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Release of New European Microfinance Platform Action Group Publications
The European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) Action Groups are gearing up for the European Microfinance Week (EMW) where they'll gather for their annual meetings on 16 November and share their latest findings in panels organized on 17 - 18 November. In anticipation of EMW, the Microfinance & Environment Action Group and the Digital Innovations for Financial Empowerment Action Group have released the following publications.
- Categories
- Environment
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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Exchange-Traded Funds Are Making It Easy To Be A Socially Responsible Investor
Socially responsible investing used to be very low on the priority list for most fund providers. Some may even relegate it to a niche trend with small market potential when compared to the overwhelming demand for income or smart-beta indexes. However, the rise of gender equality, environmental impact, and other social issues has created a booming new category within the ETF universe.
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- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Region
- North America
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Interview: Jonathan Chang, Executive Director of the Lien Centre for Social Innovation
Thirty-five-year–old Jonathan Chang is the Singapore-based founder of four Silicon Valley social enterprises. He has two degrees from Harvard and has taught social enterprise in Rwanda to genocide survivors. Here he explains why society should look at social entrepreneurship as a business, not a charity.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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Eaton Vance Dives Into Social-Impact Investing With New Acquisition
Eaton Vance has agreed to acquire the assets of the impact-investing firm Calvert Investment Management, a move that would give it a large presence in the growing field of socially and environmentally responsible investing.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
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The Accidental Social Entrepreneur: A Hippie Ecologist’s Foray into a Costa Rican Business Start-up
Fifteen years ago, American Lisa Bradshaw became a social entrepreneur. But at the time, she didn't know it. When she launched the eco-conscious and locally sourced Green Screen in 2002, no other plant-based insect repellents were on the market in Costa Rica and certification requirements for organic products had just recently been legislated. Here are some of the hard lessons she picked up.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Entrepreneurship, Environment
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Climate Change Predicted to Halve Coffee-Growing Area That Supports 120m People
Climate change is going to halve the area suitable for coffee production and impact the livelihoods of more than 120 million of the world’s poorest people who rely on the coffee economy, according to a new report by the Climate Institute, commissioned by Fairtrade Australia & New Zealand.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment
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Markets-Based Approach Can Help Solve Global Water Scarcity
As cities grow and farms expand, many rivers and lakes are being dried up by water diversions.The Nature Conservancy is now working with environmentally-minded investors to buy back some water for nature. That story is told in a new report released today titled “Water Share: Using water markets and impact investing to drive sustainability.”
- Categories
- Environment, Impact Assessment
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That Cloth Mask for Smoggy Days? A Paper One Works Better.
Across Asia, hundreds of millions of motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians wear face masks to protect themselves against air pollution. The masks come in many sizes and colors: Car-exhaust black is the most common, but Hello Kitty pink, Nike swooshes and Burberry tan plaid have been spotted. What has been lacking, until now, is data on whether they actually work.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia