Interview with Justin Sykes, Managing Director of Innovest Advisory

The Responsible Finance Podcast

In this podcast, we talk to Justin Sykes, Managing Director of Innovest Advisory, a boutique advisory firm focused on the social enterprise sector. Innovest works to bring in private investors seeking both financial returns and a clear and measurable social impact. This positive impact comes through investing in social businesses in some of the most challenging parts of the world using market-based approaches.
One of these social enterprises is Kaah International Microfinance Service (KIMS), which delivers Shariah-compliant microfinance across urban areas in Somalia. KIMS, which was recently awarded the Ethical Finance Innovation Challenge & Award (EFICA) by Thomson Reuters and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank. KIMS has grown rapidly from its first branch in Somaliland and now covers most of the country, with 11 branches in Somaliland, Puntland and South Central with a cumulative loan portfolio of $8 million that has supported 8,500 micro and small businesses since its launch in 2014.