This workshop covers the financing structures and cash flows at the fund level. On the surface, funds are investing in social enterprises and waiting for their investments to come back. However, in practice it is a more complex structure.

There is the relationship between the capital owners and the investment managers. The session will introduce participants to the key fund terms and the different incentive structures to align the interests of investment managers with those of the capital owners.

On the investment level, the fund managers need to manage the investments as well as the exits. Investments usually happen in the first few years of the fund. Exit proceeds are often paid over multiple years depending on the agreements. In addition, funds need to cover operating costs such as personnel, legal costs, rents, travel expenses or audit fees.

Wolfgang Spiess-Knafl will discuss the details with the participants. These details should be reflected in the fund model covering all cash flows and conditionalities. Wolfgang will share a template with the participants and go through the steps of building a fund model.

The guest speaker Mikuláš Kresánek will share insights from setting up an investing fund in CEE and discuss his learnings from organizing fundraising activities for social enterprises.

 Speakers

Wolfgang Spiess-Knafl works at the European Center for Social Finance, which delivers EaSI Technical Assistance services on behalf of the European Commission. He has an engineering background and started his career in investment banking. Wolfgang is active in the field of social finance since 2009. His current main interests are emerging new technologies and their intersection with social and environmental objectives.

Mikuláš Kresánek is a co-founder of Sociálni Inovátori. He has more than 20 years of experience in private equity, investment and commercial banking and helped dozens of social enterprises with strategic business development and fundraising.

Practical information

Date: April 5, 10:00 – 14:00 CET

Address: Online