Learning from International Social Impact Consultant Bonnie Chiu

Meet Bonnie Chiu! Originally from Hong Kong, this social entrepreneur focused early in her career on empowering women through storytelling. Today, she runs global social impact consultancy “The Social Investment Consultancy” (TSIC) which provides support in impact measurement and evaluation. Alongside TSIC, Bonnie has also co-founded the Pathway Fund and is a Senior Advisor to Social Value International.  

Regarding innovations in the investing field, Bonnie says she witnesses them mainly in the evolution of impact valuation. Her work, which focuses on collaboration with funders and investors, focuses on monetising social impact to incentivise socio-environmental actions and to prioritise wellbeing.  

“Monetising impact is an incredibly helpful way to inform decisions. And that is really the ultimate goal of impact measurement & management – to fully-inform decision-making that is the most positive for people and planet.”  

Bonnie goes on to explain, “How we account for externalities, i.e. how we account for the ripple effect of production that occurs as a result of production of a good or delivery of a service 1.  Here, we are in need of innovation. Companies have historically not taken their externalities into account. Financial markets don’t value externalities. Unless we do so, we will never be fully accountable for all social and environmental impact.” 

Bonnie’s work and series of social enterprises have had a key focus on the gendered lens, particularly through Lensational, an initiative which taught photography to over 1,000 marginalised women across 23 countries. Her perspective on how to include this gender aspect focuses on making sure impact is equitably distributed to empower female stakeholders who have been systematically unheard.  

Bonnie also cites her experience in running the Pathway Fund - an Impact Investment initiative channelling capital to black and minorities communities in the UK  -  as a very personal one, fighting for a cause that has both an emotional and personal aspect as well as a professional one. Created alongside social entrepreneur Stephen Bediako and race equality advocate Kunle Olulode, the Pathway Fund will soon receive a £12 million investment/donation from the UK government, as was announced about a month ago. 

Finally, a unique aspect of Bonnie’s background is her international experience. To capture her insights, I asked her about her international work and what she has observed.  

“This is such a big question and probably deserves a book to do it justice. It is really hard to summarise but if I were to say a few trends I observe… One is that there is always a difference between Global North and Global South. The difference is primarily because of how funding has traditionally flowed with Global North being the donors and the Global South being recipients. I find that practitioners in the global south have a stronger awareness of power dynamics and power imbalances, and because of funding constraints you see Global South organisations being more self-sufficient in getting things going in the absence of funding. Another thing I have learned is that for countries which have grappled more with their past of exploiting certain groups, they have also gone the furthest in embedding inclusion into the way they create and deliver social impact.” 

Bonnie’s work in advocating for gender and racial equality and her worldwide experience in social impact and impact investing reminds us of the richness of perspectives gathered through the Social Value International network! You can find out more about her, her social impact consultancy and the Pathway Fund on her LinkedIn. 

1 An example would be potential unemployment resulting from new technology (driverless trucks) or AI adoption – this would currently be treated as an externality.