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Time is a Social Innovator’s Most Precious Resource: Why Are So Many Funders Wasting It?
For social entrepreneurs and civil society innovators, time is a perpetually scarce resource. But according to Tanner Methvin at Impact Amplifier, in his decades of engagement with these innovators and their funders, he has often been shocked by how wasteful some of the funding world is with the ecosystem’s time. He argues that many funders don't fully understand the time demands imposed by their cumbersome systems for applying for grants or investments, or responding to requests for proposals. He explores these inefficiencies, and proposes a better way for funders to support the social innovation community.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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Analysis: “Lens Investing” Is Just Admiring the Problem
Impact investing doesn’t need another lens; it needs a lever. Stop admiring the system’s flaws and start shifting power to those building something better.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Global
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To Change the World, Change Your Economics: How Degrowth Can Shrink Overconsumption in the Global North While Allowing the Global South to Grow
The global economy largely operates under a neoclassical economic structure, which emphasizes a reliance on markets, a deference to the private sector and a focus on constant growth. But according to Matt Orsagh and Steve Rocco at the Arketa Institute, this structure has a fatal flaw: It operates on a planet with finite resources and limited places to put our waste, but assumes that economic growth can go on forever. They argue that the world needs a new form of economics that reflects our environmental realities, one focused on "degrowth" — i.e., an effort to equitably downscale production and consumption in the Global North, without putting undue restrictions on the development of the Global South. They explore what this change might mean for the world's economy, the investing community — and countries in the Global North and South.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
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IRC and GiveWell Partner to Deliver Safe Water to 1.7 Million People in Chad, Nigeria, and Somalia With Cost-Effective Approach
This 18-month pilot will introduce a cost-effective approach to water treatment across refugee camps, displacement settlements, and vulnerable host communities.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise, WASH
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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African Fintech Driving Financial Inclusion Closes Funding Round With Over $200 Million
Moniepoint, which focuses on driving financial inclusion for MSMEs and individuals, received an additional $90m backing, after initially raising $110m in October 2024, including from several impact investors.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Are Impact Investors Really Listening?: Why Capturing Stakeholder Insights is Key to Impactful Investment Strategies
Collecting data is easy for impact investors; acting on it is harder. As Taanya Khare at Acumen explains, most impact investment firms turn data-driven insights into action through intentional spaces like investment committees or portfolio review sessions. But she argues that listening is about more than surveys or feedback loops — it requires investors to sit down with company teams to make sense of customer insights, identify blind spots and co-create better solutions and impact strategies. She shares what Acumen has learned from embedding listening and impact management into every stage of its investment process.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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Malengo Secures $12.9 Million from The Shapiro Foundation to Expand International Education Pathways & Financial Security
Malengo is a non-profit organization enabling international educational migration and economic empowerment for young people from East Africa.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Analysis: Why Impact Investing Might Collapse and How to Stop It
The current paradigm of viewing impact in isolation from the systems surrounding investments is not sustainable. Applying a systems lens helps investors make better decisions related to sourcing, management, and measurement that lead to lasting positive impact.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Global
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