Big Issue Invest hosted its Annual General Meeting differently this year. Hosted at the venue, Creative Works, an inspiring co-working and events space as well as a former investee, guests attended the Fund Management Annual Meeting for Limited Partners and heard the stories and successes of some of Big Issue Invest’s investees.
After guests were welcomed by CEO Danyal Sattar, Lars Hagelmann, Head of Fund Management, talked about the new team at Big Issue Invest and how he is proud of the young talent that has joined recently. Different members of the team spoke about the social and financial performance of Social Enterprise Investment Funds I and II as well as some of the highlights of the Outcomes Investment Fund.
Big Issue investee, Daryl Williams, Programme Lead for the Live Well project, South Yorkshire Housing Association, was the first speaker to kick off the show. He spoke about what the organisation does to support and transition people from residential and nursing care into their own homes. To demonstrate this, Daryl played a heartfelt video which followed the lives of three individuals supported by Live Well, who now live independently.
Celia Hodson presented second, talking about her own personal journey and the reasons why she founded Hey Girls, a social enterprise battling period poverty: “Having been a single parent I understand first-hand the financial strain of buying period protection when struggling to survive on benefits. The situation for women just like me hasn’t changed in twenty years, which is why we set-up Hey Girls”. She was especially grateful for the support she received from Big Issue Invest when she approached three supermarket chains, Coop, Waitrose & Asda to stock her products.
Finally, Liz Prudhoe, Director of Adapt – North East, took us on a photo journey of a newly refurbished site in Hexham that Big Issue Invest helped to fund. She spoke about the bespoke support she received and told the audience she “couldn’t have done it without the support of Big Issue Invest”.
Big Issue Invest’s CEO Danyal Sattar closed the event saying:
