-
BoP Career Paths: A Former TechnoServe Volunteer Starts Investment Fund for African Businesses
Bryan McCoy recently became the CEO of Yalelo Ltd, a commercial aquaculture business serving domestic and regional markets from Lusaka, Zambia. McCoy is also a director of Sustainable Development Capital (SDC), which he co-founded in 2008 in order to invest in Swazi agribusinesses. His introduction to Africa occurred in 2007, when he spent six months volunteering for TechnoServe in Swaziland and Tanzania.
- Categories
- Agriculture
-
NexThought Monday: It’s a Capital (Plus Advisory) Problem, Not a Pipeline Problem
Flexible and longer-term capital is in short supply in the marketplace. This capital should align with an enterprise’s stage of maturity, business model, and possibility of exit whether to commercial investors, hybrid investors, or public actors. There remains a need for grant capital but grants need to be strategic, much like Angel finance.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- impact investing
-
More than Ceremony: In Rwanda, Reflections from the 10,000 Women Graduation
I’ve returned to spend the week overseeing the preparation for the graduation of the eighth cohort of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Entrepreneur Certificate program. On July 27 (a Friday), Jeannette Kagame, the First Lady of Rwanda would be attending our ceremony as 29 women are awarded their certificate. We are honored that she is able to attend, and eager for her to not only celebrate with us the completion of an extensive, nine-module, 31-day training program, but also to see what an amazing group comprise the 10,000 Women Rwanda graduates.
- Categories
- Education
-
Do Social Impact Metrics Matter?: Two WDI Summer Fellows Discuss the Topic
William Davidson Institute summer fellows Mary Fritz, who worked in India for Wello, and Patrick Huang, who also spent time in India working for Village Capital, recently discussed the merits of social impact metrics following their recent experiences at the social enteprises.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
-
Moving Beyond Access for Meaningful Financial Inclusion: Targeting investments to improve financial capability
Who are the relevant stakeholders to help bridge this financial capability gap? We are looking to explore these and related questions through 10 or more new research projects that we initiate at Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) over the next two years, with support from the Citi Foundation.
- Categories
- Education
-
How Microfinance Institutions Can Manage Default Risk AND Build Financial Inclusion
High client growth and low default rates are typical benchmarks for gauging the success of MFIs. But the two measures can be counterproductive for MFIs looking to achieve real social impact through financial inclusion. Achieving low default rates and higher client growth rates together is only possible when the client’s cash flows are more than adequate to cover the average loan size.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
WDI Facilitates Rockefeller Fdn. Convening
WDI is coordinating and facilitating an Aug. 28 convening with the Rockefeller Foundation staff and other partner grantees working, along with the Institute, on the impact enterprise project.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Ten Years in Social Entrepreneurship: The 19 innovators who presented at GSBI represent broader entrepreneurship trends
The social entrepreneurship concept and community have grown tremendously in the last decade. Santa Clara University’s Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBI) celebrated 10 years of working with over 150 social entrepreneurs to build financially sustainable ventures that scale. Last week,19 social entrepreneurs in our tenth cohort delivered their business plan presentations. Individually and collectively, they reflect broader trends in social entrepreneurship.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
