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Impact Investing Impasse: The Case for 4-Hour Due Diligence
Impact investors are often guilty of stringing along social entrepreneurs with needlessly long due diligence processes, "abusing their power and privilege," says Andy Lower at investing firm A Different Approach to Poverty. Weeks can easily turn to months – a delay that's unfair to entrepreneurs, and unacceptable in other industries. In response, his firm has devised a four-hour due diligence process, which has sparked interest – and a fair amount of push-back – in the sector. Lower discusses the approach in this provocative Q&A.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
- Tags
- impact investing
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Education Without Borders: Helping Promising International Students Gain Access to U.S. Universities
Access to American higher education should not be determined by where someone was born, but rather by their merit and potential, argues Joel Frisch of Prodigy Finance. However, financing still hinges on an applicant’s assets and home country – creating barriers for many students in emerging markets. With a model based on impact investing, Frisch describes how Prodigy is helping students get a U.S. education, while helping investors get both social and financial returns.
- Categories
- Education
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India: Satya MicroCapital raises $5.5m from two impact investment funds
Satya MicroCapital provides loans to small entrepreneurs in both rural and urban areas. Its limited liability group (LLG) model, mainly focuses on women, with their husbands acting as co-borrowers, through a credit product that allows them to start a new business or build their existing business.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
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Press release: WaterEquity announces the first closing of its US $50 million impact investment fund
WaterEquity, the first-ever impact investment manager with an exclusive focus on ending the global water crisis, announces the first close of its US $50 million flagship fund—WaterCredit Investment Fund 3 (WCIF3)—at US $33 million. Investors include Bank of America, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), Ceniarth LLC, Niagara Bottling, as well as the Conrad N. Hilton, Skoll, and Osprey Foundations. A second-close is projected before year-end.
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Viewpoint: Why Foundations Should Step Up Their Game In Impact Investing
“It’s not enough to build a business that is doing good in the world,” says Laurie Lane-Zucker, founder and CEO of Impact Entrepreneur. “We also need to create a business paradigm that reflects the same triple-bottom-line brain chemistry.”
- Categories
- Investing
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Press release: Essmart raises US$1.2M in financing for scaling innovative kirana shop network
Essmart, a last-mile distribution company for socially impactful goods in India, has closed US$1.2M in financing. The round was a mix of equity, debt, and grant funding from elea Foundation for Ethics in Globalization, Partners Group Impact Verein, DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft MBH, and Swiss Re Foundation.
- Source
- Press release
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
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Press release: Go Beyond Investing and Bamboo Capital Partners agree strategic partnership
Christopher Rolfe, CEO at Go Beyond Investing, said: “At present, there is an untapped opportunity in the European market to invest in early stage companies that have the potential to grow significantly if given the necessary and appropriately timed investment. Through our partnership with Bamboo, we are aiming to capture these compelling opportunities and to increase the capital available to entrepreneurs."
- Source
- Press release
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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Press release: FMO Investment Propels Meloy Fund Past $22 Million for Sustainable Coastal Fisheries
“FMO is proud to join the Meloy Fund and contribute to the creation of economic opportunities for small-scale fisheries in Indonesia and The Philippines” said Maurice Scheepens, Investment Officer of the Agri, Food & Water department at FMO. “The partnership with Rare, which provides amongst others technical expertise and networks, ensures that inclusive development is linked with the conservation of critical marine habitat.”
- Source
- Press release
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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