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Family offices lead the way on impact investing
When former investment manager Ron Cordes started a charitable foundation in 2007, he got frustrated because he could only “do good” when he was actively giving the money away to needy causes. Then Cordes discovered impact investing. “We became passionate about sustainability,” he told Reuters.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- North America
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Africa’s Tech Startup ‘Investment Frenzy’: Fact, Fantasy – or a Wakeup Call for Better Investing Strategies?
Are Africa's tech startups really facing an "investment frenzy" that's driving excessive valuations, growth-at-all-cost business models and unrealistic investor expectations? That was impact investor Lauren Cochran's argument in a much-discussed NextBillion article. But according to Marsha Wulff at LoftyInc Capital Management, the problem isn't an excess of funding – it's "group-think" among foreign investors who don't see the true value of local, African-led startups.
- Categories
- Investing
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Q&A: Jean Case on Swimming With Sharks, Investing and Impact-Washing
Bloomberg recently spoke with Case about impact investing, her personal investing and the work she and husband Steve, former CEO of America Online, have done to encourage a more inclusive startup culture.
- Categories
- Investing
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Progress and Frustration: How Investors are Pushing Impact Investing Toward Greater Transparency
Impact investments are likely to top $1 trillion in the not-too-distant future. But as the sector grows, so does the need for greater transparency about who is benefiting, in what ways, and to what degree, says Paige Chapel at Aeris Insight. And though institutional investors are moving toward more accountability, 80% of retail investors still find it difficult to measure the impact of their portfolios. She explores this challenge – and some emerging, tech-based solutions.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
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A Future Beyond Short-Term Profit: A Movement Builds for Mission-First Business Structures
Business as usual is not working to solve major world problems—in many cases it’s actually causing them, due to flaws built into the foundation of conventional business and investing structures. Jasper van Brakel of RSF Social Finance discusses how this realization is sparking a grassroots global movement behind mission-first business, rooted in stakeholder governance and seeking profit as an engine for creating social, cultural and ecological good.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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Economist Events’ 4th Annual Investing for Impact Conference to Share Vision for 2020 and Beyond
Economist editors, business executives, policymakers, academics, fund managers, and institutional investors gather to explore what the next decade has in store for the future of impact investing.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
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‘It’s Not About Subsidies’ – And Five Other Myths About Blended Finance
The excitement around blended finance is growing – but so are the misconceptions about it. Bjoern Struewer at Roots of Impact highlights five myths about the approach, and argues that investors and public funders should admit – and embrace – one inconvenient truth: By providing catalytic capital to mobilize commercial investment, blended finance is subsidizing private investors' returns.
- Categories
- Investing
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Press Release: Imaginable Futures, New Global Philanthropic Investment Firm Focused on Learning, Spins Off from Omidyar Network
Imaginable Futures will utilize the hybrid funding structure pioneered by Omidyar Network that is part philanthropic foundation and part impact investor. This structure allows Imaginable Futures the financial flexibility to support for-profit entrepreneurs harnessing the power of markets, as well as social and public-sector changemakers innovating to produce scalable change.
- Categories
- Investing
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