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NexThought Monday: Approach with Caution – Why Buffett, Gates, and the Giving Pledge Members Should Be Wary of Impact Investing
Many billionaires have signed on to the Giving Pledge, a pact pushed by software tycoon Bill Gates and value investor Warren Buffett for the super-rich to donate much of their wealth. Many are now turning their attention to impact investing. But large, individual investors have at least three reasons to approach the phenomenon of impact investing with caution.
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Yes, Microfinance Does Work. Here’s How…
By now, anyone with an interest in microfinance or poverty alleviation has read the criticism. There are tragic crises in Andhra Pradesh, the regrettable stepping-down of Muhammad Yunus from Grameen, and provocative headlines in the media claiming to refute microcredit's effectiveness. However, I feel strongly that if readers listen only to the white noise, they'll do themselves and the microfinance industry a disservice and, more to the point, they'll be misled.
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Rural women in Gujarat get energy-efficient products
AHMEDABAD: International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is helping Ahmedabad-based Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) provide energy-efficient cook stoves and solar lanters to its members. IFC will provide a partial credit guarantee for a $5 million loan that an Indian private sector bank is providing to SEWA-sponsored Grassroots Trading Network for Women.
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The ‘Grandfather’ of Social Enterprise, Steve Lawrence Dies
The man described as the the grandfather of social enterprise in Australia, Steve Lawrence has died after a long battle with cancer aged 60.
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Insights on Impact Investing from the US SIF Conference
Just how big is the socially responsible investing industry? One powerful example can be found in the development of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) whose signatories – with assets over $30 trillion – are now estimated to represent 20 percent of the estimated total value of global capital markets. This growing influence of SRI was a major theme at The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment.
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India Government Introduces Bill to Regulate Microfinance
NEW DELHI – The Indian government Tuesday introduced a bill in Parliament that will give power to the country's central bank to regulate the microfinance sector, where companies lend to small borrowers.Introduced in the lower house of Parliament by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the Microfinance Institutions (Development and Regulations) Bill will give powers to the Reserve Bank of India to set the maximum interest rate that can be charged by micro lenders.The RBI will also set performance standards for the institutions and ensure that they use "fair and reasonable methods" for the recovery of loans.
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Weekly Roundup: This BoP Exit Brought to You, Courtesy of the Cloud
This week atyati technologies, a leading technology platform provider for the rural banking sector in India, with 2.5 million end users was purchased by Genpact, a $1.9 billion global leader in business process and technology management. The acquisition marks one of a handful of instances where a BoP-focused private initiative has been acquired in a mainstream transaction.
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Guest Post: Silicon Valley Without Stanford? The Role of Philanthropy in Impact Investing
The focus on the proper mix of philanthropy and investment at the individual deal level can obscure even bigger and, I’d argue, more important issues facing the impact investment industry – lack of good deal flow. Lack of good deal flow will become a bigger problem as more capital is mobilized. Imagine Silicon Valley without Stanford. That is the state of the early-stage impact investing movement today.
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