Cathi Kim
Director, Inclusiv/Capital
Emerging from the pandemic, communities around the world are asking how to build an inclusive transition. Cathi Kim, Director of Inclusiv/Capital, spoke on US initiatives and the impact of credit unions and the CDFI movement at the 2023 Social Finance Forum in Seoul, South Korea from May 25-26. Organized by the Korea Social Value and Solidarity Foundation (SVS) and Korea Financial Industry Foundation, the theme of the forum was Financing Our Common Future: Role of Finance for Sustainable Society.
About the Social Finance Forum
The Social Finance Forum serves as an innovative platform to foster connections across domestic and international institutions, share practices and actionable insights to connect the global movement to support locally led sustainable finance initiatives. The two-day convening was held in Myeong-dong, Seoul.
“Thoughout the modern history of Korea, Myeong-dong is a symbolic space of financial center for economic development and sanctuary for democracy. People have walked on the street of Myeong-dong every day and night with the passion and will for a brighter future, and their tireless efforts made the development of Korean society. On Myeong-dong 11 gil, where the venues of SFF2023 are located, many financial institutions still exist and young social innovators gather to the long-standing nests of civil actions.”
Social Finance Forum 2023
The Social Finance Forum convened more than 490 partitioners from 246 social and/or finance sector organizations in Korea. The convening featured more than 70 cross-sectoral leaders from around the world and regions across South Korea to exchange ideas and emerging practices including: social finance, community development, corporate social responsibility, ESG standards and impact measurement frameworks, DEI, social enterprises and emerging impact investing practices in philanthropy and foundations.
“Building connections and exchanging ideas to reimagine opportunities and expand inclusion are central to the history and work of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). It was an honor to be a part of the Social Finance Forum and illuminate the impact of CDFIs, Community Development Credit Unions (CDCUs), and Inclusiv’s partnerships in advancing an equitable transition from the pandemic. The work of intermediaries and conveners such as SVS are core to building movements. Korea and the world - we are all at an inflection point and we look forward to seeing how this work takes shape."
Cathi Kim, Inclusiv
Rev. Kyong Yong Song, Chairperson, Korea Social Value and Solidarity Foundation, and founder of the Korean Food Bank movement, opened the convening with welcoming remarks about grounding the convening on our common future and the significance and opportunities through finance to advance this vision.
Opening Keynote Panel: Finance for An Inclusive Transition
The opening keynote panel, Finance for an Inclusive Transition, focused on how financial institutions around the world - from Europe, the USA, Japan, and South Korea - have responded to the pandemic crisis and are financing an inclusive transition. The panel was moderated by Deokhun Lee, Advisory Board Chair of Korea Social Value and Solidarity Foundation, former CEO of Export-Import Bank of Korea, and featured Cathi Kim, Director, Inclusiv/Capital, Pedro Manuel Sasia Santos, President, European Federation of Ethical and Alternative Banks and Financiers (FEBEA), Toshiaki Wada, Chairperson of Japan CO-OP Insurance (Kyosai) Consumers' Co-operative Federation (CO-OP Kyosai), and Joonshik Park, Chairperson of Korea Financial Industry Foundation.
During this keynote panel, Inclusiv highlighted the crucial of CDFIs in creating economic growth and opportunity by providing financial services to underinvested and low-wealth communities who have not had access to the financial system.
“At Inclusiv, we believe that financial inclusion is a fundamental human right and critical to achieving financial independence. The desire to be a part of this movement of making a difference and the desire of credit unions to more deeply integrate inclusion into their business and impact models have resulted in unprecedented growth over the past few years."
Inclusiv Vision Statement
During the pandemic, more than 40% of Americans have had their incomes affected and job insecurity. Inclusiv, in partnership with CDFI and MDI partners were able to advocate for more than $40 billion in underinvested communities to support their work as financial first responders and building more equitable communities.
Kim added that the US is currently experiencing another period of uncertainty in a high inflation and rising interest rate environment, which disproportionately affects households living on the margins. She spotlighted the financial strength and impact trends of CDFIs and CDCUs during times of economic uncertainty such as the Great Recession, underscoring the opportunity and importance of investing in communities and building cross-sectoral, public-private partnerships during these moments.
Panel Discussion: Building an ecosystem for community-based social finance
On the second day of the convening, Inclusiv participated in the panel discussion with regional Korean leaders, academics and practitioners to share emerging trends and practices for Building an ecosystem for community-based social finance. Moderated by Professor JongGul Kim, Hanyang University, the panel featured Cathi Kim, Director of Inclusiv/Capital, EunKyung Kim, Senior Researcher, Gyeonggi Research Institute, WoonYoung Jung, Chairperson, Finance and Happiness Network, SeokJo Son, Director of Social Finance, National Credit Union Federation of Korea (NACUFOK), JinYoung Park, Director, Daegu Social Economy Center, and Young Kim, Secretary General, Association of Korean Local Governments for Social Economy and Solidarity (SSEGOV).
This panel discussed strategies for building local financial ecosystems to revitalize the social economy. This session included an overview of the CDFI movement, the business model and growth strategies of CDCUs, a type of CDFI in the United States, and discussed challenges and policy options for revitalizing local social finance in Korea.
Cooperative Connections: Meeting with the National Credit Union Federation of Korea
Inclusiv met with representatives from the NACUFOK to learn more about trends and emerging initiatives within the US and Korean credit union movements.
NACUFOK is the national association for (and regulator of) the 873 credit unions serving 14.47 million members in regions throughout South Korea. NACUFOK and South Korean credit unions are grounded in the values of sharing and mutual growth. During the meeting, representatives from NACUFOK and Inclusiv discussed the role of CDFI credit unions, the CDCU business and impact model, the financial technology innovations and South Korean financial inclusion projects for their upcoming presentation at the World Credit Union Conference in July 2023.
Korea Social Value and Solidarity Foundation (SVS) was established in January 2019 as the first-ever source of wholesale finance dedicated exclusively to foster growth of the Korean social economy and to promote social finance in line with the South Korean 2018 governmental policies. The focus of SVS is to provide patient capital for social enterprises, financing projects with social missions, and fostering social finance intermediaries. The SVS partners with and mobilizes capital from the private sector and cooperates with diverse policy and private-sector funds to provide a wide range of innovative products, including investments, loans and founding capital, to cater to the diverse needs for social finance.
Korea Financial Industry Foundation was established as the first fund in Korea contributed by workers and employers of 33 institutions in the financial industry. It conducts various Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects for a sustainable society based on the spirit of coexistence and cooperation, and strives to spread warmth to all corners as to become the light and salt of our society.
Meeting with representatives from the National Credit Union Federation of Korea
Keynote Panel: Financing An Inclusive Transition
Deokhun Lee, Advisory Board Chair of Korea Social Value and Solidarity Foundation, former CEO of Export-Import Bank of Korea, Pedro Manuel Sasia Santos, President, European Federation of Ethical and Alternative Banks and Financiers (FEBEA), Toshiaki Wada, Chairperson of Japan CO-OP Insurance (Kyosai) Consumers' Co-operative Federation (CO-OP Kyosai), and Joonshik Park, Chairperson of Korea Financial Industry Foundation
Panel Discussion: Building an ecosystem for community-based social finance
Moderator: Mr. JongGul Kim, Professor, Hanyang University
Ms. Cathi Kim, Director, Inclusiv-Capital
Ms. Eunkyung Kim, Senior Researcher, Gyeonggi Research Institute
Ms. WoonYoung Jung, Chairperson, Finance and Happiness Network
Mr. SeokJo Son, Director of Social Finance, National Credit Union Federation of Korea
Mr. JinYoung Park, Director, Daegu Social Economy Center
Mr. Young Kim, Secretary General, National Association of Local Governments for Social and Solidarity Economy
News Articles About Inclusiv, CDFI, Feature Interview with Cathi Kim
- Our mission is to strengthen the impact and improve resilience of underinvested communities: Overview of Inclusiv, CDFIs, CDCUs – An Interview with Cathi Kim, Director of Inclusiv/Capital at Inclusiv: https://www.lifein.news/news/articleView.html?idxno=15660
- U.S. regional financial expert “Social finance that helped low-income people during the economic crisis is healthier than banks”. Key points include resiliency of CDCUs and CDFIs, and an overview of CDCU business and impact model. Resiliency, strength of financial performance and impact during times of economic distress. Impact of SVB and resiliency of CDCUs and call to invest in inclusion in underinvested communities.: https://www.socialimpactnews.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=708
- Session recaps: "We will always be with local residents in difficult times through inclusive finance"
Keynote Panel - Held under the theme of 'Finance Enabling Inclusive Transition: http://www.lifein.news/news/articleView.html?idxno=15665
Strategies for establishing a local financial ecosystem to vitalize the social economy: 2023 Social Finance Forum Panel Discussion: https://www.lifein.news/news/articleView.html?idxno=15672