Reflections on the UVic Impact Investing School

Fri. Sep. 5, 2025

Group shot Brent Wennekes, MDP student at the University of Winnipeg, recently attended the Impact Investing Summer School at the University of Victoria. The eight-day intensive program, delivered in partnership with Propel Impact, International Training Centre for Authorities and Leaders (CIFAL) Victoria, and United Nations Institute of Training and Research (UNITAR), expanded his knowledge of innovative financing models for mission-driven enterprises, as well as the methods and standards used to evaluate and measure impact.

Throughout the program, Brent engaged with practitioners and scholars from across Canada and internationally, including at the Victoria Forum. He explored the complexities of financing innovation in areas such as carbon capture and reduction, and examined how innovative financial instruments and impact financing investors and organizations can support mission-driven enterprises while ensuring accountability through rigorous metrics and frameworks.

Brent Wennekes presenting “A key reflection for me was recognizing that ‘clean’ technologies like carbon capture, while promising, can also bring trade-offs,” noted Wennekes. “It underscored the need to approach impact investing critically, ensuring projects deliver benefits that respect taxpayers as well as community values and self-determination.”

Looking ahead, Wennekes plans to build on this learning in both his applied and academic work. His upcoming Major Research Paper will focus on emerging models of community finance, examining fund governance, developing readiness frameworks, and producing practical tools for partners.

“I’m grateful to the University of Winnipeg for supporting me in taking part in this program,” Wennekes added. “It helped connect questions from my coursework and field placements with real-world practice, and I’m excited to carry these insights forward.”