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New development impact bond brings in big donors, provides biggest test of model to date
Gwokajja’s story is one of several thousand supported through Village Enterprise, a nongovernmental organization working to eliminate poverty in sub-Saharan Africa through entrepreneurship and innovation. The organization’s network of entrepreneurs is set to grow significantly through a new development impact bond that is trailblazing many firsts — the first in the world to focus specifically on poverty alleviation, the first in sub-Saharan Africa, and the first to bring on major donors, including the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.K. Department for International Development.
- Categories
- Investing
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TPG Seals Record $2 Billion for Fund Co-Led by Bono
The fund, which TPG raised in about seven months, surpassed its $1.5 billion target and hit its $2 billion hard cap, or the maximum amount of outside capital allowed by its agreement with investors. TPG employees plan to commit additional money before a final close.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- impact investing
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We Went Looking for Impact Investors – Here’s Who and What We Found
The "friction" of getting an impactful investment fully raised and closed is holding back the flow of capital that wants to be deployed, writes Michael "Luni" Libes. In early 2017, he helped launch investorflow.org, a free service that recently released a report on its first 205 members. Libes explains how the service is attempting to turn anecdotes into analysis.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
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Salesforce launches $50 million Impact Fund to invest in social change startups
Salesforce announced Tuesday that it's launching the Salesforce Impact Fund, a $50 million initiative to accelerate the growth of startups that are using Salesforce technology to address some of the world's biggest problems. Through the fund, Salesforce will invest in these companies, furthering each one's goal of driving positive change.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
- Region
- North America
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- impact investing, startups
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Startup Accelerators Have Become More Popular in Emerging Markets — and They’re Working
Business environments in most emerging markets are complex and can be difficult for even the most experienced entrepreneur to navigate. So while running any startup is tough, we assumed that launching a new business in Mombasa would be much more difficult than running one in Menlo Park. However, we were surprised to find far fewer differences in the effects of acceleration than we had expected.
- Categories
- Investing
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The First MicroFinance Bank Afghanistan; Mibanco of Peru; and Cooperative Tosepantomin of Mexico Announced as Finalists for European Microfinance Award on Microfinance for Housing
This year, the Award highlights the role of microfinance in supporting access to better quality residential housing for vulnerable, low income and financially excluded groups with no or limited access to housing finance in the mainstream sector. This problem is multi-dimensional: sub-standard housing is not just an identifier of poverty, but rather it is the cause of a host of developmental problems.
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- Investing
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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Are Financial Returns Starting to Compete with Social Goals? An Impact Investor Assesses its Involvement in Off-Grid Solar
In the second of two posts, Oikocredit's Laura de Bresser assesses the social and environmental value of its off-grid solar investments: Is achieving financial returns starting to compete with social impact? Here's what the investment firm discovered about whether it's really helping people and the planet – and whether it should continue investing in this market.
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- Energy, Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
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LAST CHANCE to Get a Free Chapter of Ross Baird’s New Book, ‘The Innovation Blind Spot’ – Oct. 31 Deadline
Village Capital president Ross Baird's first book, "The Innovation Blind Spot: Why We Back the Wrong Ideas―and What to Do About It" highlights a startling reality: While a handful of big companies are experiencing unprecedented success, entrepreneurial activity is near a 30-year low in the U.S. Meanwhile, investors are chasing the newest hit app, and ignoring grave and worsening challenges affecting billions of low-income people. We're giving away a free chapter from the book to subscribers of NextBillion Notes, our weekly e-newsletter, during the month of October.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise