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Why Aren’t More Social Enterprises Measuring Impact? A New Study in South Africa Raises Questions for the Global Sector
South Africa has arguably the most mature impact ecosystem in Africa, with both seasoned and new social enterprises, incubators, accelerators and funders. And a new study from Impact Amplifier and Genesis Analytics revealed a similarly robust impact assessment sector, with 72 percent of study participants claiming to have an impact measurement practice. But as Tanner Methvin at Impact Amplifier explains, those numbers contrast significantly with what his organization has observed on the ground. He explores that discrepancy and the broader findings in this revealing post.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Impact Assessment
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Getting to the SDGs – And What’s Next for Multi-Sector Collaboration
We live in an era of multi-sector solutions. But it's easy to forget that diverse sectors working closely toward big global development goals is a recent phenomenon that didn’t happen by chance. At a talk at the William Davidson Institute, Tami Kesselman, founder of Aligned Investing Global, discussed several key tipping points that have allowed the business, government, philanthropic and impact investing communities to overcome misaligned priorities and mistrust. Check out her interview and her predictions on what will come next in multi-sector development.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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What the ‘Varsity Blues’ Scandal Says (And Doesn’t Say) About Bill McGlashan, the Rise Fund and Impact Investing
Bill McGlashan’s downfall at Rise, TPG's mammoth impact investing fund, has been making national headlines for the past week – sparking a wave of criticism that's putting the sector on the defensive. According to long-time impact investor Lauren Cochran, managing director at Blue Haven Initiative, the critics have a point - but they're missing an important part of the story. She explores what McGlashan's failings say about the Rise Fund and the broader industry – and what impact investing can learn from the scandal.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
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Businesses ‘doing good’? Prove it
“It is a bit of a dark art, measuring impact,” Jessi Baker, founder and chief executive of Provenance, a British social enterprise that uses blockchain technology to make supply chains more transparent, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Impact Assessment, Technology
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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The Promise (and the Absence) of EdTech: Why Countries Aren’t Adopting It More Widely – And What Can Be Done
Despite decades of promises and false starts, consistent, large-scale EdTech programs to address under-skilled or absent teachers remain frustratingly elusive in many emerging economies. Why are local Ministries of Education – and donors from rich countries – reluctant to embrace nationwide programs to address teacher gaps through technology? Dalberg analysts are asking the question, and the answers may lie in a lack of actionable evidence.
- Categories
- Education, Impact Assessment, Technology
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It’s Really Happening: Watching Impact Influence Capital
For more than two decades, impact measurement pioneers dreamed of the day when their tools would steer massive amounts of private capital into market-rate funds for social good. Now, writes Stephanie Kater at the Bridgespan Group, it’s actually starting to happen. Kater leads the Bridgespan team managing the impact underwriting for TPG’s Rise Fund, the $2 billion impact investing fund that Bono helped to launch. Kater pulls back the curtain on the processes undergirding the world’s largest impact investing fund.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
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Bill Gates tweeted out a chart and sparked a huge debate about global poverty
I think the basic fact that we’ve made progress in recent decades is important. Politics and the global economy are dismal places, especially if you only see them through the lens of news coverage. It’s easy to become fatalistic.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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Major funds launch toolkit to help investors measure SDG impact
A dashboard developed by CISL's Investment Leaders Group, including PIMCO, Union Bancaire Privée and Zurich Insurance provides metrics to assess corporate social and environmental impact.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
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