NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

New Delhi, India, May 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Social Finance Global Network (SFGN) and The Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG) today announced the launch of Social Finance India (SF-IND) and first three of its Directors- Rajiv Lall, Ashish Dhawan, and, Vikram Gandhi. Rajiv Lall will Chair the initiative. SF- IND will be a new Section 8 non-profit intermediary which will galvanize the Indian impact investment space. Social Finance India’s first two products- India Impact Fund of Funds (IIFF) and India Education Outcomes Fund (IEOF) will launch in 2018. SF-IND also launched its website, www.socialfinance.org.in

Social Finance India joins the global network of Social Finance UK, Social Finance US, and Social Finance Israel to mobilize investment capital at scale to drive social change. SF-IND will collaborate with governments, nonprofits, for-profit impact enterprises, philanthropic foundations, and impact investors to scale up outcome focused and SDG-aligned impact programs.

The SF-IND Board will comprise Rajiv Lall, MD and CEO, IDFC Bank; Ashish Dhawan, Founder, Central Square Foundation; and Vikram Gandhi, Founder, ASHA Impact and a Senior Lecturer at the Harvard Business School. The SF-IND Advisory Council will include Sir Ronald Cohen, Chairman, Global Steering Group (GSG); David Hutchison, CEO, Social Finance UK; Tracy Palandjian, CEO and Co-Founder, Social Finance USA; Yaron Neudorfer, CEO of Social Finance Israel, Vivek Pandit, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company; and Nishith Desai, Founder and Managing Partner, Nishith Desai Associates.

Its first task will be to build large outcome funds and fund of funds, including two high-profile $1 billion funds to be launched this year at the GSG’s 2018 Impact Summit in Delhi on 8-9 October. These funds will give a huge fillip to India’s Impact Investment market, which according to McKinsey & Company1 attracts $1.1 billion annually. According to McKinsey study, between 2010-2016, India attracted $5.2 billion, growing at 14% CAGR and delivering 11% weighted average IRR while improving the lives of 60-80 million beneficiaries.

The India Education Outcomes Fund (IEOF) is looking to attract $700m of investment to improve educational outcomes by supporting initiatives across India. it is the first fund of its kind in education. The India Impact Fund of Funds (IIFF) will unlock long-term affordable debt to finance intermediaries and impact enterprises in a variety of sectors, including renewable energy, financial inclusion, and healthcare. The fund is being incubated by SF-IND, the GSG and UNSIF (United Nations SDG Impact Finance).

Today, SF-IND also welcomes David Hutchison, CEO, Social Finance UK to New Delhi to discuss its plans. David will meet the new board members, welcome SF-IND to SFGN and learn more about SF-IND’s business plans at its second of three stakeholder consultations for IIFF and IEOF.