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OPIC, Calvert Foundation to Finance Varthana, Supporting Private Schools in India
In a ceremony held on February 17th in Bangalore, India, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. government’s development finance institution, and Calvert Foundation signed an agreement to finance Varthana, a lending institution that provides loans to affordable private schools in India, particularly those that serve low-income populations.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- impact investing
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Impact Investing’s New Theme: Themes
Bill and Melinda Gates have long worked to reduce disease and poverty. For Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, education ranks as a top cause. And Michael Bloomberg is battling climate change and gun fatalities. Of course, plenty of room for overlap exists, but you get the point: Not all philanthropists care about the same things.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
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The Scope of Private Actors in Impact Investing, Philanthropy
According to Central Statistics Office data released last month, the per capita income in real terms (at 2011-2012 prices) in 2015-2016 is set to reach Rs.77,431 as compared to Rs.72,889 in 2014-2015.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Region
- South Asia
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5 Easy Ways to Impact Invest In Women — And the World
To many, impact investing connotes low or no returns. Despite the skepticism, these investments made with the goal to generate a social or environmental impact alongside a financial one, is a growing market. About $60 billion worth of impact investment assets are under management, according to the Global Impact Investing Network – which provides much-needed capital to some of the world’s biggest challenges, in sectors ranging from agriculture to education. And some of the biggest returns lie with women.
- Categories
- Investing
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Morningstar Introduces Industry’s First Sustainability Rating for 20,000 Global Funds
To help investors evaluate funds based on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today introduced the Morningstar Sustainability Rating™ for funds. The new rating will enable investors around the world to evaluate mutual funds and exchange-traded funds based on how well the companies held in their funds are managing their ESG risks and opportunities.
- Categories
- Environment, Impact Assessment, Investing
- Tags
- impact investing
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Interactive Graphic: The Top-Performing Socially Conscious Funds
Investing in socially-friendly funds is expanding rapidly. In the United States, at least $7 trillion is invested in strategies focused on environmental, social and corporate governance causes, so-called ESG strategies, an 89% increase since 2012, according to The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- impact investing
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New York Pension Fund Could Have Made Billions by Divesting From Fossil Fuels
New York State’s pension fund would have an additional $5.3bn to give to its retired employees if it had divested from fossil fuel companies and put that money into clean energy, according to a new report.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Investing
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Kiva’s New Fund Targets 1 Million Women Entrepreneurs – But How Much Impact Should We Expect?
Last week, the Inter-American Development Bank and the U.S. State Department joined microfinance pioneer Kiva to launch the Women’s Entrepreneurship Fund. The fund matches the contributions of lenders who respond to a woman entrepreneur’s loan request on Kiva’s online platform, and hopes to crowdfund loans for 1 million entrepreneurs. But in spite of the excitement around the announcement, questions about both Kiva’s approach and the broader microfinance model remain.
- Categories
- Investing
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