Capitalism With a Conscience

Leena Manro (: 00:00

Welcome to Up to So Good, the podcast that unlocks the secrets of creating a purpose-driven business so we can all make this world a better place. Come join the conversation.

(: 00:12

Hello and welcome to Up to So Good, the podcast that explores the purpose of business. I'm your host, Leena Manro. In today's episode, we are talking to Hanae Bezad. She's got a whole bunch of things going on. She's a social entrepreneur, an impact investor, an angel impact investor, as well as a book author, a life traveler, and just a general, just a really beautiful, very mystical, very interesting person who's lived in many different countries and has now settled recently in Vancouver. She manages a social fund of funds of over $700 million. And part of their job is to invest in funds that are doing good for this world. I hope you enjoy this episode where we delve into what social entrepreneurship really is and also impact investing and how important these concepts are.

(: 01:00

So, hopefully in the next few years, maybe everyone will become a social entrepreneur. I mean, that would be a wonderful reality. So, hope you stick around and enjoy the episode.

(: 01:10

Hello, and welcome to Up to So Good, the podcast that explores the purpose of business. I'm your host, Leena Manro. And today we have a lovely guest with us. Her name is Hanae Bezad.

Hanae Bezad (: 01:21

Perfect.

Leena Manro (: 01:21

And she is a social entrepreneur, an impact investor. And today we're going to talk about all things involved in this realm of impact investing and social entrepreneurship. And you're also a world traveler. And you were saying like a life lover, which I agree with. You're a very mystical person. There's a lot going on around the world of Hanae. So, where do we start? Tell me about yourself, who you are and what you do.

Hanae Bezad (: 01:48

So, my name is Hanae. I was born and raised in Morocco. I've been fortunate to live and travel the world ever since. I like to describe myself as a social entrepreneur at heart. It very much informs everything that I'm doing. Even if now most of my work has to do with impact investing. So, I work at a company called Boann Funds. We're an impact fund of funds. We manage a beautiful initiative called the Social Finance Fund, which is a $755 million initiative by the Canadian government to grow the social finance ecosystem in Canada. So, I'm a director for market development at Boann. I'm also involved with a fantastic organization called Thousand Faces, which has to do with empowering women and underrepresented people into stepping into the angel investing space. And so as part of that, I create and nurture a community, trying to inspire other women and people from equity deserving groups to really play with that and support other people and social entrepreneurs in particular.

(: 03:06

I am a newcomer to Canada, so I moved here this year. I came at the end of a fantastic book tour after I published my first book called Being Other: The Beauty and Power of Being an Outsider, which conveys my bigger thoughts and key messages to women and women of color in particular. And in terms of how to hone hope and strategy to navigate the world that we live in and how to bring forth change that is soulful, that is embodied, that is anchored, and that is long-lasting.

Leena Manro (: 03:45

Okay. So, wow, there's a lot. There's a lot going on there. Let's back up a second. I would say that many people are still not quite familiar with terms like social entrepreneur or impact investing. For the most part, we know what entrepreneurs do. They start businesses, et cetera. And investing is when you invest, whether in companies or real estate or whatever, with the desire to make money at the end. But let's break down these terms a little bit. What does social entrepreneurship mean?

Hanae Bezad (: 04:13

A social entrepreneur is someone who's going to look at a social or environmental issue and will bring a solution that takes the form of a business. So, trying to generate revenue with actions that hopefully bring a positive change and resolve that issue. Previously, before coming to Canada and before even my journey as an author, I was a repatriate social entrepreneur in Morocco. So, I decided to return to Morocco and address the issue of tech literacy. And so, I set up two ventures. One of them was a coding school as a franchisee. So, trying to really boost the local ecosystem, the nascent ecosystem with a program that was kind of considered number one in the world and so on to put Morocco on the map and really help young people in Morocco that were struggling with employability to gain more skills. On the side, and the social aspect of it was that it was transforming the business model for it to fit a different reality, an African reality where people don't have as much money and are not as well-supported by the government to have access to such top education.

(: 05:34

On the side, I developed something which was even more so a social entrepreneurship business, and it started as an initiative, a grassroots initiative to develop other programs targeting young people and women in particular in rural areas in Morocco where you have so many barriers. So, many of them have not gone to school the entire time. They have difficulty accessing digital infrastructure, the internet. Going to school sometimes is a challenge because schools are far away. You have sometimes a mentality and mindset that pulls them back into certain gender roles. And so for me, I decided to work on this, not knowing at the beginning how we would particularly have a business model around it, but really wanting to tackle that issue as a platform to empower people and bring them into more sovereignty and help their community challenges. So, what we did was effectively develop a number of programs and over the years, it structured itself as a non-profit being supported by some aid development funding, but also developing partnerships and revenue generating activities with the private sector. And so, that was back in 2017.

Leena Manro (: 07:05

How were you developing revenue generating activities with the private sector?

Hanae Bezad (: 07:09

Some companies, particularly banks, have at stake to have more literate people understand better their products. And so, for them, it was interesting to fund us to help say a group of women understand better tech, be more fluent in it, like play with it so that they can become customers for them and informed customers. And so, that solved the problem for them. It solved the problem for us. And I'm really proud to say that even now as I passed on the baton, the social venture lived through, has empowered thousands of women and young people in Morocco and has had ripple effects in the African continent through our partnerships and has a business model that is not just a charitable kind of action. It takes both from the public and private sector so that it's sustainable.

Leena Manro (: 08:08

Wow.

Hanae Bezad (: 08:08

And so, that is just an example of what social entrepreneurship could be. You have many other sectors that are a great playground for social entrepreneurs. So, affordable housing is one of them. Regenerative agriculture is one of them. Access to health is one of them. In Canada, specifically indigenous economies, community development, that's some of the things that we look at at Boann as an impact fund of funds. So, we would fund funds that would invest in companies addressing those challenges.

Leena Manro (: 08:40

So, let's go back to social entrepreneurship for a second. So, okay. Doesn't that just sound like the most perfect business model actually as opposed to, because when we think about doing good, be it a social impact or environmental impact, the first thing that comes to mind are things like charities and non-profits. And now more and more, I think people are starting to think about B Corp. I mean, our company, All Purpose, we're a B Corp, but this is a different... Not all B Corps are necessarily social entrepreneurs, are they?

Hanae Bezad (: 09:10

No.

Leena Manro (: 09:11

But there is some overlap and social entrepreneurship just in general, it's too bad more and more business wasn't thinking like that. So, do you know, I mean, what is sort of the feeling out there about social entrepreneurship? Is it becoming more attractive, more well-known?

Hanae Bezad (: 09:30

If you ask me, yes, social entrepreneurship is definitely one great avenue, especially for my generation that I think many of us want to become more autonomous, have more agency. Entrepreneurship at large has been really attractive to many people and more diverse people, women in particular, women of color in particular. So, I would say my understanding is that it's a movement that's been theorized now for a good 20 years.

Leena Manro (: 09:57

Yeah.

Hanae Bezad (: 09:58

I had the honor and pleasure to meet some of the kind of pioneers of this movement in the US. One of my mentors, Bill Novelli, I would call him a social entrepreneur. He certainly worked as a mad man in the 70s in New York City and in such agencies, but eventually he spearheaded so many initiatives that are really social entrepreneurship at heart. And the bulk of it is you can do good and do well at the same time.

Leena Manro (: 10:30

Yes. Do good and do well at the same time. Brilliant. Yes. I wish we could all strive for that.

Hanae Bezad (: 10:35

Exactly. And so I think the sentiment has been really positive all across. For me, especially returning to Morocco, choosing that pathway, I had to be an evangelist. I had to explain, I had to onboard people.

Leena Manro (: 10:52

Because it's not... Isn't it funny how you have to almost sell the idea because it's not intuitive, but it should be?

Hanae Bezad (: 10:58

Yes.

Leena Manro (: 10:58

It's almost like people want to save the whales, but you know what? Maybe there's a way you can save the whales and still be able to sustain yourself and still be able to... Oh, my God, it sounds bad if I say monetize that. I don't mean monetize. See, it sounds exploitive.

Hanae Bezad (: 11:11

Well, you know what, I think social entrepreneurship calls us to do, it calls us to reimagine our relationship with money and make it more expansive rather than full of that legacy of extraction, colonialism.

Leena Manro (: 11:28

Oh, expansive.

Hanae Bezad (: 11:29

Yeah.

Leena Manro (: 11:30

I'm sorry. I though you said expensive.

Hanae Bezad (: 11:31

Not expensive. Certainly not expensive. Sorry.

Leena Manro (: 11:34

More expansive.

Hanae Bezad (: 11:35

Serving expansion. Serving expansion. And yes, for many years I had to explain, I would tell people what type of business I was up to and what I was aspiring to. And they would end up being like, "Well, how are you going to make money? Are you going to be struggling your whole time?" To my mother in particular, I had to reassure her that no, I was also aspiring to make a good use of all my education and all the investment that my parents have made into helping me create a successful life. But I think it has opened doors for so many other people. And I think what's at stake right now is precisely sharing those stories and telling people it's all possible.

Leena Manro (: 12:20

Oh, yes. And it should be more than possible. It should be probable that if you follow the thing that you're passionate about and assuming that thing is also the thing that will help benefit this world in some way, I mean, I hope that it becomes very much very probable, very likely that that's also the thing that can sustain you. And not just like barely get by. I mean, I'm so exhausted by this narrative that by doing good or being a social entrepreneur or being a B Corp, break even is the target. That shouldn't be the case. It sucks that in a lot of situations that is, but maybe that's like a mindset thing that we need to just push past and say, no, financial abundance and really strong abundance should be the North Star as well, as well as like you said, like this expanse and getting to that North Star of what social impact or environmental impact, what that goal actually is, realizing that as well.

Hanae Bezad (: 13:14

I very much believe that we're at a time where we're going to see consciously led businesses thrive a lot more. And a lot of times they choose the approach of social entrepreneurship. It's not a nice-to-have. It's at the core of what they do. And the reason is because people are becoming aware of the power of being aligned fully. I think a lot of people that I've met in the past that were working in corporate structures were really conflicted about their own values, what they care about and what they spent their time doing.

Leena Manro (: 13:49

Right.

Hanae Bezad (: 13:51

And eventually this is not sustainable. Many of them burn out and get really disappointed. And that's not the point of spending 50 good years of your life kind of-

Leena Manro (: 14:03

Doing your work.

Hanae Bezad (: 14:03

... doing your work.

Leena Manro (: 14:05

Yeah.

Hanae Bezad (: 14:05

And I would say that for me, ever since I made that choice and I stepped out of consulting, that was my early career in Paris and I made those bold choices, I have been feeling more and more walking my path in my energy and supported by the universe. I mean, you mentioned it already. I believe there are greater forces that we can rely on, but my faith in it has expanded proportionally to the success that I was having.

Leena Manro (: 14:37

Yeah.

Hanae Bezad (: 14:38

And I think this is also a message to convey that it's all possible. We have to take the step. It's also urgent. The planet needs us so much-

Leena Manro (: 14:46

It's urgent. Absolutely. Yes.

Hanae Bezad (: 14:47

We need each other so much. So, if anyone has like an aspiration in whatever shape or form it takes, sometimes I think entrepreneurship is a bit too hyped. And I say that from having been hyped up from those choices, it's not necessary that it takes that form, but truly encouraging people to pursue what they care about and all the more when it's calling for alignment with what is necessary and needed in those times.

Leena Manro (: 15:15

Oh, my gosh. No, that's so true. The more that we talk to people about purpose-driven work and work that is more than benefiting this planet, but really heeding to that urgent call by the earth to help find solutions, right? The more we talk to people about these stories, it's interesting how so much of that does overlap with a lot of people who are finding alignment in who they are and often, I'm getting into woo territory, but often finding something motivated that is much more than just in their own lives, often motivated by a spiritual calling. Can you tell me more about how these forces have intersected in your life and in your work?

Hanae Bezad (: 16:01

Absolutely. Well, first of all-

Leena Manro (: 16:02

Look how she lights up. People are just listening. They can't see her light up. You just lit up.

Hanae Bezad (: 16:10

When I decided to return to Morocco, I was in a place of having lived about 10 years in France, really striving to fit in to tick all the boxes. I was the perfect young Parisian woman that was really conflicted about that because I eventually realized how my own identity coming from North Africa was sometimes problematic, sometimes there was some dismissiveness in the French culture and some lingering racism that I had to confront. And it all surfaced when... Yesterday was November 13 and 10 years ago there were the Bataclan attacks in Paris and this horrible episode and multiple such episodes kind of opened the door to unleash a lot of shadows in that society.

Leena Manro (: 17:04

And I'm sorry, can you remind us what these attacks-

Hanae Bezad (: 17:08

Yes. The Bataclan attacks were terrorist attacks against hundreds of people that were attending a concert and they were at the same time and it was really terrible. And at the same time, a few other attacks were occurring simultaneously in a restaurant that I was just at a week before. I could have been there that very Friday.

Leena Manro (: 17:33

And these are racially motivated attacks?

Hanae Bezad (: 17:35

No, it was just against that young generation enjoying life, essentially. And so, that really attacked something really deep for Parisians and French people that are all about freedom. And for me, it was also this moment of... Paris for me had always been the city where surely it was sometimes hard as a newcomer immigrant, but I spent my early 20s. So, it was all about attending concerts and going to celebrations and seeing that could happen was really heart shattering.

Leena Manro (: 18:10

Yeah.

Hanae Bezad (: 18:11

And so a lot of grief came up from me, but also processing those tensions, right? The fact that most people at work and other places I had to explain and justify and I had become kind of like the ambassador for good Muslims in the world. And it was so heavy and difficult and I think at the end of that year, I was just ready to take a step back and really reconnect with myself, heal some of my own things with my own country that I had left with the intention of coming back. But eventually with time, you change, your family changes. After we lost my dad, it kind of felt like a less safe place to be because it is a very patriarchal society. And so for me, it felt like-

Leena Manro (: 18:58

France is, Paris is?

Hanae Bezad (: 19:00

Leaving France to come back to Morocco at the end of my 20s, felt like a big deal. But eventually I give that a little bit of context to explain how it was healing in the first place and how I found that resolution to be bringing a lot more support and really helping me align and get that not just motivation, but really like the wins were with me and I felt that ancestral support and all of this. So, when I returned to Morocco, it had that meaning for me to not just come, but also come with something really significant.

(: 19:37

And the choice I made consciously at the beginning was that I would probably be triggered. I would have to face that and do the work and it all happened in this beautiful way. I faced the challenges of not being fully in my place in Morocco and not being fully supported at the beginning, but the very sector that I chose and bringing, like creating eventually two schools, I realized my grandmother in her own time had been a director of a school and it was this first generation of people after the independence that they picked a few people and including women that had some sort of education to give them those roles.

(: 20:29

And my grandmother herself used to go to rural areas to sit with people and understand their realities. And so, whenever I started knocking at doors in villages, I kind of realized it's insane because I'm doing the same thing that my grandmother did. And it was this beautiful phase where she was still alive, but very like end of life and she didn't have her full capacity, but I was explaining such things to her and I could feel a sense of continuation and pride in that. So, that was huge for me.

Leena Manro (: 21:00

So beautiful.

Hanae Bezad (: 21:01

And so, and my mother was also a teacher. So school, education, those things, I kind of feel like it ran in the family. Healing as well, my late father was a doctor. And so, I kind of started to feel like I could bring their strengths, their instincts with me and channel this through as I was navigating. Sometimes you feel on your own, but you're never on your own. So, eventually with time, I garnered the support that I needed. I was invited to speak in places and connect with people that were eventually supportive over time. I was able to work at a Pan-African level. I was invited to support 32 African countries as a policy advisor for startups and innovation, only because I had taken this bold step to start aligning and not spend my time serving the interests of corporate France in my kind of comfortable zone back in Paris.

(: 21:54

And I would say it even builds up over time, like even the way I got myself here in Vancouver. A year ago, my last gig of the year, as I was finishing my book tour, I was working at the same time and I worked with SOCAP and I was invited to-

Leena Manro (: 22:09

And what's SOCAP?

Hanae Bezad (: 22:11

SOCAP is this big impact investing conference in San Francisco Because I had organized the festival earlier that year, I was in the loop of other curators, conference folks, and I was invited to co-MC the conference. That's where I met Robin.

Leena Manro (: 22:27

That's right. And that's our CEO.

Hanae Bezad (: 22:30

Exactly. And that's also how I got to understand better what was social finance all about in Canada. And a few weeks later, when I started applying for jobs and I had pretty much no one in Vancouver other than the few people that I had met at this conference, this fantastic opportunity came through for Boann for me to participate. I thought, "You know what, it's a great thing."

Leena Manro (: 22:55

Yes.

Hanae Bezad (: 22:56

And then you surrender and then you're guided and then you're meeting the right people at the right time. And then you're manifesting. This thing about manifestation is very strong because you're not in this conflict anymore. You're not wasting your energy trying to protect a part of you that is not fully expressed, that you had to exile to fit in. You're actually fully yourself, and so you magnetize the reality that you want. That is a reality that feels good for you and is definitely serving the universe.

Leena Manro (: 23:24

Oh, wow. That's beautiful. That's amazing. Let's go back to when you're saying because you're not protecting this energy, what do you mean by you're no longer... What I'm hearing is something about how you're not in a space of conflict, you're fully present, right? What did you mean by protecting this energy? You're not wasting energy protecting this energy, this negative energy.

Hanae Bezad (: 23:47

Yes. Well, I feel like for a lot of us, when we are in places where we're not fully aligned, where for some reason we had to give up on-

Leena Manro (: 23:57

Maybe a dream or-

Hanae Bezad (: 23:58

... a dream, values-

Leena Manro (: 23:58

Or we're in the wrong relationship.

Hanae Bezad (: 24:01

... or we're in the wrong relationship-

Leena Manro (: 24:02

Right. That does it.

Hanae Bezad (: 24:03

... then definitely it's an important part of us that we had to cast away, and mostly because we thought it would be better for the needs to connect and be with other people. But the reality is that there's only so much tension you can hold, and we are all meant to become whole. And I think this is very much the purpose of our incarnations, why we're here on earth. We express our gifts, we are in community, we bring forth tangible actions that are driven by love and respect and an aspiration to elevate. And if you are in that situation where, yeah, all those situations like at work or on a personal level where parts of you, the parts of you that... As a kid, I loved animals, and I think most kids love animals. And as a kid, I thought I would have a chance at some point in my career to be with the wildlife and help save it somehow because I had an understanding already that humanity was-

Leena Manro (: 25:15

On a decline, yeah.

Hanae Bezad (: 25:15

Yeah, exactly. We were losing biodiversity and so on.

Leena Manro (: 25:19

Yeah.

Hanae Bezad (: 25:19

And when I talk about alignment, and it came through in a beautiful way. So, before coming to Canada, I was consulting with a few organizations and I consulted with one called Sovereign Nature Initiative, which was all about using the Web3 blockchain space to serve funding conservation. And then I found myself at the age of 34 thinking, "You know what? My eight-year old would be so proud of me right now to working on such an innovative approach of funding that also has storytelling and art and all of those pieces together because I am serving the dolphins of the coast of Portugal, the lions and the Maasai Mara." And I've seen those lines and you lock eyes with the wildlife and then you have a contract with them and you have this in its sense of, "I have to protect you. I have to serve you. I want you in this planet and I want you for my future children as well." And so, I think this is what I mean by really doing the work of bringing all the pieces of you together and in one shape or form, trying to express that over life.

(: 26:30

And again, sometimes we're lucky enough to be doing all of this in one career, but sometimes it's on the side activities and side engagements and it can take-

Leena Manro (: 26:42

And that's okay.

Hanae Bezad (: 26:43

And that's totally fine. That's totally okay.

Leena Manro (: 26:45

Yeah, that's right. It is often quite hard to have all the things that make you happy in one career. At the same time, one, we shouldn't give up trying. And two, I think the other piece of it is, I think a lot of people are afraid to tell the truth of what's really bothering them, right?

Hanae Bezad (: 27:01

Yes.

Leena Manro (: 27:01

Like these parts that we hide, we don't tell ourselves, we don't tell our family, our friends, the things that are really hurting us deep, deep down inside. And the sad part is it may be easier to just not talk about it, but actually you do yourself a lot of harm and you're not present.

Hanae Bezad (: 27:18

We've all had different versions of being conditioned to accept funny, say yes to things that we didn't agree with.

Leena Manro (: 27:30

Yeah.

Hanae Bezad (: 27:32

Yeah. We've just had different versions of it depending on your culture and so on. And sometimes we overperform to get attention, we overgive to get love. And now the more I do this inner work, the more I see people around me with their children side. And I have a lot more compassion for everyone. And I think the more compassion we can bring to this, the more liberation we get. And I again, so believe in liberating talent. I think we need that.

Leena Manro (: 28:10

All right. So, now we've talked about some of the, I guess, spiritual aspects of what were driving the changes that you made and the courageous changes you made to really embrace this new path. It takes a lot of courage to go from country to country. I mean, I actually don't know anyone else who's gone from their hometown and spends 10 years in Paris and comes back in America, Canada. Wow. So-

Hanae Bezad (: 28:33

I have a nickname for that.

Leena Manro (: 28:35

And what is it?

Hanae Bezad (: 28:35

I'm called the Notorious Migrant.

Leena Manro (: 28:36

The Notorious Migrant. Let's dive into a different aspect of the kind of work you do, and that is angel investing. And so, now let's define angel investing first. What is angel investing?

Hanae Bezad (: 28:52

I love this terminology because in somehow is a fantastic segue from the-

Leena Manro (: 28:58

Like More spiritual conversation.

Hanae Bezad (: 29:01

Essentially, angel investors are investors, so people that bring in money and look at companies as opportunities, but at an early stage and with a lot more benevolent capital, and they're going to come to really help sometimes an idea or really super early stage company to bring itself to a place where it can fundraise more money before they're usually in startup jargon, it's the minimal viable product. And angel investors are really key to innovation. There would be no innovation without angel investors, just like we need institutional and private capital, but angel investors are able to say, "Okay, this idea needs time and no one is going to bet on you, but I'm going to bet on you."

(: 29:54

And most of the time, it's also all the more important for diverse founders. And so for me, success meant that I could bring myself to a place where I could vote with my wallet and support the leadership of other younger entrepreneurs that had those big dreams and believe in their capacity and mostly women entrepreneurs. So, it's always been important to me to bring myself there for me was a metric of success.

Leena Manro (: 30:29

Angel investing does not necessarily have the social entrepreneur in mind.

Hanae Bezad (: 30:31

That's right.

Leena Manro (: 30:32

But angel impact investing.

Hanae Bezad (: 30:34

That's right.

Leena Manro (: 30:35

Let's define impact investing.

Hanae Bezad (: 30:37

Yes. So, angel investors come at an early stage. They bet on a founder and that helps them bring themselves to a place where they can have a minimal viable product and they can fundraise, et cetera.

Leena Manro (: 30:52

But because of the word angel investing, it almost sounds like this is like a do gooder impact, but that's not it.

Hanae Bezad (: 30:57

It's not necessarily do good.

Leena Manro (: 30:59

They're kind of like silent investors.

Hanae Bezad (: 31:01

It's true. It's not necessarily do gooders because not all of them are interested in impact.

Leena Manro (: 31:05

Yes.

Hanae Bezad (: 31:06

But some of them are interested in impact. And then they would join the category of impact investors.

Leena Manro (: 31:14

Yes.

Hanae Bezad (: 31:15

Once again, they would come and earn at early stage. But if they are angel impact investors, that means that what they're seeking in the companies they invest is not just the return, it's actually the impact. So, they will look at the metrics and the opportunity really based on what good are they going to do for the community, for the environment. Oh, and by the way, great. It's the 3% return and that's fantastic. So, that's quite humble.

Leena Manro (: 31:45

Yes.

Hanae Bezad (: 31:46

Rather than say, "Hey, I'm an angel investor and I'm going to bet on this phenomenal AI super advanced..." I mentioned AI because it's obviously very hype at this time and not everything AI is impactful, but surely you can have bigger returns. And so, not all angel investors are angel impact investors, but angel impact investors belong to impact and belong to that particular category that I respect very much that has a sense of what an opportunity can look like in the future.

Leena Manro (: 32:24

Yes. Beautiful. I love that. Now let's segue into Thousand Faces because that is the space of angel impact investing, right?

Hanae Bezad (: 32:32

That's right.

Leena Manro (: 32:33

Okay.

Hanae Bezad (: 32:33

So, earlier this year, as I moved in Vancouver and then started this job at Boann working on impact investing at an institutional level, I thought on a personal level, it really matters to me that I invest in other women-led ventures so that I would become an angel investor, but I wanted to not do it on my own and I certainly wanted a lot more information. And then I came across this beautiful organization founded by a fantastic female entrepreneur. Her name is Moojan Asghari, who developed a program to teach women and underrepresented people how to do angel investing right. And she brought many experts from London, Paris, New York. It was quite global. And I was part of this first cohort and I really loved the program and I thought many other people should join a program. And so I stepped in and said, "Let's organize the community here in Vancouver. Let's do a chapter." So, we started kind of doing gatherings ever since we finished the program.

(: 33:49

And the point of it is really to raise awareness around these opportunities and start bringing together founders and funders, so mostly angel investors. But then the nice thing is that other bigger funders always kind of follow or interested in what angel investors are going to look at because that's going to come into their own pipeline eventually a few years from now if the entrepreneurs are successful. And that's how I stepped into that space really with the intention of building a community that would become an investment club focused on impact to support other phenomenal female entrepreneurs. And I talked to a few great entrepreneurs that are from this area. One of them is developing a pump that is much more respectful of female breast for breastfeeding.

Leena Manro (: 34:48

I was at that group.

Hanae Bezad (: 34:48

Exactly.

Leena Manro (: 34:51

We hosted some of the events here at the All Purpose space. And I was also very blown away by that invention.

Hanae Bezad (: 34:59

Exactly.

Leena Manro (: 34:59

So, what happened there? Has she gone public or?

Hanae Bezad (: 35:03

We're going to organize the next one and hopefully find her a few funders because she has opportunities, but it's always the case with entrepreneurs that they would have an opportunity that can be unlocked and they need to find the bridge in between. And so, that's exactly how investment clubs are useful.

Leena Manro (: 35:23

Right. Right.

Hanae Bezad (: 35:24

We also had another climate entrepreneur using algae for-

Leena Manro (: 35:30

Building insulation, right?

Hanae Bezad (: 35:30

Exactly, building insulation.

Leena Manro (: 35:32

Yeah. Yeah. I remember these two because I thought of myself afterwards. They would be great even on this show to talk about what it is they do. I mean, the one with the breast pump, what was so interesting was how she's like, I think she said something about how the pumps that are in place right now are all designed by men who don't have breasts and apparently they kill and they pull blood out of a woman's breast. That is not healthy, natural, sustainable. And when there's an alternate way to do it. I mean, her product is amazing. The fact that it's so gentle, it should be-

Hanae Bezad (: 36:03

It should be mainstream.

Leena Manro (: 36:04

It should be mainstream.

Hanae Bezad (: 36:05

But that tells you something, that tells you that we're still in a time where women's health and comfort is not the top priority even for companies in that space.

Leena Manro (: 36:14

Yes.

Hanae Bezad (: 36:15

I mean, there's so much that we need to undo and that's why angel investing is so critical because then as women and you say, "Hey, it matters to me maybe..." Well, my neighbor is a new mom. I care about her. My colleague seem to be new mom. I'm going to be a mom at some point. And so, hey, this product needs to exist. It needs to come to life, so let's all put in a ticket and then together, the power of the collective, if you only put $2,500 or up to $5,000, imagine 10 people, that's already $50K and that's already bringing her to a great place of advancement.

Leena Manro (: 36:51

Yeah, that makes sense. And the other woman, the one who created the algae for insulation, again, another product that should be mainstream, something that is healthy and natural because every new build needs insulation. And here we are using unsustainable toxic materials and she's created something that's biodegradable and biofriendly and non-toxic. My mind was blown. I was only there for the very first meeting. I'm like, "I don't even know what this is."

Hanae Bezad (: 37:16

And we're only at the start. So, that's why I feel so positive and optimistic because the more we're going to gather, the more the word's going to spread out, the more we're going to find gems and soon enough be able to effectively make those investments.

Leena Manro (: 37:29

Yeah, absolutely. Wow. What are some things that you want the audience to take away from the work you're doing?

Hanae Bezad (: 37:38

I want people to first really have a chance to reflect on their own gifts and alignment journey to step more into what is impactful, what's needed at this time, to also understand that they don't need to do this alone. We're better off in the community and there are communities out there. Whatever you care about, you'll find communities that will help you further your intentions and amplify your intentions and be really an effective change maker. I also want to emphasize the different possibilities. I think for me, stepping into the space of managing big money was also very intentional. I'm the first one in my lineage to have gotten that level of education, that worldliness, that level of agency in terms of the impact the decisions I'm making at work have. And I really want people to feel empowered to do that. It matters to you, it matters to your community, matters to your family, matters to your lineage, your ancestors, the future generations.

Leena Manro (: 38:51

It matters also to you, your quality of life and the quality of life of this planet.

Hanae Bezad (: 38:54

Exactly. And that's the other message that it's possible to do all of it in a way that feels uplifting, joyful, embodied, connected, grounded. So, yeah, I kind of want all of these messages.

Leena Manro (: 39:11

Those are very good messages. And I suspect a lot of these messages are in your book. So, tell me about your books.

Hanae Bezad (: 39:16

Yeah, that's right. It's true. This book Being Other: The Beauty and Power of Being An Outsider has been an opportunity for me to use elements of my journey, but also many fantastic conversations that I've had with women from the Global South or the global majority, but also women from so called minority groups in the Global North that somehow embody change. And it's a non-fiction essay, a personal reflection on gender and change. It's this theory that women and particularly women of color can be leading really meaningful and sustainable change and do so in a very aligned way, but that comes with some challenges that hopefully the book gives strategy to walk around and to dance within. Actually, the last chapter is all about dance. So, it has the grace that we can find in doing the work that I mentioned before. So, yeah, the personal development inner work, shadow work that really helps to walk the world in full authenticity and integrity. And that's what we need.

(: 40:32

So, it's, again, personal experiences, but also a lot... I've interviewed so many women, but even before the book, I had taken so many nos all throughout my entrepreneurial journey. I didn't know if I would write a book. I mean, I've always wanted to write and I love to write poetry, but eventually those notes came up as really useful the moment I said, "You know what? I'm going to step out for a little bit and I need to share these messages in a very structured manner."

Leena Manro (: 41:03

Beautiful.

Hanae Bezad (: 41:03

So, yeah.

Leena Manro (: 41:05

That is amazing.

Hanae Bezad (: 41:06

One initiative that I would love to highlight for folks in Canada is the upcoming social finance hub. So, perhaps just to take a step back and explain a little bit what the Social Finance Fund is all about and what I'm doing at Boann with my colleagues and what two other companies are doing that are in our jargon called wholesalers, essentially impact fund of funds, managing this $755 million initiative to grow the impact investing space, the social finance space in Canada. So, we also have a contract with the government to develop an online platform that will host all the information that everyone wants to know about social and finance in Canada. So essentially who's doing what, who are the investors, who are what we call social finance intermediaries, so funds, who are the social purpose organizations. So, sometimes non-profits, sometimes takes other forms, but essentially organizations on the ground that are the ultimate beneficiaries of the Social Finance Fund because they receive funding from the investors and the social finance intermediaries.

(: 42:12

But a lot of times they don't know about the Social Finance Fund in the first place or the opportunities in general. They're not well-connected, especially in rural areas and in the north. And so, this digital platform will have a hopefully wholesome directory, but also a learning hub. So, a lot of the content that is being developed in this space that will help everyone kind of be or have access to an understanding of what is social finance, how it works, what are the impact measurement tools, how to make it easy for everyone so we have the industry grow. And the platform will be built for the general public itself as well as practitioners and we'll have a number of features to kind of promote or share opportunities to connect. And over time, we're going to give a lot more visibility and use a lot more AI to do things that are needed in ecosystem, like a dynamic mapping of initiatives and so on.

(: 43:21

And the whole point is, again, inform, empower people and accelerate the growth of this ecosystem. And I'd say, especially coming from abroad and having worked in other geographies, it's a phenomenal initiative. Other ecosystems have their own mapping, but this one I think will be quite comprehensive. We'll bring Canada up to par and perhaps advance us a bit further. And the key message is for everyone doing with their organization something good, and if they qualify as a purpose-driven business, a social purpose organization, then I think you'll find a lot of tools in this hub. It's going to be launched in the first quarter of 2026. So, yeah, stay tuned for that.

Leena Manro (: 44:07

Very exciting. Okay, great. And if anybody wants further information, what are some of the websites that they can look up?

Hanae Bezad (: 44:14

Absolutely. So, on the Social Finance Fund and the Social Finance Hub, you can look at the work we do at Boann, B-O-A-N-N, and the website is quite simple, www.boann.ca. For all things angel investing, I suggest that you look at a Thousand Faces. So, a Thousand Faces, you'll just type on Google and you'll find the website. Obviously, happy to connect on LinkedIn or else and yeah, and keep up the good work.

Leena Manro (: 44:51

Well, just want to thank you so much for joining us today. It was such a lovely conversation. Thanks for talking about all things impact investing and social entrepreneurship. I think I hope these topics gain more and more traction as people become more aware of what these concepts are.

Hanae Bezad (: 45:06

Yeah. And thank you for having me. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to share my story. And most importantly, thank you for being such a wonderful friend and ally. I love everything that you guys are up to and I know we're going to win. We're going to win this.

Leena Manro (: 45:21

I love that. Let's win it. Let's win it. Yay. Well, that's all the time we have for today's show. Thank you so much for joining us. And if you've enjoyed the show, please subscribe, hit the light button or share an episode. And if you have any feedback, questions or comments or show ideas, you can email us directly at hello@allpurpose.io. Thank you once again for joining us. We'll see you next time.