General Observations from the Presentations
The five general presentations on impact finance that preceded the rest of the afternoon (see other statements) converged on one central point: impact finance works when it finances entire systems, not isolated actions.
- Truly fundable projects combine:
- a territorial logic (ecosystems, inhabitants, uses, risks),
- an evidence-based logic (data, traceability, verification, monitoring),
- a governance logic (rights, responsibilities, oversight, accountability),
- an economic model logic (real costs, sustainability, mission alignment).
- Scaling up depends less on “ideas” than on the ability to secure trust:
- ecological trust (biodiversity, resilience, long-term effects),
- scientific trust (protocols, data quality),
- financial trust (transparency, leakage reduction, accountability),
- operational trust (field evidence, results tracking).
Presentation Proceedings
| ● Théophile DAUVE and Raphael GALLOIS, Objectif Sciences International In London, an Example of Successful Urban Renewal |
| ● Arno GATTOLLIAT OSI PANTHERA, a Participatory Research Project |
| ● Eric GABIRAULT The Virtuous Platform – A Model of Digital and Ethical Trust for Financial Autonomy in the Global South |
| ● Matthias SAMMER, LuLarge - Trustworthy Data Intelligence HayStack – Certified Geolocation for Sustainable Finance |
| ● Malou MADANGA, Sustainable Development Specialist at Vodacom Congo, DRC Financing Projects That Combine Education and Environment: Supporting and Uniting Forces for a Sustainable Future |
| ● Jeanne BLOCH, Cosyal From Ecosystem Services to Biodiversity Credits: What Are Investors Really Willing to Buy? |
Summaries Extracted from the Presentations
1) Urban Renaturation in London – Rotherhithe / Stave Hill
An urban area can be regenerated if renaturation is designed as living infrastructure, rooted in its biotope, history, and community.
- Key Findings
- Transformation of an industrial zone into a sustainable urban ecosystem.
- "Mosaic habitat" renaturation: ecological niche diversity, long-term restoration.
- Coexistence with urban wildlife (including foxes) as an indicator of a functional ecosystem.
- The project succeeds because it connects ecology, education, and local engagement.
- Implications for Impact Finance
- “Standardized solutions” often fail: renaturation must be contextualized.
- Funders must consider the long-term timeline (maintenance, continuity, adaptation).
- Biodiversity becomes a measurable performance and a territorial asset (well-being, risk, attractiveness, resilience).
- Conference Position
- Urban renaturation should be financed as a resilience policy (not as a cosmetic operation).
- Investors and philanthropists are called to support projects with ecological AND social value, demonstrated over time.
Nature in cities is not decor: it is infrastructure for survival and cohesion.
2) CIFRE Thesis – Participatory Research in Ecology (Mountain Birds)
Participatory science can produce robust data, if protocols are designed to maximize participation without losing rigor.
- Key Findings
- Study of climate change effects on mountain birds.
- Research conducted with partnerships and field logistics (with OSI).
- Identified limits: tool overload, logistical complexity, loss of contributors.
- Proposed solutions: simplified protocols, prior planning, support from experienced participatory science researchers, and “backup data” (Plan B) to secure analysis.
- Implications for Impact Finance
- Data quality is not just a scientific matter: it’s a governance and operational design issue.
- “Invisible” costs (coordination, training, support, validation) must be budgeted from the start.
- Participatory science becomes a double lever: evidence production + citizen empowerment.
- Conference Position
- Participatory research should be funded as public-interest data infrastructure.
- Supported projects must include a quality framework (simple protocols, validation, data security) and a mobilization strategy.
A protocol that’s too complex loses participants; a well-designed protocol gains both data and trust.
3) Virtuous Platform – Climate Finance for the Global South
Direct access to climate finance requires a digital architecture that is trustworthy, sovereign, transparent, and adapted to territories.
- Key Findings
- Objective: reduce intermediaries that capture resources and slow action.
- Sovereign digital tool for countries of the Global South.
- Transparency and traceability via blockchain: track flows, verify transactions, reduce leakage and corruption.
- Control logic: give local communities back control over their projects and priorities.
- Pilot launch planned in 2026 (starting with pilot, then scale-up phases).
- Implications for Impact Finance
- The core question isn’t “how much money,” but “how much really gets there” and “who decides.”
- Traceability becomes a standard for accountability: useful to donors, regulators, and territories.
- Transdisciplinary projects (climate, economy, society) become more fundable when flows are verifiable and governed.
- Conference Position
- Local financial sovereignty is a condition for climate justice, not a bonus.
- Any climate finance platform must demonstrate: transparency, local control, and contextual adaptation—without making access more complex.
Climate justice depends on transparent flows and prioritizing local actors.
4) Geolocation in Service of Impact Finance
Geospatial data can strengthen project credibility by making results visible and securing field evidence.
- Key Findings
- Geolocation technologies applied to impact project traceability.
- Objective: increase transparency, reduce unverifiable claims, and ease field monitoring.
- Increased investor trust through geospatial evidence (where, when, what).
- Implications for Impact Finance
- Geolocation enables “lightweight,” continuous evidence, useful for reporting and audits.
- It accelerates decision-making: a project can quickly prove what it’s doing.
- It fosters alignment between funders and implementers: same information, same reality.
- Conference Position
- Impact projects should aim for proportionate field-proof mechanisms: simple, verifiable, interoperable.
- Geolocation is a trust-building block to integrate, respecting ethics, data security, and personal protection.
What will be fundable tomorrow is what is verifiable without burdening the action.
5) CSR Projects and Sustainable Development by Vodacom DRC
A company can become a transformation operator if its CSR is structured as an impact portfolio and if partnerships enable scaling.
- Key Findings
- Digital training for over 10,000 youth.
- Deployment of 36 digital classrooms.
- Economic inclusion programs: training, access, empowerment (including for women with disabilities).
- Circular economy and sustainable management of electronic waste.
- Link to participatory science (partnerships, fieldwork, education).
- Clear call for partners to amplify impact.
- Implications for Impact Finance
- Companies become “execution platforms”: logistical capacity, networks, continuity.
- Structured CSR can create co-financing: philanthropy (seed), investment (infrastructure), partnerships (deployment).
- Digital, educational, energy, and circular programs form a coherent system: more robust, thus more fundable.
- Conference Position
- CSR should be assessed on coherence, evidence, and partnership capacity—not communication.
- Companies operating in high-stakes territories are invited to formalize public–private–civil coalitions focused on outcomes.
Useful CSR is not a showcase: it’s an impact strategy with partners and evidence.
Operational Concepts Validated by the Conference
To make these insights reusable, the Conference recognizes the following concepts as “decision tools”:
- Contextualized Renaturation
- Renaturation designed for a specific biotope, with long-term vision and local co-construction.
- Low-Friction Participatory Protocol
- A simple, engaging, repeatable data collection method, with scientific support and backup plan.
- Local Financial Sovereignty
- Communities’ ability to decide, prioritize, and control fund use, with accountability.
- Traceability of Flows and Results
- Verifiable tracking of money and outcomes (transactions, deliverables, impacts) to reduce “leakage.”
- Geospatial Field Evidence
- Location/time/real-world operational data, integrated into monitoring and reporting.
- Corporate Impact Portfolio
- CSR structured by axes, indicators, continuity, partnerships, and amplification capacity.
Final Policy Positions
The Conference adopts the following positions as guidelines for 2026:
- 1) Fund systems, not fragments
- Multi-benefit projects (ecology + social + economy + data) should be prioritized, as they are more resilient.
- 2) Put trust at the heart of funding models
- Transparency, traceability, field evidence, and governance are not “costs”: they are eligibility criteria.
- 3) Recognize territorial sovereignty, especially in climate finance
- Direct access and local decision-making capacity must be designed into mechanisms—not negotiated afterward.
- 4) Consider participatory science as public-interest infrastructure
- Producing robust data and a shared scientific culture is a structuring investment.
- 5) Make companies execution allies, provided there is evidence and alignment
- Partnerships with companies are encouraged when they increase real impact, inclusion, and sustainability.
- Companies themselves are called to shift toward impact in their services, products, and business models.
Call for Partnerships: Immediate Commitments
The Conference calls stakeholders to concrete, actionable commitments starting now:
- For project leaders
- Document an impact trajectory and evidence logic (data, monitoring, governance).
- Plan for the real cost of trust: coordination, validation, traceability, mobilization.
- For philanthropists and investors
- Fund the “evidence and methodology” phase (management, protocol, data), which enables scaling.
- Support contextualized approaches (territories, culture, biotopes, usage) rather than mechanical duplication.
- For multilateral and public actors
- Promote mechanisms that reduce access complexity (notably for climate finance) while increasing accountability.
- Encourage interoperability of evidence (data, traceability, geospatial) to ease comparison and tracking.
- For companies and operators
- Co-create coalitions with measurable objectives (education, inclusion, circularity, energy, science).
- Contribute deployment capacity, with transparency on results and limitations.
We don’t need more promises. We need evidence mechanisms, governance, and partnerships that deliver.
Elements exchanged in Geneva, on 8 December 2025, following the afternoon presentations of the Conference “Impact Finance – Philanthropy, Investment and Blended Finance.”
Final report compiled and released by Mr. Thomas EGLI, CEO of the Geneva Forum, and Ms. Chloé LAROSE, Deputy Director of the Geneva Forum, based on the attentive notes of Mr. Brayan SALGADO, member of the organizing team.