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Investors Sharpen Focus on Social and Environmental Risks to Stocks
Pfizer stock was riding high in June 2015, up 128 percent in five years, making it the second-most valuable American drug maker. Nine out of 10 Wall Street research analysts recommended that investors hold it in their portfolio, if not buy more.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Region
- North America
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
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A startup in Kenya is launching “Uber for ambulances”
In Nairobi, most things can be ordered from your phone—an Uber, or taxi from one of several other taxi hailing app companies, a boda boda driver to run an errand for you on his bike, and dinner from a restaurant across town or just groceries from down the street. Soon, Nairobians will also be able order an ambulance from their phones.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Indian social enterprises have huge potential: British Council report
A majority (53%) of social enterprises in India are focussed on skill development, followed by 30% on education, according to a study on Indian social enterprises relased by the British Council on Thursday.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Education
- Region
- South Asia
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Health to Humanity Uses Bath Amenity to Train African Entrepreneurs
"What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualization,” said Dr. Abraham Maslow, a psychologist who, in 1943, wrote about his theory on human’s hierarchy of needs.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- North America
- Tags
- public health
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Cash-Poor Millennials Lead the Impact Investing Revolution in Philanthropy
Socially and environmentally conscious Millennials are reinventing philanthropy by merging traditional foundations with profit-making endeavours and social enterprises, a new report says.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
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New Platform Aims To Attract Reluctant Impact Investors
For impact investing to grow, a critical mass of mainstream funders needs to embrace it. Helping to make that happen is the goal of ClearlySo ATLAS, a recently announced platform with which private equity investors can assess the impact of their portfolio companies. The underlying framework is geared to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Tags
- impact investing
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Demonetisation: How to Get Cash-Stuck Microfinance Institutions Digitally Ready in India
The overnight demonetisation of R500 and R1,000 currency notes shook the entire Indian economy, for good or bad is yet uncertain. An estimated 85% of the value of currency has ceased to be a legal tender and the release of the new currency has been rationed for the next few months. Such a move from the government will most likely put a check on black money circulation in medium- to long-term, however, it will also impact businesses in the short-run given the fact that more than 90% of the consumer payments in India still happen in cash. The move is also expected to be a boon for digital financial services ecosystem in India. While the penetration of digital payments infrastructure has rapidly increased in the last two years, the value of consumer payments that happen through cards or other digital means in India is still far behind some of the other comparable economies. The point-of-sale terminals per 100,000 debits cards are lower in India compared to other BRIC nations (India-2; Russia-6.1; China-12.5; Brazil-14.8).
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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ESG demand grows despite performance doubt
Interest in environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing is set to grow despite no hard evidence on how it influences performance, according to Kelsey Biggers, head of investment risk at Franklin Templeton.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
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