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National Australia Bank sells rare $500 million gender equality bond
National Australia Bank, the country's fourth-largest lender by market value, said on Friday it sold $500 million of "gender equality" social bonds, amid burgeoning demand for ethical investments.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
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Viewpoint: How billionaire philanthropists could really make an impact
Tom Hall of UBS argues that if the likes of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg were to put their money into impact investment instead of grants they could make a real contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing, philanthropy, SDGs
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Social Business Roundup: SOCAP Aims for the Mainstream, Cambodia Caps Microcredit, Quali Health Simplifies Health Care
In announcing its new ownership, SOCAP mentioned the word “mainstream” six times – the popular social business and investing conference is clearly aiming to grow beyond its current niche. In Cambodia, the National Bank capped interest on microcredit to a maximum of 18 percent per year – about half of what some MFIs currently charge. And a visit to India inspired a South African doctor to launch a profitable health care clinic in a local shantytown. These stories and more in our weekly roundup.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care, Investing
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How Will The Rise Of Crowdfunding Reshape How We Give To Charity?
Last September, a Chicago resident named Joel Cervantes Macias spotted an 89-year-old man named Fendicio hawking Mexican ice pops–they’re called “paletas”–out of a street cart. The man looked too old to be working, but Macias only had so much spare cash (and so much room for dessert). So he posted a picture of Fendicio on the charitable crowdfunding site GoFundMe, asking others to pitch in for a vacation.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- North America
- Tags
- crowdfunding, philanthropy
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Pension funds are key to Africa’s transformation — and city officials can help
Africa has seen over two decades of rising investment, including an exponential rise in foreign direct investment that has rebounded from the 2008 global financial crisis. But this investment is not accompanied by the requisite economic and social transformation that would allow the poorest countries to provide their citizens with the same type of sustainable opportunities seen in developed countries.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
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SOCAP Group Announces The Good Capital Project, Expands Vision with New Leadership and Capital
SOCAP, is proud to announce it will be spinning out of its former MissionHUB LLC ownership. Earlier this year, Robert J. Caruso, Founder & Managing Partner of Kantian Social Ventures led the investment round with a group of mission aligned impact investors and innovators to allow SOCAP to independently ramp up its efforts to spread awareness of market based solutions to the world’s greatest challenges, curate thought-leadership in the space, and educate impact market participants. SOCAP will begin expanding its brand reach to larger, more mainstream audiences and enhance its consumer engagement practices to help bring impact investing into the mainstream consciousness.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
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Impact Fund Managers from Africa and South America Join Capria Network
Today Capria announced it has signed agreements to invest in four fund managers who have joined Capria Network, the leading global network of impact fund managers. Capria’s 4th investment cycle has begun, seeking connection with more managers in emerging markets.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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How Loan Guarantees Are Unlocking Private Capital for Clean Energy and Sustainable Agriculture
MCE Social Capital, a nonprofit impact investing firm, believes leveraging loan guarantees can unlock private sector capital for the more than 2 billion people who lack access to formal financial services. Over the past couple of years, MCE has expanded its focus to clean energy and sustainable agriculture in an effort to promote macroeconomic stability and a healthy planet.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Investing