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Three Reasons Impact Investors Aren’t Sweating Trump’s Climate Policies: An Interview with Nancy Pfund
This week, President Trump signed what's been called a "sweeping demolition of Obama-era policies on coal mining, fracking, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change." So why isn't Nancy Pfund, founder and managing partner of DBL Partners, worried? We discuss politics and the environment with the impact investing pioneer in this video interview.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Investing, Technology
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Social Business Roundup: The Problem with Sachets, the Beauty of Rats and the Dark Side of Cross-Selling
Everyone seems to love the products in individually-sized sachets being sold at the BoP ... except for Mother Nature. Ethiopia's only too happy to roll out the welcome mat for some rats with amazing TB-sniffing skills. A questionable cross-selling strategy in South Africa harms a vulnerable population and raises uncomfortable questions about financial inclusion. It's all part of our weekly Social Business Roundup.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Competition Heats Up in Kenya’s Off-Grid, Mobile Pay-Go Solar Market
Home to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Kenya is a hive of activity and a magnet for sustainable development-minded off-grid solar and energy storage startups. Having raised $40 million of capital over the course of the last four months of 2016, d.light announced that an average 800 Kenyan households a day are signing up for its D30 Pay-Go solar home system.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- renewable energy
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Is Wastewater the New Black Gold?
What if we were to consider the vast quantities of domestic, agricultural and industrial wastewater discharged into the environment everyday as a valuable resource rather than costly problem? This is the paradigm shift advocated in the United Nations World Water Development Report, Wastewater: the Untapped Resource, launched today in Durban on the occasion of World Water Day.
- Categories
- Environment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- waste
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US-based Tricolor Cleantech Capital to invest up to $5 mn in JanaJal
US-based social impact fund Tricolor Clean Capital has committed to invest up to $5 million (around Rs 33 crore) into hybrid drinking water dispenser maker JanaJal, the company announced in a statement.
- Categories
- Environment, Impact Assessment
- Region
- North America
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Belu hits landmark figure for WaterAid
After six years of operation, Belu has annouced it has reached a landmark figure – £2m of profit has now been handed over to WaterAid, which provides clean water and sanitation in developing countries. The announcement coincides with World Water Day. The bottled water is one of the poster children for social enterprise.
- Categories
- Environment
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How Water.org ‘Took a Leap of Faith’ into Social Impact Investing
As we recognize World Water Day, Water.org is launching a $50 million fund, targeting enterprises in India, Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines that help the poor meet their water and sanitation needs – with a particular focus on MFIs. This seven-year fund, managed by the nonprofit's WaterEquity initiative, aims to reach at least 4.6 million people at the BoP, while offering pre-tax financial returns of 3 percent.
- Categories
- Environment, Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
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With New Partner, Wello Rolling Down ‘the Fastest Path to Scale’
Social enterprise Wello today announced it will license sales and manufacturing of its main product, the WaterWheel, to Mumbai-based Nilkamal Limited in India and Sri Lanka. The publicly traded Nilkamal is one of Asia's manufacturers and sellers of injection mold plastic furniture and other plastic home goods. We hear from Cynthia Koenig, founder and CEO of Wello, about what the deal means not only for the for-profit company, but also for other social enterprises facing the perennial struggle of scaling their products.
- Categories
- Environment, Social Enterprise