This past May, nRhythm had the opportunity to host two events at Shift 22, one of which was “Regeneration: A Principle-Based Approach to Investment”. In this engaging and insightful conversation, Tre’ Cates, Managing Director at nRhythm, spoke with the panelists about how regeneration could provide an alternative to the existing investment model. They also explored how living systems principles can inspire a shift in design with investors, businesses, and community-based initiatives working to reimagine finance and investment in principle and in practice. 

The panel included John Fullerton, Capital Institute; Laura Ortiz Montemayor, SVX Mexico; Clint Murchison, Dogwood Capital; Rolf Pretorius, Olive Leaf Foundation; and Miah Shull Olmsted, The Impact Arts Society. All of whom have had experience with the finance industry, both within and outside of the regenerative space. 

Below are some key insights from this conversation: 

• The pace of change from an extractive culture to a regenerative one looks different for everyone, and the finance sector plays a major role in determining that pace.  

• Financial and economic systems were designed in a mechanistic paradigm, without considering the impact on people, planet, or potential.   

• The universal patterns and principles of living systems can inform a new design that creates conditions for health for people and planet.  

• We have designed systems while ignoring our place as mammals in the ecosystem, further reinforcing the separation between humans and our environment. 

• Life-centered principles give space for a context informed approach. When we look at each context differently, we can finance each context differently. 

• We need to start asking "Why does wealth matter to me?" rather than "Why do I not have wealth?” or “What is going to increase my wealth?" 

"When we look at each context differently, we can finance each context differently."

- Rolf Pretorius

Olive Leaf Foundation

If you would like to explore these insights further or check out other recorded content from Shift 22, you can now purchase the Shift Replay Pass, an incredible collection of essential content for social impact leaders driving change. 

Valued at $494, the Shift Replay Pass is available for $99 for a limited time until Friday, September 2nd, 2022. It features all of the content produced during the Shift 2021 and 2022 digital summits dedicated to building equitable, environmentally sustainable, and socially-responsible global economies and business landscapes. 

To dive deeper into regenerative economics and finance, read through Capital Institute’s 8 Principles of a Regenerative Economy. 

To get more involved in nRhythm, you can do so by joining our free online community. This is where you can find out about any free live events we are hosting, dive deeper into all that nRhythm offers and find others who are redesigning their job, workplaces, organizations and personal lives using a living-systems approach.