Neven Marinović, director of Smart Kolektiv and the president of Euclid Network, participated in two panel sessions at the EVPA Impact Week that took place from November 30 to December 2 in Brussels.  

The “Impact United” panel session aimed to reflect, one year after the adoption of the EU Social Economy Action Plan, on experiences and lessons learned with policymakers and members of the impact ecosystem. The panelists discussed all aspects for the advancement of the social economy, such as financial opportunities, impact measurement and management, social innovation and many others. “Endless growth is not what we should be aiming for, endless growth is what got us here in the first place. We need to come up with a metrics system that measures success not only in terms of financial success and growth”, said Neven Marinovic on the action plan and potential instruments to help social enterprises make a real difference. He also emphasized the importance of harmonizing the action plan with the programs intended for EU candidate countries, such as Serbia, in order to enable the implementation of the measures prescribed by this action plan through those programs. 

The “Building Impactful Corporate Supply Chains” panel session hosted by Yunus Social Business, emphasized that Investors have a key role to play in accelerating the growth of the impact sector by providing financing mechanisms and non-financial support specifically to enable social businesses to sell to corporations. – Neven Marinovic, President of Euclid Network (EN) made an important point which is that we must be mindful of the kind of growth we seek for social businesses, that it should not be the same kind that has created so many issues in our current economic system. Instead, we must reimagine our definitions of success and growth for a new impact economy. 

With the aim to accelerate positive change for people and planet, Impact Week brought changemakers together to mobilise capital for true social transformation. The event was focusing on the fresh ideas that can enable net-zero economy, ease inequalities and elevate economic and social prospects for all. Also, it drew connections that accelerate and scale up solutions.   

The event was organized by EVPA, a unique network at the intersection of finance and purpose, driven by knowledge and focused on impact.   

Need more information about Impact Week? Please check the event website.