Transforming the Social Finance sector in Brazil

In 2019, SITAWI has grown more than ever before. We ended the year with 50 employees in our team and a record number of activities and impact. We have welcomed two new members to our consultative board, reaching the number of 7 council members. Since the beginning of SITAWI, we have supported 132 organizations and mobilized R$40 million towards positive social and environmental impact.

The Sustainable Finance program has executed 115 projects in 2019, which represents a growth of 77%. With 26 professionals, it remains the largest research and consulting practice in Sustainable Finance in Latin America. Alongside SITAWI, three of our collaborators were recognized in the Top 10 in 8 categories by the Independent Research in Responsible Investment – IRRI 2019. With the support of Instituto Clima e Sociedade (iCS), we launched the IPC - Investors for the Climate (Investidores pelo Clima), an initiative that aims to engage and prepare local professional investors to make strides in decarbonizing their portfolios. We released 4 publications, among which “Implementing the TCFD Recommendations: a Roadmap for the Brazilian Baking Sector.” Our team spoke at almost 30 events around the world, such as the UN Climate Change Conference, panel discussions by the UN, congresses of the financial and capital markets - even going as far the University of Oxford. 

We consolidated our expansion in Latin America with projects and events in 10 different countries, among which Colombia, Mexico, El Salvador and Panama. From January 2020 onwards, we will also be operating from a new SITAWI base in Bogotá, Colombia.

On the other hand, in the Social Finance program, we are still Brazil’s most active impact investor. The Impact Investment area has surpassed the mark of 50 transactions made, supporting over 30 organisations through financial mechanisms such as SITAWI’s Plataforma de Empréstimo Coletivo, launched with the support of Instituto Sabin. R$1,5 million were raised less than two months after the announcement of its first business round. The second round, which will be focused on impact businesses in the Amazon, will be available soon. The Territorial Programs and Philanthropic Funds area has completed an important year in the management of Médio Juruá Territory Program, executed with the support of USAID, Natura and Coca-Cola Brasil, directly impacting over 3.000 people. Seven new philanthropic funds have joined our portfolio, such as MatchFunding BNDES+ Patrimônio Cultural and Facebook Surdos que Ouvem, totaling 15 philanthropic funds managed over the course of 2019. Furthermore, we have launched SITAWI’s first Call for Social Impact Bonds Initiatives with the support of FAPERJ.

And we didn’t stop there! SITAWI has also organised three large institutional events throughout the year: Our 2nd Finance for Good Seminar, out 3rd Wine Auction and our 7th Annual Dinner. The seminar was attended by 32 national and international speakers and an audience of over 280 participants, representing 186 organisations, including companies, nonprofit organisations, impact businesses and the government. After the event, we launched two audiovisual products: our Webseries 2.0, which addresses topics such as Blended Finance and Portfolio Decarbonization and our podcast, which gathers the recordings of five panel discussions from the event, with the participation of 20 specialists.

We thank all of our partners, our staff, our supporters and our clients who continue to move forward with us on this journey and who believe in Finance for Good. 

There is more to come in 2020. Our team will keep of growing (we are hiring!), alongside our impact. 

Come along!