Further Insights: Finance with a purpose - The age of stakeholder capitalism has come

The world is going downhill. But change is inevitable – and change for the better is possible. Above all, it requires the financial sector to become aware of its power and the role it has to play. In his latest book 'Digital for Good', Chris Skinner gives the floor to big names in finance who show us the way. He was kind enough to grant Qorus' Boris Plantier an interview.

It is not always easy to distinguish genuine leaders from clever communicators. How did you select the different people you interviewed in this book?

First and foremost, the book is not about green. Green is part of the content, but the book is more about ESG, inclusion, purpose-driven finance and more. The reason I make that point is that one person I approached about the book said that they would not contribute because it was promoting the green agenda. I countered that it was more about biodiversity. In other words, the basis of the book creates an argument up-front.

What is the basis of the book? The aim is to look at how finance and technology can make a better society and a better planet. The sub-theme of the book is that if you don’t stand for something, you will fall. You need purpose in finance and technology. You need to stand for something. And then, what you stand for must relate to making a better place for people and planet. In other words, return to stakeholders, not just shareholders.

All of that sounds laudable except that, if Chris Skinner is the one saying this, it is easy to argue back. The book creates an argument up-front. Therefore, I wanted to reach out to others who believe this who, in my view, were credible commentators. I hand-picked them to represent every part of the world and every view. That’s why you have everything from Extinction Rebellion to the Bitcoin Foundation; from Rabobank to Discovery Group; from Ant Group (Alipay) to Monzo. The key was to find people who could understand the issues in-the-round, from purpose-driven finance to ESG to renewables to financial inclusion.

And I think that’s the most important point: it’s in-the-round. It’s people from all five major continents giving the same message: we can use technology and finance to make the world a better place.