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It’s Time to Measure the Effectiveness of Investing in Global Goals
Climate change is a defining issue of our time, and the global financial community has responded with a series of investing frameworks, stock exchanges and other activities to encourage private investment in climate change-focused initiatives. Despite these efforts, evidence suggests we are still off track to hit global targets. William Burckart and Steve Lydenberg of The Investment Integration Project discuss their new report, which advocates a new paradigm for measuring the effectiveness of investing in SDGs – and uses climate change investment to illustrate how this approach could work.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Impact Assessment, Investing
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It’s Bigger than Silicon Valley – But is it Right for You?: Assessing a Move to Impact Investing
It may surprise you to learn that social enterprises now account for 3 to 5 percent of the U.S. GDP – twice as much as Silicon Valley. That's why the rapidly growing impact investing market represents a significant opportunity for forward-thinking investors. But according to Chintan Panchal of investment firm RPCK, new investors must navigate a complex web of unfamiliar metrics, regulations and strategies. To that end, he offers five questions and themes to consider before closing any impact investment deal.
- Categories
- Investing
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Press release: Three leading development finance institutions sign loan agreement to support capital markets and high impact sectors in Africa
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and ALCB Fund Board Members today signed a loan agreement to support high impact sectors in Africa focusing on housing, agriculture and SMEs.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Five Key Questions for Managing Impact – And How to Apply Them in Your Business
Hundreds of investors, entrepreneurs, social scientists and evaluators from around the world recently joined together to devise an easier way to manage and comprehend business impact. They came up with five dimensions for assessing a business’ impact on people and the planet, whether for good or ill – in a way that others can understand, both within and outside of the company. Amanda Feldman of the Bridges Impact+ team explores how businesses – from startups to multinational corporations – can go about assessing their true impact.
- Categories
- Environment, Impact Assessment
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Faster, Lighter Touch and Group-based: A Different Approach to Poverty Graduation
The poverty graduation model has continued to show great promise in helping ultra-poor people develop sustainable livelihoods. But Dianne Calvi of Village Enterprise points out that those programs, as currently practiced, are often too expensive to scale. In advocating a more streamlined approach to poverty graduation, Calvi reveals key findings from a randomized control trial involving some of the poorest households across 138 villages in rural Uganda.
- Categories
- Investing
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Perspective: Why the long-term viability of social enterprises is important
To become financially viable in the long term, all types of businesses—whether traditional ones or social enterprises—rely on sustainable strategies that will translate to profit. But these are not possible without some level of profit, the main demarcation between a purely charitable organization and a community-oriented enterprise.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- impact investing
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Why Women are Key to the Next Wave of Impact Investing
Why aren't more women and minorities represented in angel and venture capital investing? It’s a vexing question Alicia Robb is addressing.
- Categories
- Investing
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Here’s How to Play Matchmaker to Social + Business Metrics ‘Power Couples’
For many businesses and organizations, the idea of measuring their impact can be scary, elusive or just plain boring. But pairing social and business metrics "power couples" can give organizations unique insights to solve key business challenges. In a new report, the William Davidson Institute shares the results of its work with three organizations to demystify data collection of their social impacts. Rebecca Baylor of WDI writes that the team's work proves impact measurement doesn't have to be as hard as it may seem.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
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