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Viewpoint: We Must Invest Differently to Support Women and Girls
Many of the structural issues at the root of gender inequality are locked in and magnified by our current financial system.
- Categories
- Investing
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The Clock is Ticking on Energy Access: Exploring Factor[e] Ventures’ Big Bet on Mini-Grids
Since 2010, the number of people without energy access has decreased from almost 1.2 billion to 840 million. But while that's encouraging, the world is not on track to meet SDG7’s goal of universal electrification. What's more, as Amanda DelCore at Factor[e] Ventures points out, more connections may not always equal more access. In light of these realities, she explores why Factor[e] has built its energy access thesis around mini-grids.
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Quona Capital Closes Second Fund with $203 Million Aimed at Financial Inclusion in Emerging Markets
Quona Capital, a venture firm focused on financial inclusion in emerging markets, today announced the final close of the Accion Quona Inclusion Fund. The Fund closed with $203 million in commitments from an array of leading investors including global asset managers and insurance companies, investment and commercial banks, as well as university endowments, foundations, family offices, and development finance institutions, significantly exceeding its $150 million target. Quona leverages a strategic relationship with Accion, a nonprofit financial inclusion pioneer, which is the Fund’s sponsor, general partner, and anchor investor.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- impact investing
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Many Small Foundations Wary of Impact Investing
Many small foundations are skeptical of impact investing, with 38 percent saying it will hurt returns, 36 percent saying they lack the capacity to do it, and 32 percent citing worries about risk, according to a new survey. The report from Exponent Philanthropy, which represents foundations with few staff members, also found that 16 percent of respondents participated in "mission or impact investing," and another 11 percent plan to do so in the next few years.
- Categories
- Finance
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Carlyle Breaks From Pack, Plans Impact Investing Across Firm
It was a curious moment last year when Carlyle Group Inc., once famous for bold bets on defense contractors, hired one of the more prominent names in socially responsible investing.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
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Press Release: Convergence Grantees Mobilize $550 Million Towards Blended Finance for Global Development
The Design Funding program awards grants to design blended finance solutions that attract private capital to global development at scale.
- Source
- Press Release
- Categories
- Finance
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ESG Investing Is a ‘Complete Fraud,’ Chamath Palihapitiya Says
ESG investing — or strategies that take a company’s environmental, social and governance factors into consideration — is growing in popularity, with investors increasingly prioritizing these metrics.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
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Making Subsidies Smarter: How to Create More ‘Bang for the Buck’ in Blended Finance
Blended finance can be a powerful approach to closing the SDG financing gap – and as Bjoern Struewer at Roots of Impact argues, it inevitably involves subsidies. But for those subsidies to be worthwhile, they must be provided in return for tangible development impact – and not eaten up by the cost of maintaining complex financial structures. Struewer explores how subsidies should be leveraged to maximize the impact of blended finance.
- Categories
- Investing
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