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To Fix the Gender Gap, Fix the Digital Divide
Most job growth will come from STEM fields, yet women make up only 12 percent of engineering students. That’s why MIT’s new Solve initiative launched a Women and Technology Challenge asking for technology-fueled solutions that enable women and girls’ full participation in the economy. Selected solutions will receive support from cross-sector leaders interested in investing in innovative social impact projects – the Solve challenge deadline is Aug. 1.
- Categories
- Education, Entrepreneurship, Impact Assessment, Inclusive Fintech, Technology
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U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Launches to Scale the Practice of Impact Investing
The Alliance was founded last year by representatives from philanthropy, business and finance to champion the potential of impact investing by increasing awareness of impact investing in the U.S., fostering deployment of and demand for impact capital across asset classes globally, and by partnering with policymakers and other stakeholders to build the impact investing ecosystem.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Region
- North America
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Advisory board on impact investing to drive SDGs
More than 550 people from 43 countries met in Chicago to discuss how to deploy sufficient private capital to fund the Sustainable Development Goals over the next 13 years. It was a ringing response to recent cries for nationalistic policies regarding the insufficiency of planetary resources.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
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First Impact Report on Economic, Environmental and Social Performance of Clean Technology Companies Released by Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator
"Measurement of social and environmental impact beyond financial metrics provides investors with a broader understanding of the true risks, costs and opportunities involved, thus enabling more informed investment decisions," states UBS Managing Director, Andrew Lee, Head of Impact Investing.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Environment, Impact Assessment
- Region
- North America
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Can Digital Credit Outperform Microcredit in the Developing World?
Microfinance has been hailed as a transformative force for poor households and entrepreneurs in emerging markets. But recent evidence suggests it is not the silver bullet it was once thought to be. Meanwhile, mobile phones have become ubiquitous in most developing countries, and Alexandra Wall, Natasha Beale and Carson Christiano explore whether digital credit can do a better job than microcredit in meeting the needs of the underserved.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
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The Dirty Secret of Social Enterprise: Scale is Overrated
Author Jonathan C. Lewis writes that for some staggering societal problems – like deaths from child poverty and modern-day slavery – scaling solutions is an urgent necessity. However, for social entrepreneurs, he says the important thing is not organizational size, geographic coverage or budget, but progress toward social justice. He urges leaders to focus less on size and more on striving to maintain balance.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Health Care, Impact Assessment
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Energy Solutions Shouldn’t Just Tick Boxes, They Should Transform Communities
Simple electrification around the world, without the existence of a suitable ecosystem, has not led to transformation, writes Sarah Alexander of the SELCO Foundation. That ecosystem needs to be created and strengthened by a host of local stakeholders to complement efforts of last-mile energy enterprises to transform the lives of the poor – and understanding the demand for the solution is critical.
- Categories
- Energy, Impact Assessment
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IDB-UNDP report identifies steps to leverage Islamic finance for impact investing
Given that impact investment is growing rapidly and has become an important source of funding the SDGs, a blending with Islamic finance provides a formable partnership that could play a significant role in achieving the SDGs.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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