose we brought together different stakeholders (ie. Venezuela Life Aid) in their Saravena project. Currently PASO Colombia is working closely together with the Colombian Peace Fund to implement illicit crops replacement programs with local farmer collectives.
Ecosystem Building
Together with Behold International we have been involved in the Climate Launchpad competition from the first year, 2019, in Colombia. In 2020 we launched the Cleantech HUB Cali as a way to aggregate the different actors in the city and the region around Climate Action. The ClimateLaunchpad competition (as well as the Climathon) serve to mobilize grassroots initiatives and ideas as well activate local government and private sector around the topic of Climate. We aim to bring at the table the different climate initiatives and apply systems thinking under the premise of addressing Global Challenges through Local Action. As from 2021, Gideon Blaauw will take over as the National Lead for ClimateLaunchpad Colombia from Jop Blom.
Innovative Finance
Luc Lapointe and Gideon Blaauw are both members of the Impact & Sustainable Finance Faculty Consortium. Both currently teach Innovative Finance at the Javeriana University of Bogota.