B for Good Leaders, transformative leadership driving global change.

Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in the B for Good Leaders Summit in Amsterdam. It was an inspiring and transformative experience, that encouraged a strong sense of community and purpose, emphasizing the power of collective action in addressing the most urgent global challenges. Here are some of the concepts that resonated with me the most:    

To seed and embrace moral ambition 

Rutger Bregman hed light on the critical balance between personal responsibility and broader systemic change, urging us to think beyond our own impacts and focus on how we can leverage our capital, careers, and precious time to drive significant change.  

Therefore, the concept of moral ambition emerged. While individual actions such as reducing our carbon footprints are commendable, they alone are not sufficient to drive significant change. We must leverage our resources, careers, and precious time to make a bigger impact.  

Achieving practical victories is crucial. It is not enough to merely be morally correct; we need to achieve tangible successes for those suffering today. This requires relentless prioritization in a world full of challenges.  

Through the story of Thomas Clarkson, founder of the British Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in 1787, he highlighted the vital role entrepreneurs play in driving social change. They possess the unique ability to build, scale, and find solutions to pressing issues. Today, as we face our own set of moral challenges, we must ask ourselves: What does moral ambition mean in our lives? How can we redefine success to create legacies that truly matter?  

Finance for Change: A Journey of Innovation and Adaptation 

The evolution of finance within the economy was one of the most relevant topics was. Shiva Dustdar, Gunter Fischer and Cyrill Gouffies shared their experiences from their European Investment Bank moving towards innovative financing solutions, facilitated by a program with the European Commission, which provided capital to share the risk, understating that existing financing models were inadequate for innovative companies lacking traditional cash flows. This led to the development of new financial products, such as paying in kind and compounding interest, to accommodate the unique needs of these companies and the introduction of warrants to share upside potential and mitigate high risks associated with loans. Finance can be a powerful tool for driving positive change, even in the face of significant challenges and uncertainties. 

I applaud all initiatives that aim to finance innovation, as I firmly believe that innovation is one of the key ingredient to scaling solutions that can help address the world's main challenges. However, it is clear to me that this is only the beginning of the journey towards a complete reconstruction of the financial system. We need a system that fosters a culture of financial literacy and self-empowerment, encouraging individuals and businesses to take control of their financial decisions and assets and, overall, promoting a decentralized finance to build a more resilient and inclusive financial ecosystem, capable of supporting sustainable economic growth and development. 

We held a fantastic conversation with Satish Kumar, who explained us the importance of learning from the nature economy, to live the present moment and to embrace our obstacles as part of our challenges and an opportunity to prove ourselves. 

Empowering Systemic Change Through Committed Collaboration: R.I.T.A 

Pedro Tarak gave a wonderful testimony on his experience with Guayaqui, and the importance of the relational infrastructure, and how this creation and nurturing  of networks of trust and collaboration can enable communities and organizations to work together more effectively. This infrastructure, built by means of forming strong, long-term relationships among stakeholders, fostering open communication, and ensuring that all voices are heard and valued, crucial for addressing complex social issues and achieving systemic change. 

As one of the main outcomes of this concept, we discussed about the promotion of the Regional Impact Trade Alliance (R.I.T.A.), a global alliance of cities and regions that aims to realign international trade with the needs of humanity and the planet, promoting international peace, collaboration, and the development of new economies to address social and environmental issues. We decided to put our efforts and resources together to work towards this purpose. Beta Impacto will be definitely involved in this amazing initiative.

Many thanks to Marcello Palazzi , Leen Zevenbergen and the entire community of #BforGoodLeaders for their incredible hard work.  be achieved when dedicated individuals unite to transform the world through the power of business.