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Monday, May 20, 2013 — South Asia

Instilling soft skills in chauffeurs

Source: The Hindu Business Line
In the travel industry, the bottom of the pyramid is the driver.” Ram Badrinathan, Founder & CEO, GlobalTHEN.
TAGS:impact investing, poverty alleviation, social enterprise
Monday, May 20, 2013 — No Region Specified

How three of the best-performing socially conscious funds are investing

Source: The Economic Times
Socially responsible investing has long been associated with avoiding companies in "vice businesses" like alcohol, tobacco and weapons.
TAGS:impact investing, social enterprise
Thursday, May 16, 2013 — Sub-Saharan Africa

The hottest frontier

Source: The Economist
Strategies for putting money to work in a fast-growing continent.
TAGS:impact investing, poverty alleviation, social enterprise
Thursday, May 16, 2013 — South Asia

Acumen Fund announces first energy investment in Pakistan

Source: Daily Times
Acumen, a pioneering non-profit global venture firm addressing poverty across Africa and in South Asia, on Monday announced its first investment in the growing rural energy sector of Pakistan.
TAGS:impact investing, social enterprise
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 — No Region Specified

Canada gives $10 million to health innovations

Source: Sci Dev Net
More than 100 projects spanning the globe — including a number from South-East Asia — will share CAN$10.9 million (US$10.7 million) worth of funding from the Canadian government to pursue novel and cost-effective innovations in disease treatment.
TAGS:health care, impact investing, public health
Monday, May 13, 2013 — Sub-Saharan Africa

Venture Capital to invest US$20m this year

Source: Ghana Web
The Venture Capital Trust Fund will invest US$20million in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in different sectors of the economy this year, building on a portfolio of investments currently valued at close to US$60million.
TAGS:impact investing, poverty alleviation
Monday, May 13, 2013 — Sub-Saharan Africa

Us Family Biz Icon Launches Africa Fund

Source: Campden FB
Dr John Coors, fourth-gen chief executive of ceramics company CoorsTek and a member of the Coors brewing dynasty, is behind the launch of an investment group targeting Africa that plans a new approach to investing in the continent.
TAGS:impact investing, investment fund, poverty alleviation
Monday, May 13, 2013 — No Region Specified

Is social enterprise sustainable?

Source: VC Circle
Social enterprise first evolved in the developing world. Now the business models and social metrics may be going mainstream.
TAGS:impact investing, social enterprise
Friday, May 10, 2013 — Sub-Saharan Africa

Venture Capital Trust Fund signs MoU with GIMPA to establish Centre

Source: Ghana Business News
Venture Capital Trust Fund (VCTF) signed a Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with the Ghana Institute for Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) to establish a Centre for Impact Investing in the country.
TAGS:impact investing, poverty alleviation, social enterprise
Thursday, May 09, 2013 — South Asia

Now, a regulatory body to set norms for impact investment

Source: The Economic Times
In order to avoid excesses that derailed the Indian microfinance industry three years ago, nine entities doing 'impact investing' have come together.
TAGS:impact investing
Wednesday, May 08, 2013 — No Region Specified

A Microlender Backs Startups to Bring More Than Loans to the Poor

Source: Bloomberg Businessweek
Microlending has lost a lot of its shine in the seven years since Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize for delivering small loans to help poor women start businesses.
TAGS:impact investing, Microfinance, poverty alleviation, social enterprise
Monday, May 06, 2013 — South Asia

Cheering social entrepreneurship: How Lok Capital did it

Source: Money Control
Investing in a social enterprise in India has become quite the in-thing and the definition of who is a social entrepreneur seems to be changing as well.
TAGS:impact investing, social enterprise
Monday, May 06, 2013 — No Region Specified

What is the best way of innovating for social change?

Source: Financial Times
There are many different ways – organisationally speaking – that you can save the world.
TAGS:impact investing, poverty alleviation, social enterprise
Wednesday, May 01, 2013 — South Asia

World Bank Group Awards $2 Million to Social Enterprises in the States of Madhya Pradesh

Source: Finchannel.com
Twenty social enterprises were awarded grants totaling $2 million by the India Development Marketplace (DM) funded by the World Bank Group (WBG).
TAGS:impact investing, social enterprise
Tuesday, April 30, 2013 — No Region Specified

Profit Meets Purpose: Why Social Entrepreneurship Suggests a Possible Future for Global Capitalism

Source: Huffington Post
As the first Internet stock bubble neared its popping point in 1999, IBM chief executive Lou Gerstner famously dismissed the dot-com start-ups of his day as "fireflies before the storm--all stirred up, throwing off sparks."
TAGS:impact investing, social enterprise
Tuesday, April 30, 2013 — No Region Specified

Connecting the Global Community of Leading Impact Investors: Global Impact Investing Network

Source: Forbes
Forbes interviewed Amit Bouri, the managing director at the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the effectiveness of impact investing around the world.
TAGS:impact investing, social enterprise
Tuesday, April 30, 2013 — No Region Specified

Video Contest Winner Colorado State University Shows Business Education Can Change the World

Source: GBSN Online
Business students from around the globe entered the Global Business School Network’s 3rd annual MBA+ Challenge Video Contest to show how they are making a difference in the developing world.
TAGS:entrepreneurship, impact investing, social entrepreneur
Friday, April 26, 2013 — Latin America

Assured Labor Raises $5.5M To Find Jobs For Workers Across Latin America

Source: Tech Crunch
Assured Labor, a New York, Mexico City and São Paulo-based startup that helps low- and middle-income workers across Latin America find jobs through their mobile phones, just closed $5.5 million in funding led by Mexican private equity firm Capital Indigo.
TAGS:impact investing, social enterprise
Wednesday, April 24, 2013 — Sub-Saharan Africa

IFC, Others Invest $20m In Ghanaian Microfinance Bank

Source: Ventures Africa
The IFC, the German Investment and Development Corporation (DEG), and the African Capitalisation Fund (ACF) have together invested about GH¢46 million ($20 million) into one of Ghana’s leading microfinance banks, UT Bank.
TAGS:impact investing, poverty alleviation
Wednesday, April 24, 2013 — No Region Specified

Conscious Business, Crowdfunding and Social Impact Investing

Source: Huffington Post
Crowdfunding thought leader Rose Spinelli and Richard Branson Award Winner Shayan Nahrvar, CEO of Raise5.com, were ready to talk about funding in the new capitalism at the Conscious Business Network last week.
TAGS:impact investing, social enterprise
Monday, April 22, 2013 — Sub-Saharan Africa

AfDB Provides $38m To Aid Entrepreneurship, Job Creation In Rwanda

Source: Ventures Africa
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is contributing $38 million to boost entrepreneurship and job creation in Rwanda.
TAGS:impact investing, social enterprise
Friday, April 19, 2013 — No Region Specified

6 reasons companies fail to reach the bottom of the pyramid

Source: Devex Impact
It is no secret that, when it comes to commercial ventures at the base of the pyramid, our greatest hopes and expectations have been placed on the potential of multinational corporations to mitigate poverty.
TAGS:impact investing, social enterprise
Monday, April 08, 2013 — Sub-Saharan Africa

Rockefeller And Tony Elumelu Foundation Launch African Impact Fund

Source: Forbes
The Rockefeller Foundation and theTony Elumelu Foundation, founded by Nigerian philanthropist Tony Elumelu, have launched an impact investment fund for Africa.
TAGS:impact investing, Rockefeller Foundation
Thursday, March 28, 2013 — South Asia

Investors commit over Rs 400 crore for funding new ventures for the poor

Source: The Economic Times
BANGALORE: Investors have committed at least Rs 400 crore to a government-backed fund that will provide capital to new ventures serving the needs of India's low-income communities. The fund, whose eventual size is envisaged at more than Rs 5,000 crore, is the first such by the government, which is taking increasing interest in venture capital investing.
TAGS:Base of the Pyramid, impact investing
Tuesday, March 19, 2013 — Asia Pacific

IDB's assignment: A proposal to reform private sector operations

Source: Devex
The Inter-American Development Bank’s annual meeting has concluded with a lot of promise for businesses in the region, from the establishment of a new Chinese cofinanced fund to a plan to streamline the activities of the bank’s private sector windows.
TAGS:impact investing, poverty alleviation
Friday, March 15, 2013 — North Africa and Near East

Life of Pi to bridge the funds gap

Source: The National
A new company is attempting to help bridge a US$3.5 billion (Dh12.85bn) funding gap for the Middle East's poorest entrepreneurs by linking them to microcredit loans bankrolled by the social media generation.
TAGS:impact investing, social enterprise
Thursday, March 07, 2013 — South Asia

Impact investing likely to grow at 30% annually

Source: Live Mint
Impact investing, in which money is used to deliver social benefits alongside financial returns, generated around $100 million (around Rs.547 crore today) of capital in India last year and is set to grow at an annual pace of 30%, according to research by the Rockefeller Foundation.
TAGS:impact investing, social enterprise
Thursday, February 28, 2013 — No Region Specified

TriLinc Global Launches $1.5 Billion Impact Investment Fund

Source: Market Watch
TriLinc Global Impact Fund ("TriLinc") announced today that its registration statement pertaining to its public offering of up to $1.5 billion in units of limited liability company interest was declared effective by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").
TAGS:impact investing, social enterprise
Tuesday, February 26, 2013 — No Region Specified

Impact Investing Gets a University Center

Source: Forbes
More proof impact investing is entering the mainstream: the announcement of a $13 million university center devoted to it.
TAGS:impact investing
Friday, February 15, 2013 — Sub-Saharan Africa

Africa calling: rewarding patient investors

Source: Financial Times
In the 1970s, it was Idi Amin’s expulsion of Asians from Uganda. In 1980s, it was a malnourished child in Ethiopia, struggling just to stand up. In the 1990s, it was piles of mutilated corpses in Rwanda. For many in the west, these remain the defining images of Africa – despots, disasters and despair.
TAGS:impact investing, poverty alleviation
Wednesday, February 06, 2013 — No Region Specified

ImpactSpace Tracks Impact Investment Deals

Source: Forbes
How do you track all the impact investing deals out there? How can investors see who is investing in what, the sectors that are hot–all the information you might get in something like CNNMoney’s Term Sheet, which tracks what ‘s happening in mergers and acquisitions and venture capital and private equity deals in the conventional world.
TAGS:impact investing
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 — No Region Specified

Univ. of Utah gets $13 mln for impact investing center

Source: Reuters
University of Utah's school ofbusiness has received $13 million from technology entrepreneur James Lee Sorenson to establish a center to advance investment to organizations that demonstrate a benefit to society, the university announced on Tuesday. The new James Lee Sorenson Center for Global Impact Investing will focus on the very early stages of investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention of generating measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.
TAGS:education, impact investing
Monday, January 21, 2013 — South Asia

New fund from global impact investors

Source: Business Standard
Global impact investors Rockefeller Foundation and Omidyar Network have joined hands with Dasra, a strategic philanthropy foundation, to launch the Impact Investing Forum in India. The forum on Saturday announced the launch of the India Impact Economy Innovations Fund to catalyse collective action and market development in India, a statement said.
TAGS:impact investing, Rockefeller Foundation
Friday, January 18, 2013 — No Region Specified

Social Impact Investing Will Be the New Venture Capital

Source: HBR Blog Network
During the past century, governments and charitable organizations have mounted massive efforts to address social problems such as poverty, lack of education, and disease. Governments around the world are straining to fund their commitments to solve these problems and are limited by old ways of doing things. Social entrepreneurs are stultified by traditional forms of financing. Donations and grants don't allow them to innovate and grow. They have virtually no access to capital markets and little flexibility to experiment at various stages of growth. The biggest obstacle to scale for the social sector is this lack of effective funding models.
TAGS:Impact Assessment, impact investing, investment fund
Wednesday, January 02, 2013 — No Region Specified

Charitable foundations look towards impact investing

Source: Marketplace
Pierre Omidyar wanted to take the fortune he earned from his company, eBay, and become a philanthropist. So he started a traditional foundation for giving out grants. He called it the Omidyar Family Foundation.
TAGS:impact investing, Philanthropy, social impact
Friday, December 21, 2012 — No Region Specified

Pilot financial index for social investment unveiled

Source: The Guardian
Could an asset class for social impact investment be a step closer to becoming a reality?
TAGS:impact investing
Wednesday, December 19, 2012 — North Africa and Near East

Egypt: Impact Investing Is Key to Inclusive Development in Egypt

Source: All Africa
Demographic pressures and years of under investment in meeting social needs suggest that Egypt will not be able to provide jobs, housing and basic services without adopting a wide strategy for inclusive development. Impact investing should be encouraged as one of the strategy's pillars.
TAGS:employment, impact investing, MENA region, social enterprise
Tuesday, December 11, 2012 — Latin America

Bolivia Invests $20 Million in Waste Management

Source: Environment News Service
WASHINGTON, DC, December 10, 2012 (ENS) – Bolivia will improve municipal solid waste management services such as collection, transportation, and disposal, with a $20 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank, the bank announced today.
TAGS:IDB, impact investing, sanitation
Monday, December 10, 2012 — Sub-Saharan Africa

In Africa’s malaria fight, a $3.6B funding gap

Source: Devex
A global public-private partnership is exploring a number of options to fill a multibillion-dollar funding gap in efforts to fight malaria in Africa.
TAGS:health care, impact investing, malaria, public health
Friday, December 07, 2012 — No Region Specified

Introducing... social enterprise speed matching

Source: The Guardian
The Nominet Trust has not always got collaboration right, but a recent speed dating-style event helped connect social entrepreneurs to potential funders
TAGS:impact investing, social entrepreneur
Friday, December 07, 2012 — No Region Specified

UN FAO calls for sustained investment in global agriculture

Source: International Business Times
Excessive corruption, poor infrastructure and scarce government resources were deterring investment in agriculture and contributing to high levels of malnourishment around the world, said an FAO report released Thursday.
TAGS:agribusiness, impact investing, nutrition
Friday, December 07, 2012 — Sub-Saharan Africa

Global Impact Investing Network Receives GBP 10.5 Million Commitment from UK's Department for International Development

Source: Press Release
The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) announced today that the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) will provide GBP 10.5 million to support the GIIN’s role in developing and growing the impact investing market in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
TAGS:impact investing, investment fund, poverty alleviation
Monday, December 03, 2012 — South Asia

What Is eBay’s Omidyar Doing on Delhi’s MedTech Row?

Source: New York Times
Pierre Omidyar is best known as the founder of the online auction company e-Bay, which he grew from an “odd little Web site” to one of Web commerce’s biggest and longest-lasting success stories.
TAGS:impact investing, Philanthropy, social impact, venture capital
Monday, December 03, 2012 — South Asia

Patnis purchase stake in Grameen Capital India

Source: Business Standard
Grameen Capital India (GCI) has announced that Amit Patni and Arihant Patni have acquired a stake in the company from original investor IFMR Trust. The Patni's after exiting their software services exports company to iGate in a $1.2 billion deal have started Nirvana Venture Advisors, a venture capital fund with focus on the internet space in India.
TAGS:impact investing, technology, venture capital
Friday, November 30, 2012 — No Region Specified

Impact Investing’s Next Hurdle: Better Networking

Source: Knowledge@Wharton
Tess Mateo is a matchmaker. Her job is to interest private investors in projects throughout the world that will improve the quality of life for people and protect the environment. It is not unusual for her to touch down on four continents in the same number of weeks.
TAGS:impact investing, Microfinance
Thursday, November 29, 2012 — North Africa and Near East

Symbiotics’ impact bond issuance platform lends 10 million dollars to AccessBank in Azerbaijan

Source: Press Release
Azerbaijan’s leading microfinance bank, AccessBank, received 10 million dollars through MSME Bonds, Symbiotics’ impact bond issuance platform, on November 20, 2012.
TAGS:impact investing, Microfinance, small and medium enterprises
Wednesday, November 28, 2012 — South Asia

Accion’s Frontier Investments Group and Saama Capital Invest $4 Million in Mortgage Company

Source: Sacramento Bee
Early-Stage Equity to Help Expand Shubham Housing's Mission to Serve Urban Poor
TAGS:affordable housing, impact investing, investment fund, Microfinance
Monday, November 26, 2012 — No Region Specified

Confidence in social impact claims 'shockingly low'

Source: The Guardian
Demonstrable social impact is often overlooked by social investors, says leading social enterprise academic
TAGS:impact investing, measurement, metrics, social impact
Thursday, November 15, 2012 — No Region Specified

Bamboo Finance Acquires Accion Investment Fund

Source: http://www.accion.org/page.aspx?pid=4281
Bamboo Finance, a global private equity group specializing in microfinance and financing social entrepreneurship, announced today that is has acquired a controlling interest in Accion Investments in Microfinance, SPC, a private, for-profit equity fund that has provided capital to microfinance institutions (MFIs) since 2003. “This US$105 million transaction is a landmark for the industry” said Jean-Philippe de Schrevel, CEO of Bamboo Finance, “It demonstrates the maturity of the sector and its readiness for private investors.”
TAGS:impact investing
Monday, November 12, 2012 — South Asia

eBay founder's investment firm makes a grant to global health consortium

Source: Times of India
Omidyar Network, the philanthropic investment firm of eBay founder, Pierre Omidyar, is making a $1.5 million grant to a global consortium supporting innovation in healthcare and medical technology. The grant has been made to Massachusetts General Hospital's Center for Global Health to support the Consortium for Affordable Medical Technologies (CAMTech).
TAGS:entrepreneurship, health care, impact investing, venture capital
Friday, November 09, 2012 — No Region Specified

OneLeap aims to bring social entrepreneurs and serious investors together

Source: Gizmag
The world is brimming with good ideas, but presenting them to the people who are in a position to make them happen presents a formidable challenge. OneLeap, launched earlier this year, is a web-based networking platform designed to fix this situation by bridging the gap between entrepreneurs, investors, influencers and top-tier executives, while raising money for charity in the process.
TAGS:impact investing, social enterprise, social entrepreneur
Thursday, November 08, 2012 — No Region Specified

RBC announces $1 million donation to MaRS Centre for Impact Investing

Source: Sacramento Bee
TORONTO, Nov. 8, 2012 /CNW/ - RBC today announced a historic, $1 million, five-year commitment to support the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing. With this donation, RBC becomes a founding partner of the Centre, launched in late 2011 to increase awareness of social finance and direct new capital and talent to tackle social and environmental problems in Canada.
TAGS:corporate engagement, impact investing, social impact
Wednesday, November 07, 2012 — South Asia

Lok Capital is re-inventing strategy for social impact

Source: Business Standard
Rajiv B Lall, 55, managing director and chief executive officer of Infrastructure Development Finance Company talks unlike his peers in glamorous investment banking and private equity business despite spending over thirty years with institutions such as Warburg Pincus, Morgan Stanley and Asian Development Bank.
TAGS:impact investing, social impact, venture capital
Tuesday, November 06, 2012 — South Asia

Husk Power Systems raises $5 million for expansion

Source: The Hindu Business Line
Husk Power Systems, a Bihar-based company that runs micro power plants on agricultural waste, has raised Series A equity financing of $5 million (Rs 27 crore) from co-investors Bamboo Finance, Acumen Fund, and LGT Venture Philanthropy.
TAGS:Acumen Fund, energy, impact investing, rural, sustainability
Friday, November 02, 2012 — No Region Specified

Santa Clara University Welcomes Applications from Investment-Ready Social Enterprises

Source: Market Watch Press Release
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov 01, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Applications are now open for Santa Clara University's Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBI(TM)), an 11-year-old program that helps social entrepreneurs create greater impact in their poverty-alleviating missions.
TAGS:events and competitions, impact investing, incubators, poverty alleviation
Monday, October 29, 2012 — No Region Specified

Ron D. Cordes on a Mission to Activate New Change Agents

Source: Forbes
Ron D. Cordes is a man on a mission to change the landscape of impact investing. He is the co-chairman of Genworth Financial Wealth Management (NYSE:GNW), which is responsible for over $25 billion in assets under management. He is also on the board of Impact Assets, a non-for-profit financial service firm focused on impact investments.
TAGS:corporate engagement, entrepreneurship, impact investing, investment fund
Monday, October 22, 2012 — Asia Pacific

IIX, SEAS Sign MoU To Promote Growth Of Social Enterprises In Asia Pacific

Source: Bernama
SINGAPORE, Oct 22 (Bernama) -- Impact Investment Exchange Asia (IIX) and the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS), today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to solidify joint efforts to promote the Social Enterprise (SE) space in the sustainable energy sector.
TAGS:impact investing, social enterprise, sustainability
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 — North Africa and Near East

Egypt’s NBD allocates EGP 200 million to finance micro-enterprises

Source: CPI Financial
National Bank for Development (NBD) has allocated EGP 200 million towards providing funding for small and micro enterprises, and designed a comprehensive range of funding programmes that are Shari'ah-compliant.
TAGS:impact investing, microenterprise, Microfinance
Monday, October 15, 2012 — North Africa and Near East

Israel’s Rather Different Social Network

Source: Wall Street Journal
ISTANBUL—One of the more unusual presentations at the Webit conference here was from Israel Venture Network, a 10-year social entrepreneurship network targeting some of Israel’s deprived and excluded citizens, in a talk given by the former tech Chief Executive Isabel Maxwell.
TAGS:impact investing, social enterprise, venture capital
Thursday, October 11, 2012 — No Region Specified

Can A Motivated Group Of People Change The Way Markets Work For The Better?

Source: Fast Company
Criterion Ventures is trying to rebrand the idea of systems change, and change a few major systems--like the rules that govern the entire economy--along the way.
TAGS:conferences, impact investing, social impact
Thursday, October 11, 2012 — South Asia

Financing a greener future

Source: Al Jazeera
World governments will gather soon in Hyderabad, India, for the biennial Convention on Biological Diversity conference to find ways of valuing and safeguarding life on Earth - perhaps one of the most pressing priorities the global community now faces.
TAGS:conferences, impact investing, sustainability
Wednesday, October 10, 2012 — Asia Pacific

Oxfam launches fund to make 'impact investments' in the developing world

Source: Third Sector
The overseas aid charity is linking up with the City of London Corporation and Symbiotics to help small and medium-sized enterprises, with the first investment in Mongolia
TAGS:impact investing, investment fund, Microfinance, social impact
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 — Sub-Saharan Africa

Opportunity Africa: How One Social Venture Is Crowdsourcing the For-Profit Finance Model

Source: Forbes
The best social entrepreneurs are always tweaking the model. In microfinance, crowd-sourced ventures have aimed at connecting first world capital with developing world opportunity – and with some success. A few years ago, I met Mads Kjaer in Oxford and was fascinated by a model that added risk and reward to what had been more a form of philanthropy than investment.
TAGS:entrepreneurship, impact investing, social entrepreneur, venture capital
Monday, October 08, 2012 — No Region Specified

The month of impact investing

Source: Market Watch
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (MarketWatch) — From the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City to the Social Capital Markets gathering in San Francisco to the SRI in the Rockies conference held in Connecticut, to new reports, membership associations and web sites launched this month, the focal point is impact investing.
TAGS:conferences, impact investing
Monday, October 08, 2012 — No Region Specified

Making the Case for Impact Sourcing

Source: Huffington Post
Last week, B Corporation, a network of socially responsible "for-benefit" businesses, announced its plans to scale internationally at the Clinton Global Initiative. Many of these businesses are supported by impact investors, a group of double- and triple-bottom-line funders that received little attention until the Rockefeller Foundation launched a major impact investing initiative in 2008.
TAGS:impact investing, social impact
Thursday, October 04, 2012 — No Region Specified

Social Enterprise - ImpactAssets50 provides view of growing impact investing landscape

Source: Trust Law
SAN FRANCISCO (TrustLaw) - A database of fund managers who invest for maximum social, environmental and financial impact shows that assets under management grew 15 percent compared to last year to $10.2 billion.
TAGS:Impact Assessment, impact investing, investment fund, research
Thursday, October 04, 2012 — Latin America

Accion Invests $3 Million in Mobile Services Provider Tiaxa

Source: Press Release
Accion announced today that its Frontier Investments Group has invested US$3 million in Zonamovil Inc. (“Tiaxa”), a Chilean provider of managed services for the wireless telecom market. For more than 10 years, Tiaxa has provided mobile network operators globally with billing and rating services for prepaid mobile phone users, as well as innovative financial and business intelligence services that increase operator revenues and improve user satisfaction and loyalty.
TAGS:impact investing, Microfinance, mobile banking
Wednesday, October 03, 2012 — No Region Specified

GIIN Expands Collaboration with Omidyar Network, USAID, The Rockefeller Foundation to Support Growth of the Impact Investing

Source: Press Release

Omidyar Network, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today a collaboration to promote impact investing by supporting research, outreach, and other field-building activities undertaken by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN). Together the partners have committed $6.5 million to support the GIIN’s work to increase the accessibility of impact investing.
TAGS:impact investing
Wednesday, October 03, 2012 — Sub-Saharan Africa

Meet A Playboy Entrepreneur Who Went From Making Millions To Making an Impact

Source: Forbes
Kitwe, a dusty industrial city in North Western Zambia’s ‘Copper Belt’ region, isn’t much to look at. It does however have a hidden jewel. The city is home to the office of internationally acclaimed social entrepreneur, Peter Sinkamba.
TAGS:Ashoka, entrepreneurship, fellowships, impact investing
Friday, September 28, 2012 — Europe & Eurasia

Deutsche Bank Announces Essential Capital Fund at 2012 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting

Source: Daily Finance
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Deutsche Bank announced its Commitment to Action at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting. The commitment was to the structuring of the Essential Capital Fund (the "Fund") which defines an innovative approach to providing early stage high risk money to support the impact investing sector.
TAGS:conferences, impact investing, investment fund, startup
Thursday, September 27, 2012 — Sub-Saharan Africa

Early stage investment growing in Africa tech

Source: PC Advisor
The rise of technology hubs over the last couple of years has spurred investment, helped by humanitarian agencies and VCs
TAGS:impact investing, technology, venture capital
Friday, September 21, 2012 — No Region Specified

White House Hosts Innovation Forum for Philanthropists

Source: The Chronicle of Philanthropy
More than 150 leaders in philanthropy and finance gathered at the White House on Thursday for a private meeting on “innovation in philanthropy” that featured Jean Case, chief executive of the Case Foundation, as a keynote speaker.
TAGS:conferences, impact investing, Philanthropy
Thursday, September 13, 2012 — South Asia

$4 billion planned for investment in social enterprise in 2012: Report

Source: The Economic Times
According to a global impact investment market study by JP Morgan, and the Global Impact Investment Network (GIIN), investors see the social enterprise as a market 'in its infancy and growing' with almost $ 4 billion planned for investment in 2012. Over the last eight years $ 600 million has been invested in social enterprises in India itself. The Monitor Institute estimates that over the next 5 - 10 years impact investments will grow to 1 percent of global assets under management, emerging as a new asset class.
TAGS:impact investing, investment fund, small and medium enterprises, social enterprise, social impact
Tuesday, September 11, 2012 — Sub-Saharan Africa

What is the Agaciro Development Fund?

Source: Devex
Rwanda is setting the stage in driving its own development, starting with the launch Thursday (Aug. 23) of the country’s national solidarity fund.
TAGS:impact investing, investment fund
Friday, September 07, 2012 — South Asia

Intellecap facilitates investment of INR 250 million in NationWide, from Norwest Venture Partners

Source: Intellecap
Intellecap today announced that it has facilitated an investment of INR 250 million from Norwest Venture Partners in Nationwide Primary Healthcare Services, a pioneering chain of general practitioner and pediatric clinics backed by US based angels.
TAGS:health care, impact investing, investment fund
Thursday, September 06, 2012 — No Region Specified

North American impact investors are keeping their money close to home

Source: See Change Magazine
Most of the world’s poor live in developing markets. And, according to some experts, so do ventures with the most long-term growth potential. But relatively few North American impact investments leave Canada and the United States. Are impact investors missing out?
TAGS:impact investing, investment fund
Thursday, August 30, 2012 — Asia Pacific

New Impact Investing Stock Exchange Is Making Steady Progress

Source: Forbes
It looks as though The Impact Exchange Board, or the iX, a ground-breaking publicly regulated social stock exchange, has been making steady progress since it launched about a year ago.
TAGS:impact investing, social enterprise
Tuesday, August 28, 2012 — Sub-Saharan Africa

The Rockefeller Foundation Supports Impact Investing Policy Research in Africa

Source: Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation through its Impact Investing initiative is funding research in five sub-Saharan African countries which will contribute to two overarching goals: understanding the policy barriers and enabling environment for impact investing across Africa and recommending national policies to encourage the growth of the industry for the ultimate benefit of poor or vulnerable communities.
TAGS:impact investing, investment fund
Friday, August 24, 2012 — South Asia

TISS to fund, mentor entrepreneurship students

Source: The Indian Express
The social entrepreneurship students of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), keen on starting their venture at a time when the economy is volatile, now have a back-up. The institute has introduced a scheme this year to fund and mentor students pursuing masters in social entrepreneurship for three years.
TAGS:impact investing, investment fund, social entrepreneur
Tuesday, August 07, 2012 — Sub-Saharan Africa

Ugandan Billionaire Ashish Thakkar Launches Venture Capital Fund For Young Entrepreneurs

Source: Ventures Africa
VENTURES AFRICA – Ugandan billionaire businessman Ashish J. Thakkar, under the auspices of the Mara foundation, a non-profit enterprise of Mara Group, today announced the formation and launch of a venture capital firm – Mara Launch Uganda Fund to support the needs of today’s entrepreneurs.
TAGS:corporate social responsibility, entrepreneurship, impact investing, investment fund
Thursday, August 02, 2012 — No Region Specified

Goldman Sachs In Jail: Why Is Big Money Moving Into Social Impact Bonds?

Source: International Business Times
The so-called "social-impact bond" investment at Rikers Island prison, the first of its kind for an American city, means any potential return for Goldman hinges on the success of a program that will educate, train and counsel inmates aged between 16 and 18.
TAGS:impact investing, social impact
Monday, July 30, 2012 — South Asia

Acumen Fund Invests INR 1.5 Crore ($300K) in Edubridge Learning

Source: Acumen Fund Blog
Mumbai, India, July 25, 2012 – Acumen Fund, a pioneering nonprofit global venture fund addressing poverty across Africa and South Asia, today announced a INR 1.5 Crore ($300K) equity investment in Edubridge Learning Private Limited, a growing company that provides vocational skills training for low income youth across Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Chhattisgarh
TAGS:impact investing, investment fund, poverty alleviation, rural development
Wednesday, July 25, 2012 — No Region Specified

Is innovation essential for development work?

Source: The Guardian
Innovation has become central to the way development organisations go about their work. In November 2011, Bill Gates told the G20 that innovation was the key to development. Donors increasingly stress innovation as a key condition for funding, and many civil society organisations emphasise that innovation is central to the work they do.
TAGS:impact investing
Friday, July 20, 2012 — No Region Specified

Define Social Entrepreneurs by Their Impact, Not Their Income Strategy

Source: Forbes
After decades of frustrating setbacks, scientists at CERN think they have found the Higgs boson particle — a breakthrough success after $12 billion of research funding and smashing particles into each other in all imaginable ways. A few days ago, my colleague Amy Clark argued that there is a lesson about collaboration to be learned. I will use this discovery to argue that there is also an important insight for funders of social innovation.
TAGS:impact investing
Thursday, July 19, 2012 — North Africa and Near East

Endeavor to launch a new country affiliate in Saudi Arabia

Source: Endeavor Blog
New York, July 18, 2012 – Endeavor announced today that it will launch a new affiliate office in Saudi Arabia, expanding its efforts to select and service high-impact entrepreneurs in the Middle East.
TAGS:impact investing
Thursday, July 19, 2012 — North Africa and Near East

Endeavor Catalyst invests in AirTies as first MENA region company

Source: Endeavor Blog
NEW YORK, July 18, 2012 — Endeavor, the world-wide leader in selecting, mentoring and accelerating high-impact entrepreneurs, announced that it has closed an investment round with AirTies, an innovative Turkish developer of wireless networking equipment with worldwide sales, as the third investment of Endeavor Catalyst.
TAGS:impact investing
Wednesday, July 18, 2012 — South Asia

"Having It All": Finding Profit and Purpose with Tahira Dosani

Source: Forbes
In the wake of Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter’s article, “Why Women Still Can’t Have it All,” I had been thinking about how to have it all not in terms of balancing children and career, but rather in terms of finding a career that encompasses money and meaning. For many women in our 20s, the tradeoffs between pursuing our passions and supporting ourselves can be perplexing. We want to pursue work that excites us, but we don’t know when, where, or how to start. This is a dilemma I’ve faced myself, as I’ve worked in banking and private equity and am beginning work at an impact investing fund.
TAGS:impact investing, investment fund
Wednesday, July 11, 2012 — North Africa and Near East

Investing for social impact reaps more than financial returns, says Al Tamimi

Source: CPI Financial
For Al Tamimi Investments (ATI), channelling its private capital for social benefit is reaping more than financial returns for its businesses. ATI was founded in 2006 by Emirati business leader Essam Al Tamimi and Rachael Wunsch, an accomplished venture capitalist from Australia. Using personal capital gained from the success of his law firm Al Tamimi & Company, ATI sought to invest in businesses that would enrich and bring value to the UAE community.
TAGS:impact investing, social impact
Tuesday, July 10, 2012 — Sub-Saharan Africa

Pearson to invest in low-cost private education in Africa and Asia

Source: The Guardian
Pearson, the UK education company and owner of the Financial Times, has launched a £10m fund to invest in private schools in Africa and Asia aimed at providing affordable education for poor children.
TAGS:impact investing, investment fund
Tuesday, July 10, 2012 — Sub-Saharan Africa

Voxtra invests in Mtanga Farms Limited

Source: Seed Investors Blog
The Voxtra East Africa Agribusiness Fund (Voxtra) has completed an investment of US$ 1.5 million in Mtanga Farms Limited (MFL), a commercial farm engaged in seed crops, arable farming and livestock.
TAGS:agribusiness, impact investing
Monday, July 09, 2012 — Sub-Saharan Africa

Forget Foreign Aid, Focus on Foreign Investment In Women Entrepreneurs

Source: Forbes
Foreign aid can sometimes account for over 90% of a country’s GDP; yet developing nations are quickly learning that foreign aid is not a long-term solution. And over the past few years, we’ve seen just how interconnected the global economy is: a misstep in one economy, affects the global economy.
TAGS:entrepreneurship, impact investing
Tuesday, June 26, 2012 — Asia Pacific

More people in Asia making impact investments

Source: Channel News Asia
SINGAPORE: Investing with a social cause has caught on in Asia. Some 400 participants gathered in Singapore for an inaugural forum on impact investing. The forum, co-hosted by Singapore-based social enterprise Impact Investment Shujog and Impact Investment Exchange Asia was supported by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Asian Development Bank.
TAGS:impact investing
Thursday, June 21, 2012 — Sub-Saharan Africa

South Africa: Support From Private Sector Is Needed for Sustainable Development

Source: AllAfrica
Sustainable development in Africa depends on innovative sources of finance and resources from the private sector, African leaders and world experts said at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20, currently being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
TAGS:impact investing, sustainability
Monday, June 18, 2012 — No Region Specified

G20 Announces Winners of the IFC-Managed G20 Challenge on Inclusive Business Innovation

Source: Press Release
Los Cabos, Mexico, June 18, 2012—The Group of 20 today announced the winners of the G20 Challenge on Inclusive Business Innovation, a global competition managed by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group. Ambassador Rogelio Granguillhome, Executive Secretary of the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation and Chair of the G20 Development Working Group, presented the awards at a ceremony here.
TAGS:Base of the Pyramid, impact investing
Wednesday, June 06, 2012 — No Region Specified

Morgan Stanley offers impact investing for masses

Source: Market Watch
By launching your Investing with Impact Platform, you can change the world — literally.
TAGS:impact investing, multinational corporation
Monday, June 04, 2012 — Sub-Saharan Africa

Board Approves Equity Investment of U.S. $100 Million in Agvance Africa

Source: All Africa
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) approved on 16 May in Tunis, an equity investment of USD 100 million to Agvance Africa, the first agribusiness-focused Fund of Funds on the African continent. The strategic objective of Agvance Africa is to increase private investment flows into the agribusiness sector on the continent to address growing food security concerns and unleash the largely unexploited potential of African agriculture and agribusiness sectors.
TAGS:agribusiness, impact investing
Friday, June 01, 2012 — No Region Specified

How Financial Innovation Can Save the World

Source: The Atlantic
Financial innovation got a bad rep in the financial crisis. But inside the well-barricaded Federal Reserve Bank in downtown San Francisco last month, the financial engineers were at it again.
TAGS:impact investing, social impact
Thursday, May 17, 2012 — South Asia

Lok Capital and Acumen Fund announce Rs. 7 crore investment in Hippocampus Learning Centres

Source: Acumen Fund Blog
Bangalore, May 2012: Lok Capital, one of the largest dedicated funds in India for businesses focused on serving the lower income and base of the pyramid (BOP) customer segments and Acumen Fund, a pioneering nonprofit global venture firm addressing poverty in South Asia, East and West Africa, today announce Rs. 7 crore investment in Hippocampus Learning Centres (HLC), a for-profit rural education service provider in India. This is Lok Capital’s and Acumen’s first investment in Education and marks the launch of their respective education portfolios. Based in Karnataka, India, HLC provides affordable, quality education by employing and training local female teachers who coach students between the ages of 3-12 in both pre-school and primary instruction.
TAGS:Base of the Pyramid, impact investing
Wednesday, May 09, 2012 — No Region Specified

World Bank unit, MasterCard Foundation boost crucial small loans in Africa

Source: Associated Press
A World Bank partner devoted to developing the private sector and The MasterCard Foundation will spend millions of dollars so more impoverished Africans can get loans and other financial services, officials said.
TAGS:impact investing, Microfinance
Tuesday, May 08, 2012 — Asia Pacific

Omidyar Network Executive Forum Unites Business Leaders Investing In Social Change

Source: Huffington Post
One network of top executives is proving that good business means wise investments -- specifically investments in people who have the power to create global change but may simply lack opportunity.
TAGS:impact investing
Monday, May 07, 2012 — No Region Specified

Accion International launches $10 million investment vehicle, Venture Lab

Source: Economic Times
BANGALORE: In a further boost for social venture investing in India, microfinance and investment firm Accion International has launched its $10 million investment vehicle, Venture Lab, which is focused on providing seed capital to organisations that promote financial inclusion.
TAGS:impact investing, social business
Thursday, May 03, 2012 — No Region Specified

What Impact Investing Could Do For Health Care

Source: Fast Company
In his TedMed talk last week, where he called for a renewed focus on improving root causes of health problems rather than waiting until they cause full blown illnesses, Sandeep Kishore noted this somewhat startling statistic: Of the 30 years of average life-expectancy gains the United States made in the last century, a surprisingly small amount of that average increase--just five years--stems from improvements in the sort of medical care we get in hospitals. The rest of those gains came from other sources, like improvements in water quality and sanitation, vaccinations, and other improvements in public health.
TAGS:health care, impact investing
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 — No Region Specified

Looking to Frontier Markets for Next Big Thing in Investing

Source: New York Times
The difficulty with investing in the next big thing is that it is often not recognized as that until after it has become a current or former big thing. Before its arrival, it tends to be seen only as a crazy, risky thing or nothing at all. Emerging-market portfolio managers specialize in finding the next big thing. But after the transformation of many economies in Asia and Latin America in the past two decades and the strong returns and mainstream popularity of their markets, what’s left to be found?
TAGS:impact investing
Friday, April 27, 2012 — No Region Specified

Morgan Stanley Offering Advisors Sustainable Investing Platform

Source: Financial Advisor
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney is launching a platform for its financial advisors to offer clients investments with positive social and environmental impact in what appears to be a major push to offer sustainable investing to mainstream investors. Although many broker-dealers allow their advisors to offer sustainable investments to retail clients, few have specific advisor platforms for that purpose. MSSB made an announcement today about the new platform at the U.S. State Department-sponsored Global Impact Economy Forum.
TAGS:impact investing, multinational corporation
Friday, April 20, 2012 — No Region Specified

Rethinking the Role of Capital Markets in Enabling Social Progress

Source: Forbes
Earlier this week at theGlobal Philanthropy Forum, Tracy Palandjian, CEO of Social Finance, Inc., served on a panel discussion around the challenges and opportunities of impact investing. In the below interview with Tracy, we discussed her career trajectory, the first-ever social impact bond in the United Kingdom and its potential to be replicated in the United States, and much more.
TAGS:financial inclusion, impact investing, social impact
Friday, April 13, 2012 — No Region Specified

Investors Can Rid the World of Slums

Source: MarketWatch
Approximately 180,000 people are added to the urban grid each day, according to the United Nations. That means, according to other estimates, that nearly 100,000 housing units are needed — every day, all around the world.
TAGS:affordable housing, Base of the Pyramid, impact investing
Monday, April 09, 2012 — Latin America

Daniel Izzo on Brazil's First Impact Investing Venture Capital Firm

Source: Forbes
Recently, the Opportunities for the Majority (OMJ) Initiative of the Inter-American Development Bank hosted Daniel Izzo, co-founder and partner of Vox Capital, Brazil’s first impact investing venture capital firm, which focuses on high potential businesses that serve the Brazilian low income population through products and services with the potential to improve their lives.
TAGS:Base of the Pyramid, impact investing, social enterprise
Thursday, April 05, 2012 — South Asia

Cisco Invests in Rural Venture Capital Firm

Source: The Hindu Business Line
Cisco today announced an investment in Aavishkaar, a venture fund founded to promote development in rural and semi-urban India.
TAGS:impact investing, rural development, venture capital
Wednesday, April 04, 2012 — No Region Specified

Impact Investing: How One Foundation Empowers Social Entrepreneurs

Source: Mashable
Name: Echoing Green | Big Idea: Echoing Green offers grants to social entrepreneurs and changemakers — it’s referred to as “impact investing.” | Why It’s Working: By investing in people rather than ideas or business plans, Echoing Green has empowered more than 500 innovative individuals to turn their visions into a reality, ameliorating social ills in the process.
TAGS:impact investing, social capital, social entrepreneur
Monday, April 02, 2012 — South Asia

Omidyar's Jayant Sinha: Volatile Government Policy is a Deterrent to Investing

Source: Forbes India
Jayant Sinha, partner and MD, Omidyar Network India Advisors, tells Dinesh Narayanan that government trying to micro-manage the economy is not good. Edited excerpts from an interview.
TAGS:financial inclusion, governance, impact investing
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 — South Asia

Angel Deals May Get Tax Breather

Source: VCCircle
Individual investment up to Rs 5 crore and total deal of Rs 10 crore may be exempted.
TAGS:financial inclusion, governance, impact investing
Monday, March 19, 2012 — South Asia

Start-ups to be Taxed on Funds from Angel Investors

Source: livemint.com
Start-ups raising money from angel investors will have to pay income tax from April on the funds they receive after the national budget on Friday proposed to treat the capital received as income from other sources, if the consideration received for issue of shares exceeds the face value of such shares.
TAGS:entrepreneurship, impact investing, startup
Wednesday, March 07, 2012 — Asia Pacific

ADB Plans to Invest $100M in Environment Fund

Source: Inquirer Business
The Asian Development Bank is expected to invest about $100 million in a multinational fund that will be put up to boost investments in environment-related technologies and projects in developing countries like the Philippines.
TAGS:impact investing, investment fund, renewable energy, technology
Thursday, March 01, 2012 — South Asia

Creating an impact

Source: Malaysia Star
FOUNDER and chairwoman of Impact Investment Exchange Asia (IIX) in Singapore Durreen Shahnaz is seeking to create the Impact Exchange a social enterprise exchange. “By investing through the Impact Exchange, impact investors can significantly lower their market research and due diligence costs, as well as have liquidity in their investments thus allowing for more impact and wealth to be created and brought into the space,” she says.
TAGS:impact investing
Thursday, February 23, 2012 — No Region Specified

The State and Future of Impact Investing

Source: Forbes
In a recent interview with Antony Bugg-Levine, CEO of Nonprofit Finance Fund, we discussed his new book about the impact investing sector, emerging trends and ideas in this space, challenges and opportunities moving forward, what the world would look like if the potential of impact investing were to be realized, and advice to traditional investors interested in becoming an impact investor.
TAGS:Base of the Pyramid, financial inclusion, impact investing
Friday, February 17, 2012 — No Region Specified

E+Co Announces Plans to Scale Up Clean Energy Investments

Source: Press Release
E+Co, the non-profit leader in clean energy investing in small and medium enterprises in emerging markets, announced today that it will phase out its innovations unit to solely focus on and scale up clean energy investments in developing markets.
TAGS:financial inclusion, impact investing, renewable energy
Tuesday, February 07, 2012 — No Region Specified

Avoiding the “Hope Bubble”

Source: Stanford Social Innovation Review
We must invest in the financial literacy of social entrepreneurs and in the social literacy of investors.
TAGS:financial inclusion, impact investing, social entrepreneur
Wednesday, February 01, 2012 — No Region Specified

The Trouble With Impact Investing – Part 1

Source: Stanford Social Innovation Review
On its face, impact investing seems like a great deal—organizations get cheap money (er, “patient capital”) and investors get real impact. It’s great when it works that way, but the case for impact is often dubious, and there is a lot of confusion about when impact investing works and when it doesn’t.
TAGS:impact investing
Thursday, January 27, 2011 — Europe & Eurasia

Local ?Bridge-Maker? Turns Up at Davos

Source: thestar.com
Shawn Ahmed is tweeting gleefully about the white all-access badge he's been handed at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, where politicians and CEOs are meeting this week to try to solve some of the world's biggest problems. The 29-year-old Canadian landed a coveted seat representing the YouTube community after winning an international online competition called the Davos Debates. It's a coup for a guy from Richmond Hill who ditched a graduat...
TAGS:consumer products, impact investing

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