by Kim Perkins
Patrick Bergin
Patrick Bergin, Ph.D., is the CEO of the African Wildlife Foundation. AWF brings lawyers, scientists, policymakers, and local communities to the table to address policy change in ways that sustain human growth as well as the natural environment. Patrick has played a critical role in turning AWF from a conventional non-profit into an “e-organization” with both internal operations and external marketing based on modern technology and strategy, and AWF is arriving at SOCAP at the beginning of a new stage of seeking social capital to scale its operations.
1) Where do you see your organization fitting into the capital market spectrum?
African Wildlife Foundation has moved from using pure philanthropy, to using philanthropic capital to seed conservation enterprises. We are now planning to use social capital, seeking a return to help pursue our mission at scale. I see us fitting into an exciting, quite specific niche for those who want to invest in the people, wildlife and sustainable future of Africa.
2) What do you hope to get out of SOCAP09?
I hope to learn a lot about the broader social capital market and its current trends.
