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Weekly Roundup 12-4-15: Did Zuckerberg and Chan Just Become the World’s Biggest Impact Investors?
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative set tongues wagging and some people pining for an "unlike" button to click on Facebook this week. But impact investing/philanthropy expert Antony Bugg-Levine is taking a wait-and-see attitude, saying, "It’s the doing, not the announcing, we need to judge."
- Categories
- Investing
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Report: West African impact investing totalled $6.8 billion in last decade
The impact investing industry in West Africa is comparatively small, but growing, totalling US$6.8 billion over the past decade, according to research by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN).
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- impact investing
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Mark Zuckerberg Responds To Skeptics, Elaborates On LLC Plan
After new parents Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan revealed their plans this week to give away 99 percent of their Facebook shares, a firestorm of controversy erupted. On the one hand, many people -- including Bill Gates and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg -- praised the couple for the generous gesture. Others, however, questioned their motives.
- Categories
- Investing
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Kenyans to Trade Equities on Safaricom Mobile Phones in 2016
Safaricom Ltd., East Africa’s biggest mobile-phone operator, expects Kenyans to start trading stocks on their mobile phones early next year, using a product it developed to enable customers to buy government bonds, Chief Executive Officer Bob Collymore said.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital payments
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Two Keys to Advancing Global Financial Inclusion
JP Morgan recently joined with the Gates Foundation, Bankable Frontier Associates, Accion International, Omidyar Network and others to create the Catalyst Fund. Catalyst will provide funding and mentorship to financial inclusion-focused social entrepreneurs in emerging markets that offer breakthrough technology innovations to promote financial health globally. Janis Bowdler discusses the new fund, and two key approaches to bringing financial services to the world's poorest.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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The World’s First Impact Focused Equity Crowdfunding Portal Launches to Fund Pan African Start Ups
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME's) are the primary job creation engine in Africa, accounting for over 95% of firms and 60%-70% of employment. Yet, SME's on the continent report access to finance as the biggest obstacle to growth. Malaik, an impact-focused equity crowdfunding portal, test launched today, to connect investors interested in impact investment opportunities and entrepreneurs raising equity finance. Malaik offers the global community clear and well-documented opportunities for high impact investing in African businesses, a chance to participate in Africa's growth story.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Africa Gets Crowdfunding Association
The African Crowdfunding Association (ACfA) has been launched as a way to lobby for the creation of crowdfunding legislation on the African continent.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- crowdfunding
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Impact Investing Done Right
Impact investing—the art of creating portfolios that earn market-rate returns while also seeking to advance social or environmental aims—is a mercurial child of the 21st century. Hard to pin down with precise definitions and interpreted in a variety of ways, impact investing is nonetheless a fast-growing force below the surface of our financial markets, effectively blurring the lines between philanthropy and investing.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Tags
- impact investing
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