Jackson Rowland

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Impact Investing Advocate; Former Director, Ākina Invest, Ākina Foundation

NEW ZEALAND

Jackson Rowland is an impact investing advocate and the former director of Ākina Invest at the Ākina Foundation, a development consultancy that aims to transform New Zealand’s economy by supporting the development and sustainability of social impact business. In his five years as director, Jackson launched New Zealand’s first impact investing fund, quintupled the reach of the organization’s investment readiness program and developed advisory partnerships with government agencies and investors to encourage impact investing. Understanding that community-led and indigenous approaches often create the most impactful small businesses, Jackson has designed impact management frameworks to advance these approaches and has advised government leaders and corporations to support this work. For example, Ākina’s investment in a local packaging company that replaces single-use plastics with sustainable materials has enabled the business to grow from replacing 300,000 units per month to replacing 2,600,000 units. Jackson is building an impact investing structure in New Zealand where the needs of businesses, investors, communities and the environment are consistently met.

Previously, Jackson worked with several startups and as a lawyer in one of New Zealand’s leading law firms. He currently serves as a Board Trustee for Make a Wish New Zealand and was previously a regional lead for Oceania’s World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community. He holds bachelor’s degrees in law and science from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and was a member of the 2019 class of the Obama Foundation Leaders program in Asia-Pacific.