So long, farewell. For now. From Tan Huynh, IIN Manager.
- Impact Investing Network
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
Updated: 1 hour ago
It’s been over 4 years since I stepped into the role of Manager of the Impact Investing Network (IIN). Employee #1. Back in 2020, we had a very experienced Board consisting of impact investing leaders and pioneers.
But. We needed resources to deliver activities. So we established a charitable trust and got our first funding round from Community Trusts, The Tindall Foundation, and WEL Energy Trust. Enter Safe (volunteer #1, employee #6), who kindly volunteered as our qualified accountant and is now employed by us, to set up our financial systems. Then we got our first sponsorship from Forysth Barr, what would be a productive and positive partnership over 3 years. We were underway.
But. We knew there were other practitioners doing such impactful mahi across Aotearoa. It was our role as the IIN to bring people together, to amplify the sector through focused collaborations. To connect, educate and advocate to grow the impact investing sector and transition to a sustainable Aotearoa New Zealand.
So we got to work.
Growing sector digitally
We started to share news, events, and resources of impact investing. To test thesis #1: there were impact-led investors out there, interested in this content. So we made a commitment to send regular newsletters. Last Thursday of every month, 6:30 am sharp. The team has stayed true to this (with Raphael now looking after newsletters, employee #4), we’ve not missed a month. Except in January when kiwis shouldn’t be on their devices, instead enjoying summer!
Whilst we grew the impact investing community. We got to work on our second major project.
Impact investing needed a digital home. So we renovated the IIN website - to be the digital hub for impact investing in Aotearoa. Compare the before and after. That’s because of the talents of Emily Bulkey, our website designer, who built a beautiful and elegant website. And made it easy for Duke (employee #2) and I to rewrite content. And for future team members to showcase the impact investing projects, people, and players across Aotearoa and globally. The first pages we built were the ecosystem, recent deals, and resources - still the most visited parts of our website.
Before - OK | After - Awesome! |
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Not only did we grow our community, our engagement rate with digital content (e.g. newsletters, website, social media) grew rapidly.
As we speak Pearl is renovating the website again to make it more user friendly, and even more awesome; like Pearl (employee #5).
Growing sector #IRL
Thesis #2: Real impact needs to happen alongside real people in real life. So we co-hosted events with partners.
Shout out to the indefatigable Mark Longbottom, co-hosting each impact lunch the IIN has ever delivered, most recently at Trust Management. And Jamie Newth (aka Jamie#1, then demoted to Jamie #2) for co-founding these lunches. And to Jamie Wood (employee #3 aka Jamie #1) for levelling up our impact lunches and sector events.
Our philosophy was simple. Let’s make these events accessible and build the community. Regular attendees including impact investors managing millions, sometimes billions, to those students interested in putting their talents and future into impact investing. All united, by how impact investing can solve the gnarly and systemic challenges facing us all. Alongside the connections and community, we covered diverse topics e.g. mental wellbeing, climate investments, degrowth, social impact.
We also stood on the shoulders of giants. Hosting breakfasts at the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) conference, and featuring impact investing in its programme to broaden our education of the investment market. This would be the start of a VIP (very important partnership). More on that later.
Let’s get strategic - major events
Thesis #3: Content and community is important. But to get capital to shift into impact, we need to be strategic.
We focused on themes that are ‘gateway’ impact investments. Opportunities where evidence for financial returns and impact were proven. Enter housing.
So we convened our first major event - a Housing Symposium. With decision-makers, trustees and CEOs, from trusts and foundation, kiwisavers, fund managers, that collectively had assets $7b+. A clear recollection from this event is we had more people turn up than registered - a welcome rarity with people brought along friends! The room was packed, with around 100 people staying the entire time.
On the back of this success, we hosted the Climate Symposium - led by our Deputy Chair, Justine Sefton. Then just last night, we hosted Scaling Investments into Social Impact.
These major events convened practitioners to share the many projects that were shifting the needle to increase investments into positive social, environmental, and cultural impact. For the sector to learn from each other.
The sector started to take notice. Other investors started to notice.
“The IIN punches above its weight”. Such a cliche. But a compliment to the difference the IIN was making to put impact investing on and up investors’ priority list. Though we are less than 1 FTE, collectively we delivered plenty!
Principles make positive progress, not perfection
We worked on simple principles in our work alongside the sector:
Perfection stifles progress: No one knows everything about impact investing, so get started, learn and share the hard-earned lessons.
Be generous: knowledge should be shared, made accessible, open-sourced - we learn by doing and from each other.
Be practical: We always asked our contributors to show people how to go about making investments with models, tools, templates.
Be inclusive: Acknowledge that investment readiness is mutual, applying to enterprises and investors.
Heart and head: Investment is analytic, but action is made with the heart, to invest and get financial returns and positive change for people and planet.
Have fun and enjoy each other’s company: The interesting facts about our collaborators were memorable e.g. delivered baby as army medic, past business sold more than 95 million of pantyhose, training to be an astronaut.
Take time to celebrate: What has become a tradition, we co-hosted (with our good friends Forysth Barr, and in particular Katie Beith) the annual impact investing celebration. Featuring a showreel to show all the impactful mahi of the investing sector.
Together we do more - thanks to the contributors
We didn’t let our small size and resourcing be an excuse. We got on with the job to test and prove some of our theses.
But we couldn’t have delivered without these impact-led organisations and people, to name a few:
The entire IIN Board, who are all volunteers, yet generously contribute their expertise and wisdom, shaping the future of impact investing. Alastair Rhodes, Nicola Nation, David Woods Justine Sefton, Jamie Newth, Jo Kelly, Jodi Hayward, Dean Hegarty, Rangimarie Price, Louise Aitken, Raewyn Jones, John McCarthy, Simon O’Connor.
The IIN Team, past and present: Safe Wongsunopparat, Duke Euphrat, Jamie Wood, Raphael Rauner, Pearl Philavong.
Alastair Rhodes and Terri Eggleton, at BayTrust. Who have contributed to the IIN Board and team, with their endless knowledge and energy.
Ākina (founding member of IIN) and Nicola Nation, who have enabled me and the IIN to deliver its work programme, and follow my impact investing passion, alongside our mahi at Ākina.
Forysth Barr, our long-time partners and collaborators - in particular Katie Beith, who has co-hosted many IIN events.
Mark Longbottom, at Trust Management, who has hosted all of our impact lunches!
Impact funds and investors - for shifting investments into impact, there’s too many to name, you know who you are!
The future is here, it’s just unequally distributed
I’m comforted and excited by the future for impact investing and for the role of the IIN to shape it.
We are progressing the integration into RIAA. A mission-aligned team and organisation. With complementary skills and networks. That will help to accelerate and scale the impact investing market.
It was a CEO of RIAA that once said impact investing is the gold standard of responsible investing. We totally agree.
There’s always more work to do. But we’ve started. And we'll soon have a larger team to continue our mission to make the future more equally distributed.
For investors to continue to take action so:
Impact investing market grows
Positive stories of impact investments being made
Organisations are allocating more resources and investment into impact
For more organisations to achieve positive impact, including:
More equitable, inclusive outcomes for kiwis
Reducing emissions
Regenerating biodiversity
Though my time at the IIN is up, I’ll continue to advocate for impact investing. Because the future depends on what we do today. And the longer we wait for the future, the shorter it will be, is what someone much wiser than me said.
— Tan Huynh
Cheers from our Chair
"As Chair of the IIN, I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Tan, who has been the face of the network and a critical enabler of its success over the past four and a half years. It’s rare to find such a broad and deep skill set in one person. While his departure is a significant loss, we wish him all the best in his new role and are confident he will remain a strong advocate for the impact investing ecosystem from the outside.
As we prepare for our integration with RIAA later this year, Tan’s departure presents a natural opportunity to reflect on our resourcing needs. We expect to share more on our future plans later this year. In the meantime, our part-time team, led by Safe, will continue to steer the network with capable and steady hands.”
— Alastair Rhodes, Chair of the IIN
A farewell to our friend, our colleague, and a pillar of the impact investing community.
Just a few of the many well wishes and thanks from the impact investing community:
Tim Symons, Brightlight Impact
Hey Tan, thank you so much for all you have done to champion the cause of social impact investing over the years. Your energy, enthusiasm, organisation skills and ability to bring people out of their silos and get them talking together has been inspirational.
Steven Moe, Parry Field Lawyers
Kia ora Tan – your enthusiasm is contagious and I always enjoyed interacting with you whether it was on panels, preparing papers, meeting at events or collaborating on projects. Thank you for the significant role you have played at a critical time for the impact investing movement in New Zealand and beyond, really appreciate you. The seeds you have planted will grow into strong trees!
James Stewart and all the team at Home Capital and Gemelli.
Tan; your contribution to the Impact Investment sector can't be overstated. Your enthusiasm to see capital deployed for good and for the growth of a community around this mahi is admirable and will have long lasting impacts across Aotearoa. Many thanks for all you've done, all you've inspired and the seeds you've sown. Your commitment to the sector, your cherry upbeat nature, your lens and perspective you bring to all this important mahi is truly appreciated.
Jamie Newth, Soul Capital and founding IIN Board Member.
Tan, you were exactly what we needed. You brought the professional diligence and care we needed to turn the Board's intent into action and you did it with passion. You've been our rock and the Soul(!) of the IIN. Ngā mihi e hoa - you're going to be missed!
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