-
Decade after debt relief, Africa’s rush to borrow stirs concern
NEARLY a decade after Nelson Mandela and anti-poverty activists Bono and Bob Geldof persuaded the rich world to forgive Africa’s crushing debts, many countries’ debt levels are creeping up again, which could undermine the region’s growth boom.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
- Tags
- governance, lending
-
Pitching Investors in Global Health: Funding Lessons From Social Entrepreneurs
Over the past decade, business models serving the base of the pyramid (BOP) customers have attracted increased attention. At the same time, major development agencies and foundations have identified the public health segments of the Millennium Development Goals as priorities and have expanded programs to support and encourage innovation in health care for low- and middle-income communities around the world.
- Categories
- Health Care, Impact Assessment
- Tags
- impact investing
-
Sustainable Investing Comes of Age in South Africa
In recent years, the idea of analysing companies using more than just financial indicators has moved into the mainstream.
- Categories
- Environment, Impact Assessment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
OPINION: Give Impact Investing Time and Space to Develop
Impact investing has captured the world’s imagination. Just six years after the Rockefeller Foundation coined the term, the sector is booming. An estimated 250 funds are actively raising capital in a market that the Global Impact Investing Network estimates at $25 billion. Giving Pledge members described impact investing as the “hottest topic” at their May 2012 meeting, and Prime Minister David Cameron extolled the potential of the sector at the most recent G8 summit.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
- Tags
- impact investing
-
OPINION: GiveDirectly? Not So Fast.
GiveDirectly is the current flavor of the month, and every couple of days someone asks us what we think of it. GiveDirectly does unconditional cash transfers—it sends money via mobile payment straight to the poorest people in Kenyan villages. It’s a brilliant approach to cutting out corruption and waste: 93 cents of every donated dollar goes to recipients as cash, and those recipients reliably spend it on food, housing, health care, education, and business investment.
- Categories
- Education, Impact Assessment
-
The World Bank Gets An Overhaul — And Not Everyone’s Happy
The World Bank, the largest international development institution, is undergoing a sweeping reorganization, the first of its kind for the bank in nearly a generation. The bank, based in Washington, has laid out a new set of goals, but they're accompanied by deep budget cuts and the elimination of a whole layer of senior management jobs.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
-
Impact Investing: Building on Strong Foundations in the U.S.
Impact investing in the U.S. has a rich history and established communities of practice -- spanning community finance, socially responsible investment, micro-finance, housing finance, environmental finance, small business finance in underserved "emerging domestic markets," sustainable development and, more recently, social finance, which explicitly ties investment returns to social outcomes using tools like "pay for success."
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
-
Making Money While Making The World A Better Place
For those who may not be as familiar with the term, impact investments “are investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.”
- Categories
- Impact Assessment