In my preview post to SoCap, I indicated that I was looking forward to understanding better how the demand side of impact investing was evolving. I was hoping to get a better understanding of how investors and intermediaries are collaborating to source and close deals, and how entrepreneurs are increasingly more (visible) about what their needs are.

Well, SoCap11 has not disappointed so far. Right from the first couple of pages of the program agenda, where Kevin Jones articulates his vision for SoCap11, it is clear that there is an enhanced focus on entrepreneurs.

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Join 1200 people from over 70 countries in Montreal, October 17^th -20^th who are activating the social and solidarity economy across Canada and globally. fiess2011,  is the International Forum on the Social and Solidarity Economy, that brings together those who collaborate with different levels of government to effect public policy for the benefit of the social economy.  

For Canadians, this is a great opportunity to take advantage of the world at our door.  You will want to be at fiess2011 if you are part of the non-profit, cooperative, social business or social entrepreneurship sectors, or if you are working towards changing the landscape of public policy towards social well-being and economic growth.  fies2011  takes networking to a new level with dedicated spaces and delegate meet-ups.    

This is Canada's premier event to connect with the people who are changing how we collectively address complex social and envrionmental issues of our time. Check out the program, workshops and field trips planned throughout the week.

I am looking forward to hearing from this impressive list of international and national guest presenters:

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CAIC extended a $50,000 loan to the La Siembra co-operative in 2001, which was fully repaid in 2008. The co-operative successfully executed its fair-trade cocoa marketing business and returned to CAIC in 2010 for another loan. For more details on the initial deal, read Part 1 of this post.

La Siembra’s product line is no longer limited to chocolate (although Camino remains the flagship product), and returned in 2010 for another loan to once again grow & expand operations to include more fair trade products.

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SocialFinance.ca is launching another series with this post, using case studies to illustrate how different models of social finance are being implemented in the social enterprise and nonprofit sectors. The aim is to highlight and provide evidence of successful applications of social finance.

Since 2001, the Canadian Alternative Investment Cooperative (CAIC) has made two loans to La Siembra Cooperative, a pioneer of Fair Trade Certified organic cocoa and sugar products in North America. The first loan, used for expanding the business, was fully repaid in 2008, and since then, CAIC has invested in La Siembra's growth and expansion once again. This is the first post of a two-part exploration of the successful relationship between CAIC and La Siembra.

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SocialFinance.ca produces a weekly round up featuring social finance related news, insights, job openings, and events. We source the content for these round ups from Twitter, an RSS reader, and directly from our community of social finance practitioners. Below is our round up for the week of August 2, 2011.

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