A chance meeting on a panel with Kevin Jones, founder of SOCAP, meant not only that I got invited to attend SOCAP but also that I was asked to join Kevin at the plenary session to discuss the potential of a North-South partnership for more effectively coordinating the agenda of the impact investing space. We decided to use the opportunity to announce a partnership between SANKALP (a platform focused on grooming social enterprises and making transactions happen based in India) and SOCAP. I was going to SOCAP after 5 years and naturally I was curious about how the world at SOCAP has remained similar and how it has changed. What is new and, more importantly, what are people attending SOCAP looking to do?

The first and most important thing one notices at SOCAP is the size. SOCAP is big! The backdrop of Fort Mason makes it even more imposing and at times intimidating – and it may be the imposing nature and large size could also be seen as SOCAP weaknesses. As I happened to be on the plenary, I had the privilege to be known to some people who attended the panel and that made it easier for me to get talking time with people.