Masawa Minute 101

COP28 | The problem with problem-solving | + More! 🌊

This is the Masawa Minute — mental wellness, social impact, and impact investing snippets from what we’ve read and created in the last month + where you can get active.

COP28 is underway until the 12th of December, and we’re holding our breath watching it all unfold. Naturally, this week’s newsletter focuses on the climate summit, the links between climate and wellbeing and the systemic transformation we so badly need. Enjoy and let us know what you think!

Masawa Update

Last week, Joshua participated in a panel at the House of Impact’s pre-event to Slush that brought together over 220 LPs, family offices, VCs, founders, and ecosystem partners to catalyze tangible action in the impact space. Alongside Elodie Donjon (European Investment Fund) and Nicolas Celier (Ring Capital), he discussed what the Fund of the Future might look like and delved into the journey of shaping tomorrow’s investment landscape.

The Fund of the Future is distinguished by its commitment to fostering a collaborative ecosystem, bridging gaps, and linking compensations to real impact results. Beyond addressing common concerns like the lack of capital, risk aversion, and mismatch between instruments and founders’ needs, it focuses on supporting pioneers from a diverse range of backgrounds who are reshaping the purpose of capital and making it work better for all.

The event was an invaluable opportunity to connect with impact pioneers and innovators, engage in forward-looking discussions, and showcase our nurture capital approach. This approach represents our contribution to transforming traditional VC investment through a fundamental focus on impact, founder wellbeing, a more holistic definition of success, and the integration of mental resilience into the startup journey. As we reflect on this experience, we’re hopeful and excited for the year ahead!

Curiosity That Matters

We have an awesome podcast recommendation for you! Curiosity That Matters is a series of conversations hosted by our dear friend Nadim Choucair. In this series, thought leaders and experts working at the intersection of design, policy, innovation and impact are invited to chat about the concepts and projects of their expertise, resulting in some deep and thought-provoking discussions.

On the latest episode, Nadim kindly invited Joshua and Huria over to catch up on all things Nurture Capital, getting into great detail about crafting an investment approach that centers people and impact, our thoughts on how leadership should evolve, and so much more.

Listen here!

This Week’s Story

COP28: The fund for climate reparations is here, but will it work?

COP28 opened with a surprising (some would say distracting) decision — the creation and structure of a “loss and damage” fund intended to source money from developed nations for climate damages in the global south, marking the first time a system for climate reparations has been established. It has been a longstanding goal of countries seeking financial support for climate-related disasters that disproportionately affect them despite their minimal contribution to these issues. The decision was praised as historic by the president of COP28, Sultan al-Jaber, who’s currently facing criticism over reports of the UAE’s intention to leverage his office to advance oil and gas deals at the summit.

While most countries have accepted the fund, the plan won’t be officially finalized until December 12. The fund’s mechanics have been a point of contention since last year, with the US insisting on housing it at the World Bank and “violently opposing” arguments for contributions to be legally mandated. The currently agreed-upon structure strikes a delicate balance. The fund will remain at the World Bank for at least four years, but its operations will be determined at annual UN climate gatherings, and it will be overseen by a board where developed nations hold less than half the seats and that will hold power to supersede the World Bank’s decisions “where appropriate.”

However, it’s rather unlikely that things will be running smoothly from here on out. The US remains firm that the fund doesn’t constitute compensation for past emissions and rejects any suggestion of liability for other countries’ climate damages. The pledged amount falls short of the $100 billion goal even after several countries like the UAE, Germany, the UK, Japan, and the US announced their contributions. Many challenges remain to be worked out, including contributions from countries like China and Saudi Arabia and potential opposition from the US Congress. Nevertheless, this signifies a significant shift as the countries in the global north collectively acknowledge some responsibility for climate change and its impacts.

Something Big Just Happened at COP

What else we’re reading…

☀️ Extreme weather events are known to result in PTSD — speaking of which, recent findings reveal that traumatic memories aren’t experienced as typical memories but rather as fragments of the present. This illuminates the unique nature of such memories, providing potential for refining therapies, utilizing memory organization to alleviate PTSD symptoms and gaining an overall better understanding of the disorder.

🕸️ Only a minority of people are actually dismissive of the threat of climate change, yet also only very few people are taking action — the rest are stuck in a state known as climate apathy. However, it’s clear that collective action is urgently needed, so how can we empower ourselves to take those meaningful steps?

♥️ Another “first” that took place at COP28 was the introduction of a dedicated health day, highlighting the detrimental impact of climate change on global health. More than 120 countries signing the Declaration on Climate and Health committing to enhance health system resilience through action and funding marks a promising start, but there’s a lot more to be done.

🕵️‍♀️ Is our problem-solving the problem? Understanding how societal issues intersect reveals why many of our methods fall short. The concept of Zero-Problem Philanthropy proposes a transformative vision that could hold an answer: shifting away from reactive, past-oriented approaches and focusing on building healthy contexts that address the root causes of the problems.

🌺 Solastalgia, a term created by environmental philosopher Glenn Albrecht, refers to the emotional impact of environmental change on individuals and communities in the present, unlike eco-anxiety, which is a reaction to the future. Utilizing this lens can be helpful for a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of land-dependent communities and for building a human-centered response that intertwines human stories with ecosystems and identities.

Gabija Vilkaitė