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Village Enterprise Closes Investment for First Development Impact Bond for Poverty Alleviation in Sub-Saharan Africa
"This DIB, which pays Village Enterprise for improvements in income levels of extreme poor households, is remarkable because of the ambitious outcomes it incentivizes…. We also hope to generate important lessons on how to effectively commission, adapt and scale promising poverty alleviation programs"
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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MicroVest Sees Microfinance Shifting to Small Business
“What happens when the woman borrower who started with a $200 loan has built her business and has 10 employees and now needs $5,000 in capital to buy equipment and machinery?” asks Ron Cordes, the former co-founder and executive co-chairman of AssetMark, who has invested in MicroVest through his family foundation since 2007.
- Categories
- Investing
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Stop Looking for the Next ‘Uber for X’ and Start Changing the World
The paradigm of the Silicon Valley "tech bro" pioneering the next "Uber for (whatever)" has become a cliché. Its ubiquity is a distraction, says Alex Amouyel of MIT Solve – one that excludes social innovators from much-needed funding and keeps those with capital from making real change through their investments. Instead of looking for the next unicorn and quick exit, she argues, investors should expand their definition of “venture-backable” entrepreneurs to include those driving transformative, mission-driven impact.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise, Technology
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Report: ‘No clear evidence’ social impact bonds lead to better outcomes
SIBs work by attracting investment to fund projects, often involving charities and social enterprises, and reimbursing and rewarding the investors if the project is successful.
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Turning Intentions into Action: How to Boldly Implement Gender Lens Investing
There is strong evidence around the business case for investing in women, yet many asset managers and impact investors remain unsure about how to integrate a gender lens into their organization’s investment strategy. Though the process can take time to implement effectively, and will differ from institution to institution, David Venn offers several key questions that can help investors take the first step.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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How impact investing can tackle the plastic crisis
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 32 per cent of plastic packaging escapes collection systems worldwide and, if current trends continue, the weight of plastic in the oceans could surpass the weight of fish by 2050.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
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At the Vatican, a different type of investing conference
There were several more nuns and priests in attendance than at a typical impact investing conference, but the third Vatican Impact Investing Conference, held last week, explored both where the field is headed globally and what role the Roman Catholic Church might have moving forward.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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Women Leaders, Women Lenders: Why Impact Investing Should Follow Microfinance’s Lead on Female Empowerment
Women have been an integral part of microfinance since the very beginning. But though the percentage of women in top leadership positions in microfinance institutions is high compared to the rest of the global banking sector, it’s still lower than women’s proportion of the overall population – and far lower than the percentage of female clients served by these institutions. Abiskar Shrestha, a senior investment officer at MicroVest Capital Management, explores how the sector can boost female leadership – and how investors can help.
- Categories
- Investing
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