An interview with impact investor with gutsy Sofie-Anne who has taught herself to make impact investment decisions authentically. 

Entrepreneurship: her driving force
Coming from an entrepreneurial family in Flanders, Sofie-Anne has always been involved in the journey entrepreneurs take in building their businesses. As a stress coach, she specifically saw what entrepreneurs ran into when their personal and business goals were too far apart. After a 15-year career as a coach, she decided to focus on mentoring entrepreneurs committed to positive change - Changemakers. Besides managing her investment portfolio and her Flowdays for Changemakers, Sofie-Anne also manages a real estate portfolio.

What has been your personal journey into impact investing?
It started thirty years ago with my growing awareness and the need to make conscious choices in all aspects of my life - a process that only got stronger after the birth of my first son. I took my first step into the world of impact investing 13 years ago, when I became a client of Triodos Bank. The concept of a ‘green bank’ making conscious choices with my money immediately appealed to me.

About seven years ago, I was first introduced to the concept of impact investing, partly through conversations with other Belgian investors like Piet Colruyt and Myleen Verstraete. The idea that I could make my money pay off and at the same time do something good in the world was a real revelation. It's about awareness and making conscious choices, also with your money. It is a great add-on to who I am as a person, an entrepreneur and an investor. Still, I really wondered: Is it really possible to do this at all?

How did you get started after that?
Against the advice of my then investment adviser, who thought impact investing was too technical and complex, I followed my intuition. I sought contact with the Pymwymic's community of impact investors and found the support and information I needed. Thanks to this and other impact networks, I found answers to my specific questions about how to start and who I could best work with. I started small with an initial investment in Pymwymic and grew from there.

What steps have you taken to develop your investment strategy?
The Pymwymic community helped me talk to another advisor. This new financial adviser first had a conversation with me about what values mattered to me. He also helped me find my own way in the world of impact investing. He trained me to make choices independently, so I now do most of the necessary research and conversations with potential investments myself. I only ask his help now to look at the financial technical aspects of an investment. I also benefit greatly from the power of the community of like-minded impact investors, with whom I am in constant dialogue.

The PYM Impact Day in Belgium was a great recent example of this. Not only were highly experienced investors willing to join the conversation about tech-for-good, but whole generations of families were present, wanting to learn about impact investing together. These kinds of communities really start to make a difference when knowledge, experiences and investments are shared between them.

What is your investment style?
Figures don't immediately appeal to me I must admit, but I do get excited by the stories behind investments. ‘When I see a lot of data coming my way about potential investments I often ask ‘now explain it to me again in normal human language’, and then it starts to get super interesting’.

I also believe in the ‘feminine approach’ to impact investing: ‘not that elbow work, but the1 + 1 = 3 . I strive for collaboration, synergy and exponential acceleration by building better partnerships. We often forget to look at how we can strengthen each other.

For the most part, I invest in impact funds and make only minimal direct investments. The investment I am most proud of is a direct investment in Vyld. Two young women, based in Berlin, who together have set up a company around a new fibre made from algae from the North Sea but also from Emerging Markets. This fibre can be used in the production of tampons, sanitary towels, incontinence pads and other comparable hospital materials, but now without chemicals and plant-based. These kind of entrepreneurs and companies give me a lot of hope and motivation for the future.

What is your outlook on the future?
My belief is that everyone can contribute to a better world. I advise everbody to ask themselves : in what way can I contribute to get one step closer to the ideal world? Everyone can contribute whether it is by supporting sustainable companies or by making conscious choices in daily life.

The next generation
I would also like to pass on my interest in impact investing to my two sons. I regularly tell them about my (potential) investments and take them to a number of impact-related events, such as the PYM Impact Days and Katapult Future Fest in Oslo. So that they learn to think along with me strategically how to make even more positive impact together.