-
Financing Women- Owned or -Led SMEs for Sustainable Growth: Navigating Capital Supply Side Challenges in Africa
One in four African women owns or manages a business, and in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the rates of entrepreneurial activity among women rise to 30-50%. But as Nathalie Gogue-Ebo and Katharina Weber at Open Capital point out, just 6% of funding in the region goes to women- owned or -led small and medium enterprises (WSMEs), limiting these businesses' growth potential. They discuss the factors that are preventing investors from supporting WSMEs, and share some potential solutions.
- Categories
- Investing
-
Announcing Kiva’s Bold New Impact Strategy: The Nonprofit Microfinance Pioneer Shares its Refined Approach — And Unveils the Process Behind its Development
Both social enterprises and nonprofits need inspiring missions to thrive, and when those missions are coupled with well-crafted impact strategies, the change they seek to make is more likely to become reality. Kiva CEO Vishal Ghotge announces the pioneering microfinance nonprofit's latest impact strategy, explains how it will shape Kiva's next phase — and reveals the process behind its creation, so it can serve as a resource for other organizations.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Social Enterprise
-
How Fintech is Enabling Progress Toward the SDGs — And Why it’s Time for Investors to Double Down
Due to high interest rates and other macroeconomic challenges, there's been a global slowdown in venture capital funding to tech firms. David Grimaud at Bamboo Capital Partners explains how this lack of investment is impacting fintech companies in emerging markets, putting not only financial inclusion but other development priorities at risk. He explores how fintech innovators are advancing multiple SDGs, and how the investment community — especially impact-focused investors — can better support them.
-
A New Approach to Philanthropy: Why the Sector Must Prioritize Systems Change — And How Funders Can Respond
As global development challenges like inequality and climate change worsen, philanthropy is increasingly focusing on systems change — i.e., efforts to address the complex root causes of societal problems, rather than simply addressing the problems themselves. Heather Grady at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) explores why this new focus requires a different approach to philanthropic giving, and shares key learnings from RPA's Shifting Systems Initiative that could be useful to the broader philanthropic community working on systems change.
- Categories
- Investing
-
Scaling Climate Finance for Smallholder Agriculture: Lessons Learned from Partnering with Farmer-Allied Businesses
Small-scale agriculture supports the livelihoods of more than 600 million families and generates over 40% of jobs in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Yet as Elizabeth Teague at Root Capital points out, agricultural livelihoods are highly vulnerable to climate change, and smallholder farmers receive just 1.7% of global climate financing. She discusses how Root Capital is working with farmer-allied enterprises to help close this gap, sharing what they’ve learned about how to design and scale climate financing for smallholder communities.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Investing
-
Overcoming Barriers to Impact Investment in Africa: Interviews with Fund Managers Reveal Three Promising Solutions to the Continent’s Funding Gap
African-based investment fund managers face an uphill battle to secure the capital they need to invest in home-grown enterprises, particularly when social impact is a key part of their investment strategies. Bernard Chidzero, Nkanyiso Hlongwa and Serena Fu at The Bridgespan Group share highlights from a recent report based on interviews with 25 stakeholders in the continent's impact investing sector, which reveal the obstacles faced by African fund managers — and some potential solutions.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
-
The Overlapping Impacts of Off-Grid Solar: Four Ways Innovative Funding Can Enable the Sector to Advance Global Climate and Poverty Goals
How can the off-grid solar sector achieve its energy access and climate-related goals? Laura Fortes and Drew Corbyn at GOGLA argue that there’s one clear answer to that question: more and better finance. They discuss four ways innovative funding models can enable the sector to rapidly and radically accelerate progress toward universal energy access and other development goals.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Investing, Technology
-
Strengthening the Front Lines in the Fight Against Climate Change: A Call for Investment in Coastal Communities’ Resilience
This week, both the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Summit and Climate Week NYC are happening in New York, at the end of the hottest summer on record. As Florian Kemmerich at Palladium and Bamboo Capital Partners points out, there are good reasons for the alignment between the two events and the growing urgency of the discussion — particularly in a coastal city like New York. He explores how coastal communities bear the brunt of escalating climate impacts, and how investing in their climate resilience can support progress toward the other SDGs.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing