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‘Socially responsible’ investors reassess Facebook ownership
“The lid is being opened on the black box of Facebook’s data practices, and the picture is not pretty,” said Frank Pasquale, a University of Maryland law professor who has written about Silicon Valley’s use of data.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- data, impact investing
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The Demonetization Crisis May Be Over, but the Time for Tech Upgrades in Indian Microfinance Is Now
India's 2016 banknote demonetization sent shockwaves through the country's microfinance sector, causing MFIs to write off US$ 1.1 billion in bad loans. In response, cash-dependent MFIs stepped up investment in fintech – but now that the crisis has passed, so perhaps has their sense of urgency. Elliot Rosenberg of Awaaz.De argues that the need to embrace tech is as strong as ever.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Technology
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Omidyar Network Spins Out New $100 Million Venture Fund Called Spero Ventures
Called Spero Ventures, the fund counts Omidyar as its sole limited partner and will include 13 for-profit investments made by Mahesh and her colleagues while they were part of Omidyar Network. Mahesh and her fellow partner Rob Veres, as well as employees Ha Nguyen, Sara Eshelman and Christina Li have already made two investments on their own, in Fathom and Markov.
- Categories
- Investing
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Viewpoint: Nonprofit Earned-Income Ventures Aren’t Rockets: Another Launchpad Failure
Hailed as a potential game changer, ImpactUs fell apart eight months after opening even though the impact-investing intermediary had the backing of the MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Open Road Alliance, Enterprise Community Partners, and City First Enterprises. Another firm is picking up the pieces, so it may not be a total loss, but why did the initial effort flame out so quickly? Here, John MacIntosh advances some tenets for nonprofits to follow to give their venture activities a greater chance of success.
- Categories
- Investing
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Impact investor Aavishkaar-Intellecap to raise up to $75m to fund growth
The capital raised from the fundraising will allow Aavishkaar-Intellecap Group to support its subsidiaries as they look to scale and to seed some new businesses, says founder Vineet Rai.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- impact investing
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Viewpoint: What impact investors can learn from activists
The good news is that, just as there are thousands of professionals globally dedicated to the fine art of money management, there are just as many people dedicated to social justice, whether taking action in their own communities or working within non-profit organizations. Impact investors can learn from these activists how to ensure their investments are actually doing social good.
- Categories
- Investing
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GIIN Roadmap Presents ‘Unashamedly Ambitious’ Vision For Impact Investing
The framework, which was started to coincide with the 10 year anniversary of the coining of the term impact investing, assesses industry progress to date and outlines specific actions needed to exponentially enhance the scale and effectiveness of impact investing across the world.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
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WASH Away Inequity: Lack of Access to Safe Water is the Most Crippling Obstacle Limiting Human Potential
On World Water Day, consider that 844 million people (nearly 1 in 9) lack a drinking water source that is accessible within a 30-minute round trip from their home. But though this problem can be solved by installing a tap or rain harvesting system, the upfront cost of up to $200 is often prohibitive for people living in poverty. Water.org co-founder and CEO Gary White highlights the power of the poor, when given affordable financing, to provide their own solution to the global water crisis.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing, WASH