-
Chocolate at Risk?: Why sustainable finance is crucial to ensuring a steady cocoa supply for the world’s chocolate industry
Smallholder cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire produce 40 percent of the world cocoa supply. Yet the vast majority still live in poverty due to declining productivity, and in the absence of long-term financing opportunities, many have been changing to other crops. Rainforest Alliance’s Helen Roy describes how socially-minded investors are mobilizing capital to help these farmers revive their land.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment
-
Social Entrepreneurship and Global Warming
The consequences of a temperature rise greater than 2°C would be catastrophic for all of humanity, but the greatest impact would be on the planet’s poorest people, who face profound loss from flooding, displacement and food scarcity. Social entrepreneurs are among those best positioned to improve the lives of the poor and mitigate global warming, says Thane Kreiner.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Social Enterprise
- Tags
- renewable energy
-
Mainstreaming the Movement: Toniic CEO Stephanie Cohn Rupp discusses the future of impact investing
"Eventually, I think the victory will be when everyone who is investing ... can put their capital into impact," says Toniic CEO Stephanie Cohn Rupp. But can retail investors accurately assess their investments’ social impact? Is it responsible for pensions or IRAs to offer impact options? And which investments should qualify as "impact"? In part two of our Q&A, Cohn Rupp discusses these and other questions.
- Categories
- Environment, Impact Assessment
-
How a Blended Model Can Solve Some Market Failures (Part 2): Gradian Finds a Way to Scale Anesthesia Machines According to Demand
Like a traditional business, Gradian spends money on market creation for its anesthesia machine. Unlike a traditional business, however, the company doesn’t expect to recoup that cost; it’s paid for with philanthropic funding so Gradian can offer the machine at as low a cost as possible.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care
-
How a Blended Model Can Solve Some Market Failures (Part 1): Foundation-owned social enterprise combines features of philanthropy, business
Medical equipment manufacturers face challenges selling in low-income countries. That led Gradian Health Systems to adopt a foundation-owned social enterprise model, allowing it to function as both a commercial entity and a nonprofit.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care
-
The Next Generation of Impact Investors: How millennials will shape the future of the sector
A recent ImpactAssets report explores how the millennial worldview influences the financial strategies of the next generation of investors. It draws on a variety of research as well as insight from investors. Report co-author Lindsay Norcott interviews one of those investors, Michael Sidgmore, founder of NextGenEngage and VP, Investor Network at iCapital Network.
- Categories
- Environment, Impact Assessment
-
A Small Drop in a Large Bucket: The World Economic Forum’s Abigail Noble, on why impact investing needs to go mainstream
In 2012, less than $40 billion of capital had been committed to impact investments - out of tens of trillions in global capital. The World Economic Forum’s Mainstreaming Impact Investing initiative wants to help change that. In part 1 of our Impact Investing Insights series, we spoke with the initiative’s leader, Abigail Noble, about how to bring “$40 billion” a bit closer to “tens of trillions.”
- Categories
- Environment, Impact Assessment, Investing
-
More Questions than Answers: Impact investors struggle to present their sector to the general public
What qualifies as “impact” investing – and how exactly should non-financial impacts be measured? Those may seem like pretty basic questions. Yet at the recent Sustainatopia Impact Conference, clear answers were in short supply, as a young sector works toward a consensus on the best way to present itself to mainstream investors.
- Categories
- Environment, Impact Assessment
Subscribe to Our 'Business in Global Development' Newsletter!
Our new weekly LinkedIn newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with curated news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage of impact-focused business in emerging markets.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.