Giving Compass' Take:

• Laura Amaya and Sandra Medrano share insights about Latin American companies embracing shared values and purpose from the Shared Value Leadership Summit.

• How can funders support socially-conscious businesses around the world? 

• Learn about companies that are pledging climate action. 

FSG’s Shared Value Initiative hosted the 9th annual Shared Value Leadership Summit in Boston, MA. The Summit brings together a wide array of corporate leaders and shared value practitioners to spark discussion that furthers the field of shared value. The topic of conversation for this year’s summit was Delivering on the Promise of Purpose.

Across Latin America, companies are beginning to play a stronger role in society, one that goes beyond business as usual activities like creating jobs and paying taxes. In many settings, companies have filled resource vacuums where other actors, including the government, lack capacity to effect change. Adopting a corporate purpose can be an effective strategy for companies to optimize their role in society. One salient example of how companies can do this is Intercorp Group, whose Chairman, Carlos Rodríguez-Pastor, was a speaker at the Shared Value Leadership Summit.

At the Summit, Mr. Rodriguez Pastor shared how Intercorp is fulfilling its purpose to “push Peru to become a developed country” through shared value investments in education, healthcare, and infrastructure. Among other examples across Intercorp’s companies, Mr. Rodriguez-Pastor talked Innova Schools, a private school network that focuses on curriculum design and high-quality school infrastructure. Through its core business model, Innova Schools have significantly improved education outcomes across Peru’s middle class. Students not only report significantly higher scores on national math and reading standardized tests than the average, but they also move onto postsecondary education. Some students secured scholarships at Ivy League and other global top-tier universities. From a business standpoint, Innova Schools have generated over $38 million in revenue that seed new schools and fuel the growth of Intercorp’s business.

Read the full article about embracing shared value and purpose by Laura Amaya and Sandra Medrano at FSG.