In February, AVPN’s vice-chair and chair were on stage for a special guest lecture for China’s foundation officials in Beijing. The China Foundation Centre‘s Academy of Training organized the eight-day course, which took place at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business.

The subject of the talk was social investing, a brand new concept for the audience but has been a highly talked about buzzword since the beginning of last year. Therefore, the anticipation for the lecture was high, and over 80 people had registered for it. Doug Miller spoke to his audience about the idea of venture philanthropy and the work AVPN does to create an ecosystem in Asia. Andrew Muirhead then used his former organization, Inspiring Scotland, as an example of how venture philanthropy operates.

Since social investing is still in the early stages in China, it was clear that there needed to be more clarity about the terminology, definitions, and terms. After the talks, questions varied from clarifications on impact investing and venture philanthropy to how to efficiently execute an exit from social investment and the various financing models. Many people also asked how to grow organizations with a sustainable approach.

The presentation left a lot of people with lots of questions. This was normal for a market eager to discover and leapfrog other markets in achieving more success within their own country. AVPN considers China a crucial need to develop and continues to be a significant player in this area.

Alfred Poon is the Director of Digital Transformation of AVPN. He loves geeks Adman by heart and has a master’s in Nonprofit Communications from Indiana University. Alfred is a builder of communication infrastructure that connects people. In the past, before being a part of AVPN, Alfred has consulted for Social Purpose Organisations in over thirty countries. He has brought his unique blend of elegant technology that allows data-driven communications.