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How USAID is Capitalizing on New Trends in Development Finance by Attracting Impact Investors
As the funding landscape for global health evolves, new financing models for the development and commercialization of medicines and diagnostics are needed. Priya Sharma of USAID's Center for Accelerating Innovation and Impact discusses the agency's forays into impact investing, and its recent report, “Investing for Impact: Capitalizing on the emerging landscape for global health financing” in this Q&A.
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- Health Care, Investing
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Impact Investing Has it Backward: It’s Time to Prioritize the Needs of Social Enterprises, Not Just Investors
Impact investing is blissfully unaware – or intentionally ignorant – of social enterprises’ experience as they seek investments, contend Mara Bolis and Sarah Alexander. This process often involves accepting financial terms and/or partners that can distract from the social mission. Impact investing needs to start telling – and hearing – these businesses' stories, so they share a financing story that's emblematic of enterprises that prioritize social returns within fragmented enabling environments.
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- Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
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Supporting the Supporters: Why Impact-Focused Incubators and Accelerators Struggle to Find Talent
Of the millions of social entrepreneurs starting new social ventures around the world, only a few thousand get access to support services like incubators and accelerators. Yet these support organizations themselves often struggle to attract and retain talent, hampering their ability to boost social business. The Global Social Entrepreneurship Network's Krisztina Tora offers some potential solutions.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
- Tags
- incubators
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Helping Farmers Rebuild After Civil War Isn’t Charity; It’s Good Business
As an agribusiness owner in Africa, GADC founder Bruce Robertson has grown weary of the silver bullet solutions proposed for transforming rural economies. In 22 years in Uganda, he has yet to see a quick fix. But private enterprise has enormous potential to improve rural lives when donors and businesses collaborate, he says, explaining GADC's "replicable model with huge potential for expansion."
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- Agriculture, Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
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Good Intentions Are Not Enough: How Microfinance Can Truly Serve Low-Income Women Entrepreneurs
Smaller businesses require smaller loans, which are generally less practical or profitable for financial institutions. Group lending solves these issues for institutions – but it’s not always ideal for customers, who often prefer an individual loan. With support from MetLife Foundation grantee Women’s World Banking, Egypt’s Lead Foundation set out to design and deliver this type of product – specifically to low-income women entrepreneurs.
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- Uncategorized
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Funding Education With Impact: How We Can Address Student, Market Needs in India
Although education is one of the most funded causes among private social funders in India, including about US $45 million in impact investment per annum over 2014-2017, this has translated into near-universal access to education at primary school level but not in other education segments. Asian Venture Philanthropy Network's Martina Mettgenberg-Lemiere and Anh Nguyen propose some market-based strategies.
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- Education, Impact Assessment, Investing
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How the World’s First Social Sustainability Bond is Connecting Back Streets to Wall Street
The Women’s Livelihood Bond (WLB) is the world’s first social sustainability bond with a dual focus on social and financial returns to be listed on a stock exchange. This represents "an immense achievement for impact investing," says Rakhi Sahay, head of Knowledge Management at Impact Investment Exchange. The WLB gives the Cambodian woman entrepreneur, the Filipino farmer, and the Vietnamese mother access to capital by providing loans to high-impact enterprises and microfinance institutions.
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- Impact Assessment, Investing
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Adding the Secret Sauce: The Recipe for Turning Young Social Entrepreneurs into Impactful Leaders
Six years ago, Alanna Sousa couldn't even pronounce the word 'entrepreneurship,' but she soon fell in love with social entrepreneurship. Sousa recounts her journey from naively opening a 'consultancy for social impact' in her native Brazil to learning the importance of mentoring and coaching for success in the social business sector. She now works for the Global Good Fund, which trains young entrepreneurs to tackle urgent social problems.
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- Uncategorized
