What's in this episode?

You know all those campaigns to divest out of fossil fuel investments and the huge positive impact this has for new ecosystems around climate change? Well, imagine if educational charities took the same approach by pro-actively investing their funds in more mission-aligned ways with the requisite step-change in funding and signalling this would unlock for educational opportunity and social good. Sounds good eh?

This podcast episode is all about Ufi VocTech Trust's work to go beyond grant investing and venture investing to align its total investment portfolio more closely with its mission to champion the power of technology to improve skills for work. 

But beyond Ufi VocTech Trust, what does this mean for other philanthropic organisations, entrepreneurs and even learners in the sector, and how did Ufi VocTech Trust take the leap from initial idea to announcement?

In this episode we chart an exciting story that starts back in the mid-2000s and culminates this week with UK-facing vocational learning and technology charity Ufi VocTech Trust announcing the investment of its £50m plus assets using the UN Sustainable Development Goals to support the best thematic alignment of investment with Ufi’s mission, whilst meeting the charity’s financial commitments. Credit Suisse has been appointed as investment service provider, after a tendering process that engaged 100 potential providers.  

We explore what this shift in philanthropic approach means and how a holistic investment framework across all assets – grants, venture investment and investment capital - can support vocational educational technology and positive impact.

The episode is part of The VocTech Podcast series and is supported by Ufi VocTech Trust. Happy listening! 

Join in the conversation using #VocTechPodcast and #VocTech.

People

• Joe Ludlow, Impact Investment Director, Ufi Voctech Trust | Twitter: @joeludlow
• James Gifford, Head of Impact Advisory, Credit Suisse | Twitter: @jamesgif
• Helen McDonald, UK Head of Foundations and Impact Advisory Services, Credit Suisse
• Kirill Pyshkin, Senior portfolio manager in the Thematic Equities team of CS Asset Management, Credit Suisse | Twitter: @PyshkinK
• Paul Blyth, ESG Investment Consultant to Ufi VocTech Trust
• Sophie Bailey is the Founder and Presenter of The Edtech Podcast | Twitter: @podcastedtech

Show Notes and References  

Check out https://theedtechpodcast.com/edtechpodcast for the full show notes. 

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