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Viewpoint: Why impact investing can help solve the world’s problems
A lack of funding is impeding progress on the sustainable development goals, but private banks plug the gap.
- Categories
- Investing
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Why the Social Impact Sector Needs a ‘Bizarro Davos’: A Modest Proposal That Nobody Will Like
It’s that time of year again: Time to talk about the true meaning of Davos. But among all the hot takes and well-earned snark at the expense of insufferable elites, it’s worth asking if the rest of us are so different. Even those of us who work in the social impact sector don’t seem to object to high-brow conferences, and few regular folks seem willing to make the kinds of sacrifices that may be necessary to tackle the generational challenges we face. NextBillion editor James Militzer discusses this dynamic, and makes a sure-to-be-unpopular proposal.
- Categories
- Environment, NextBillion Originals
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Viewpoint: Why toilets should be on the agenda at Davos
As the world’s cities grow, and the extreme weather patterns that accompany climate change take greater hold, innovation in sanitation presents more than great opportunity and must not be relegated to the corporate social responsibility team.
- Categories
- WASH
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Viewpoint: Investors Need More and Better Data on Sustainability
Measurable results are central to advance sustainable finance – the kind that rewards companies being environmentally or socially responsible.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
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How the African diaspora can help the continent achieve the SDGs
With a progressive awareness of the need for a sustainable African development agenda driven by Africans, the African diaspora could provide the other half of the equation needed to turn the SDGs from aspiration to concrete reality.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Task force on digital financing of UN SDGs launched
“We have already seen how technology has helped expand financial inclusion — itself an important goal — by 1.2 billion people in just six years,” said Guterres.
- Categories
- Finance
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Homegrown, African-Owned: A New Approach to Building Africa’s Off-Grid Energy Industry
How can Africa achieve universal access to electricity – and what role should social business and investing play? These questions remain controversial, as investors flood the off-grid solar space, while a small number of enterprises struggle to use that capital to expand beyond their core markets. According to Dan Murphy at Catalyst Off-Grid Advisors and Andreas Zeller at Open Capital Advisors, there’s a critical “missing link” where the industry should focus to reach the region’s 120 million underserved households. And there are thousands of African entrepreneurs who can lead the way – with the right kind of support from investors.
- Categories
- Energy
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Press release: Visionary solutions to the Sustainable Development Goals’ funding gap from UNEP FI’s Positive Impact Initiative
This could be game-changing: by making it cheaper to deliver sustainability outcomes, less risky to finance and would stimulate the private sector to create new business solutions that focus on positive impacts.