Disability inclusion is good for the bottom line 2020

One in five people identify as having a disability. This means globally the people with disability market is estimated at 1.27 billion people, a market comparable in size to China. Together with their friends and family, this is a huge market with the collective spending power of USD9 trillion in annual disposable income each year. 

Socially responsible investing is top of the agenda for many conscious investors. This is reflected in the increased number of impact investment funds. The burgeoning appetite for impact investing in Australia indicates an increase of allocation towards impact investments of more than fivefold to $100 billion over the next five years.

Our panel will discuss how inclusion can realise significant gains in value creation and the bottom line, and the opportunities in this convergence of disability inclusion and growth of conscious capital.

Moderator

Pete Horsley, Founder, Remarkable Technology Accelerator (Sydney)

Panel

• Rich Donovan, CEO at The Return on Disability Group (Toronto)

• Rachel Yang, Investment Manager, Giant Leap Fund at Impact Investment Group (Melbourne)

Rich Donovan, CEO at The Return on Disability Group. Rich is a globally recognized subject matter expert on the convergence of disability and corporate profitability. He has spent more than 10 years focused on defining and unlocking the economic value of the disability market. Rich created the Return on Disability concept and model. The Barclays Return on Disability ETN listed on the New York Stock Exchange on September 11th, 2014 under the ticker RODI. He has been named one of the Top 50 Most Influential People with Disabilities in the world by UK-based Powerful Media and Shaw Trust in October 2016. @richdonovannyc

Rachel Yang, Investment Manager, Giant Leap Fund at Impact Investment Group. Giant Leap is a venture capital fund backing founders using business as a force for good, driving social and environmental change. The fund is backed by the Impact Investment Group, a leading Australian funds manager whose mission is to shift capital towards impact investments. Rachel is also on the Board of Startup Victoria, a non-profit, grassroots organisation supporting startup founders succeed and is a member of the Victorian State Government's Innovation Taskforce. Rachel's background is in management consulting and corporate finance, and she previously co-founded a non-profit organisation to raise funds and awareness for Motor Neurone Disease. @RachelYang_

Pete Horsley, Founder, Remarkable Technology Accelerator. Pete aims to create a positive global impact on disability inclusion and is a catalytic leader who creates sustainable social change. So far he has managed to create Australia's first disability technology accelerator for startups developing technology that enable people with disability to overcome barriers they face each and every day. He has more 15 years experience in the disability sector across a range of roles. Peter started his career as a landscape architect and sees the potential for design and innovation to create positive systemic change. @petehorsley @RemarkableTech