"Barcelona is consolidating itself as a capital of the impact economy"

To generate a positive impact on society and the environment beyond prioritizing profit maximization, in order to respond to the great challenges and problems of today. This is the objective of the impact economy, and Barcelona wants to play its part in this movement. The city will become the epicenter of the sector next week, when Barcelona will host the eleventh Ship2B Impact Forum and also the Norrsken Impact Week, which is being held for the first time in the city after four editions in Stockholm.

Ship2B was born in 2013 precisely with the aim of creating an impact ecosystem with Barcelona at its center, made up of startups, companies, investors, and organizers determined to respond to the social and environmental challenges facing current society. Since then, the foundation has accelerated more than 330 projects, with 233 startups and 98 social entities, as highlighted by its president and co-founder, Xavi Pont, who advocates for opening a new stage in the impact economy.

— How has the impact economy evolved after a decade of Ship2B's activity?

— The movement has clearly been very successful in recent years, raising a lot of money. However, there are doubts about whether the deep impacts expected at the beginning are being achieved. We will address all of this at the Ship2B Impact Forum next week. We will take stock of recent years, talk about the lights and also the shadows of the movement, and openly consider what the next stage should be.

— And what should it be like?

— What will need to be done in the coming years is to make a shift that is not so much quantitative as qualitative, to seek a deep, systemic impact that thoroughly addresses current problems.

— How can this be achieved?

— It will probably be necessary for the private sector not to do everything on its own, but to be able to hybridize with philanthropy and the public sector, in more complex, different, and innovative ways, where each of the parties contributes a different aspect and where the sum of the three achieves deeper impacts.

— What is the next step to move in that direction?

— The Impact Forum will reflect precisely on the next steps of the movement. At Ship2B, we are now very focused on the quality of life of vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, people with disabilities, and chronic patients. We are also focused on launching a child health fund and on emerging climate change technologies.

— How has Ship2B contributed to boosting the impact economy in Barcelona?

— We have generated tangible and intangible impacts. The tangible ones have been the more than 300 projects we have accelerated. The intangible ones have been as or more important, and have allowed us to spread the message of the impact economy and be one of the actors, promoters, and creators of this field in Catalonia and Spain. Moreover, the Impact Forum has been at the forefront of these more intangible impacts, and has encouraged many other actors to explore the impact economy.

— What role does Barcelona play in this field?

— Barcelona is consolidating itself as an impact capital. This is demonstrated by this week's agenda, in which we will have not only the Impact Forum, but also Norrsken's Impact Week, and other events throughout the week.

— And the role of administrations?

— The City Council is contributing in this direction. We have an emerging ecosystem that is gaining a lot of strength. In fact, it reminds me of the situation a few years ago with digital innovation in Barcelona.

"The impact economy must hybridize with philanthropy and the public sector so that the sum of the three achieves deeper impacts"

— The environment and the dynamism of the impact ecosystem is very similar to what existed 20 years ago in digital entrepreneurship, in which Barcelona is now a benchmark. I want to think that we will see an explosion of the impact economy similar to what happened at the time in the digital field.

— What needs to happen for this explosion to arrive?

— There must be a determined commitment from the public sector, as well as a determined commitment from actors in the financial world, entrepreneurs, and philanthropy. There must be involvement from all actors to consolidate this space.

— Should the concept of impact economy also be brought closer to citizens?

— We need to refine the definitions and the perimeter of what the impact economy is, and how it overlaps, for example, with the field of the social economy. These are concepts that encompass similar realities, but which are somewhat different. In a way, the impact economy moves between the social economy and corporate social responsibility.

— How does it do that?

— With companies with a clear social or environmental impact purpose and mission, which are often for-profit and capable of mobilizing large capital from financial markets. These are companies that pursue a triple return: social, environmental, and financial.

— And, sometimes, the more profitable they are, the more social impact they can generate

— To solve major social and environmental problems, we need money, and also talent. And talent exists; the question is how we manage to attract these talented people to focus on impact projects. More and more people are interested: before, when someone started a business, they did it only to make a profit, and now many entrepreneurs are increasingly interested in generating a positive impact on their environment and society.

— But talent is not enough.

— No, but if you look at the big venture capital managers, many are launching impact funds. And you go to the banks, and a sensitivity towards this movement has also awakened. And you go to the City Council and the Generalitat, and more and more voices are talking about impact. And all this is encouraging.