-
A Microfinance Pioneer Branches Out: Early Learnings from FINCA’s Experiences as an Impact Investor
Some three decades after launching its work in microfinance, FINCA International has gotten into impact investing. Hoping to better understand emerging innovations and their impact on its customers and operations, FINCA Ventures has invested in six social enterprises operating in sub-Saharan Africa. Ami Dalal, the initiative's managing director, discusses the lessons it has learned so far, and how these investments improve FINCA's business strategy while furthering its mission.
-
Viewpoint: Impact Investing is Driving the Most Exciting Emerging Technologies
“The advent of very powerful emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, blockchain, and XR can make big differences when combined with smart money coming from venture capital."
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
-
What Larry Fink’s 2019 Letter Means for the Future of Business
Last year, Larry Fink’s annual letter to CEOs forged its way into public and corporate consciousness. This year’s highly anticipated letter from Fink reiterated and expanded upon many of his 2018 points.
-
Viewpoint: Impact Investors are not Funding the Patagonias of Tomorrow—and That’s a Problem
By creating a sense of shared identity, a “cool factor,” and sensitizing parka buyers to technocratic topics like supply chain transparency, Patagonia has transformed the conversation around environmentalism and made it a defining part of many people’s identity. That shift is incredibly hard to quantify and to value in dollars and cents .
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
-
Still White, Still Male: New Report Quantifies Impact Investing’s Diversity Problem
As interest and investments have grown, it’s time for an honest conversation about whether impact investing is perpetuating the inequalities it seeks to address, says Bonnie Chiu, managing director of the Social Investment Consultancy. She shares highlights from a new report that illuminates the challenges faced by women, ethnic minorities and others trying to break into leadership positions in the U.K.’s impact investing sector – and explores the broader implications of this research for the global industry.
- Categories
- Investing
-
The Rise Fund Spin-Off Marks Growth of Impact Investing
“A lot of what happens with impact investing and philanthropy is people measure afterward,” says Chris Addy, a partner at Bridgespan. The IMM is a metric “to quantitatively account for” social or environmental impact before an investment is made, he says, “with a goal being, you can actually look at hard numbers.”
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
-
Viewpoint: Misaligned Hiring Priorities Risk Taking The Impact Out Of Impact Investing
There is a risk, however, that the ‘impact’ part of impact investing becomes diluted if the teams behind these funds - whether launched by corporates or established venture investment firms - lack the necessary expertise in creating social change. This is a very real possibility - in researching the hiring preferences of impact investment funds to help students identify routes to careers in the sector, my Stanford GSB colleague Bernadette Clavier and I found that hiring managers don’t value expertise and experience in social change as highly as they should in their decision-making.
- Categories
- Investing
-
How to Help Social Enterprises Scale: New Research Suggests it’s Not Just About Financial Capital
For businesses that need to scale, human capital support can provide long-lasting benefits. But Mark Horoszowski, co-founder and CEO at MovingWorlds.org, says that in spite of the value of investing in the people behind the enterprises, initiatives for capacity building, coaching and consulting largely go underfunded. Horoszowski explores findings from a first-of-its-kind report that show the power of human capital, and discusses three paths for building talent in the sector.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
Take NextBillion's brief (5-10 min.) reader survey - help shape our coverage and you will be entered to win one of three US $50 Amazon, Flipkart or Jumia gift cards.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.