Lecture in the framework of the public lecture series Social Enterprise and Social Innovation
Social enterprises and social purpose investment vehicles promise that entrepreneurial and often for-profit structures can positively address the social and ecological challenges of society. Yet economic activity is in practice strongly influenced by norms and comparison. For example, financial reporting follows global norms allowing an educated reader to compare a balance sheet of a coal based electricity company in Brazil to a solar based renewable energy business in India. So what are the norms and references for impact measurement and social performance and how are these implemented in practice? The lecture will propose a framework and explore a concrete case: The Social Performance Report of the Luxembourg Microfinance and Development Fund.
Kaspar Wansleben is the Managing Director of the Luxembourg Microfinance and Development Fund (LMDF). Before joining LMDF, Kaspar has been involved in microfinance since 2006 as a member of the credit committee of the finance program of MFIs: LUXMINT, managed by ADA. He also worked at the Intenational Labour Organisation (2002) and at PlanetRating (2004). Kaspar is a visiting lecturer at the University of Luxembourg on social entrepreneurship and was a board member of MFX Solutions Inc, the provider of currency risk solutions to the microfinance sector for 5 years. He is chartered accountant and joined KPMG in 2005 where he was specialized during 6 years in the industrial and financial sectors as advisor in finance and auditor. He graduated in Business and Finance from the Euromed in Marseille and the University of Bremen. He is of German nationality and has lived in many Asian countries.
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The lecture series ‘Social Enterprise and Social Innovation’ explores social innovation and social enterprise as approach to address environmental and social challenges of sustainability. Diverse legal, financial and business models, and stakeholder relations aspects are discussed. One overarching theme is defining, measuring and reporting on the common good and sustainable value creation in a pluralist society.