Green Success Stories puts Hanae Bezad, Director of Market Development for Canada’s Boann Social Impact, in The Green Spotlight. Hanae describes her global sustainability journey that has taken her from Morocco, across Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Asia, leading and advising initiatives at the intersection of innovation, climate justice, and inclusion. She details her current work at Boann Social Impact in Canada where she contributes to deploying the Government of Canada’s Social Finance Fund with a focus on climate and agtech impact investments. Hanae hopes readers leave with the sense that small actions, rooted in justice and care, can spark far-reaching change.
Tell us a bit about your sustainability journey.
My sustainability journey is rooted in equity, interdependence, and systems change—especially in communities disproportionately impacted by climate disruption. I began as a social entrepreneur in Morocco, where I founded Douar Tech, an inclusive tech hub supporting vulnerable youth—especially women in rural and peri-urban areas—with digital skills, entrepreneurship training, and mentorship. That early work grounded my understanding of how local resilience and global sustainability are inseparably linked.
Since then, I’ve led and advised initiatives across Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Asia at the intersection of innovation, climate justice, and inclusion. At the House of Beautiful Business, I curated a global gathering in Tangier focused on life-centered economies. With the Sovereign Nature Initiative, I led Web3-powered conservation projects connecting emerging technologies with biodiversity protection in Kenya and Morocco.
Currently, at Boann Social Impact in Canada, I contribute to deploying the Government of Canada’s Social Finance Fund with a focus on climate and agtech impact investments. My work centers on identifying and supporting funds that integrate regenerative practices, climate adaptation, and Indigenous-led stewardship of land and resources.
Writing has always accompanied my professional work. My first book spotlights Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color changemakers across the globe—those building futures rooted in justice, care, and transformation. I’m currently working on personal writing projects, including fiction and poetry, that explore regenerative practices through a more creative, narrative lens—interweaving personal insight with political inquiry. For me, sustainability is ultimately about relationships: to land, to community, and to possibility.
Tell us a bit about the product or solution you offer.
At Boann Social Impact, we are one of three wholesalers selected to activate the Government of Canada’s $755 million Social Finance Fund (SFF)—a landmark initiative to grow the impact investing market and expand access to capital for social purpose organizations (SPOs). The SFF is designed to catalyze investments in climate, food systems, health, housing, and the Indigenous economy, with equity and systems change at its core.
Roughly 60% of our portfolio integrates climate strategies, including clean energy, decarbonization, sustainable agriculture and agtech, water and environmental stewardship, and climate adaptation.
As Director of Market Development within Boann’s Engagement and Market Development team, I lead efforts to strengthen the national impact ecosystem—especially by reaching underrepresented regions and actors. This includes targeted work in rural and remote communities, as well as in the North and Prairies, to ensure that both capital and capacity-building reflect local realities.
I also oversee the development of the Social Finance Hub—a digital platform designed to connect investors, fund managers, and SPOs across Canada. The Hub will feature a curated directory, shared learning tools, and an AI-powered navigation function to enhance visibility, knowledge-sharing, and inclusive participation in the impact economy.
Together, our fund deployment and ecosystem-building efforts aim to shift the culture of finance—toward regeneration, inclusion, and community-rooted resilience.
Share a green success story with us – how have you helped customers or other businesses in the fight against climate change?
At Boann, we back impact-first fund managers advancing bold solutions to urgent social and environmental challenges. One example is our investment in Active Impact Investments, a leading Canadian venture firm focused on early-stage climate tech.
Through this partnership, we help scale ventures addressing climate change at both systemic and technological levels. One standout portfolio company is Skyward, a wildfire prevention startup responding to one of the fastest-growing climate threats in Canada.
Skyward tackles the fact that while lightning causes 50% of wildfires, it accounts for 85% of total burn area. Their solution uses a safe, military-grade material to de-charge clouds and prevent lightning strikes—paired with AI-powered weather models to support early intervention. It’s a high-risk, high-impact solution that could drastically reduce carbon emissions from wildfires—now outpacing many mitigation efforts like EV adoption.
This kind of catalytic innovation is exactly what the Social Finance Fund was built to support.
What would you do with $1 billion dollars?
With $1 billion, I’d focus on catalyzing structural change: ending extreme poverty, protecting civilians in conflict zones, and building regenerative systems that enable long-term planetary and human well-being.
$1 billion could help lift over 6 million people out of extreme poverty—especially in rural, climate-vulnerable areas where small investments in food, education, and infrastructure can have transformative effects.
I’d also direct funding to civilian protection in high-conflict regions—where the cost of inaction is measured in lives. A portion could support frontline NGOs, trauma response teams, and safe humanitarian corridors to evacuate families and safeguard medical access. While I won’t name a specific place, we all know where humanity is being most tested—and we cannot look away.
Finally, I’d invest in regenerative, community-led initiatives—especially those led by women and Indigenous leaders—focused on land, food, and energy sovereignty. These are the seeds of lasting peace and justice.
I see $1 billion not as a windfall, but as a responsibility—to protect life, restore dignity, and co-create futures we can be proud of.
What do you envision your industry looking like in ten years?
Today, the global impact investing industry is valued at over $1.1 trillion (GIIN). But that’s still small—especially when you consider that institutions like BNY Mellon manage over $40 trillion. In Canada, the SVX Impact Report tracks just $15 billion in impact AUM. We’re a drop in the ocean.
But as Rumi wrote: “You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.”
The next decade is about expanding that drop—with purpose. I envision an industry that’s not just bigger, but better:
- More flexible tools that meet communities where they are.
- Harmonized standards and shared languages that ease collaboration and traceability.
- Technology-enabled decisions that remain grounded in ecological and social realities.
- And above all, a globally connected ecosystem, built on solidarity—not charity—and led by those most impacted.
- We’re still early in this journey, but the next ten years will shape whether we scale an industry—or deepen a movement. Ideally, we do both.
What would you like readers to take away from this article?
That impact isn’t a strategy—it’s a stance. A commitment to align our resources with the world we want to create, not just the one we inherited.
I hope readers leave with the sense that small actions, rooted in justice and care, can spark far-reaching change. That imagination and infrastructure must meet. And that those historically at the margins—especially women and racialized changemakers—aren’t passive recipients of impact; they are the ones leading it.
This is our chance to move finance from extraction to regeneration. From gatekeeping to bridging. And that shift doesn’t start with big money—it starts with bold decisions.
How should readers get in touch with you and/or your organization?
We’d love to connect!
- Email: hello@boann.ca
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/
hanaebezad/ - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
beehane/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/beehane
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/
hanaebezad
Kudos
Many thanks to Hanea Bezad and Boann Social Impact.
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