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A Tale of Four IPOs: Is Public Investment in Microfinance Becoming OK Again?
Initial public offerings have long been a controversial topic in microfinance, and rightly so. The early IPOs of Compartamos and SKS Microfinance made a lot of money for investors and turbocharged the sector's growth, but also sparked hyper commercialization and debt crises that rocked the industry. But last year, two Indian MFIs had successful IPOs that have garnered a much more positive reception. We spoke with Daniel Rozas of the European Microfinance Platform and Anna Kanze of Grassroots Capital Management about how these four offerings differed, and what they could mean for the future of public investment in microfinance, in this podcast.
- Categories
- Investing
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Startup Investment Is Making a Comeback in North Africa
African startups raised more than $129 million last year, according to a report from Disrupt Africa, a blog on technology and entrepreneurship on the continent. South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya were the most popular destinations, with north African countries catching up.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
- Tags
- impact investing
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US Sustainable, Responsible and Impact Investing Trends
US sustainable, responsible and impact (SRI) investing continues to expand. The total US-domiciled assets under management using SRI strategies grew from $6.57 trillion at the start of 2014 to $8.72 trillion at the start of 2016, an increase of 33 percent, as shown in Figure A. These assets now account for more than one out of every five dollars under professional management in the United States.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
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Cuemath raises $15 million in Series B round from Alphabet
Education start-up Cuemath, run by Cuelearn Pvt. Ltd, has raised $15 million in Series B round of funding led by equity investment fund of Alphabet Inc., CapitalG (formerly known as Google Capital), the company said in a statement on Monday.
- Categories
- Education, Investing, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- impact investing
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Family offices are far more active in impact investing than originally thought
According to legend, The Rockefeller Foundation coined the term ‘impact investing’ in 2007, putting a name to investments made with the intention of generating both financial return and social/environmental impact. Has the concept reached maturity nearly a decade later?
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
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Social Business Roundup: An SDG Lovefest at Davos, a New Rival for M-Pesa and a Really Big Direct Investment Fund
Has the World Economic Forum in Davos lost its relevance? Not to the folks gathered there this week who were knee-deep in talk about sustainable investing and social enterprise. Those discussions are only the start of a jam-packed Roundup this week. There's also a new mobile platform by MasterCard that could rival M-Pesa in Kenya, plans for a $2 billion direct investment fund, and plenty more ...
- Categories
- Agriculture, Health Care
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Climate Ventures 2.0 Launches With $250K Available for Ag and Water System Resilience
GoodCompany Ventures is pleased to announce the public launch of Climate Ventures 2.0, a global accelerator focused on Agriculture and Water Systems Resilience, and its call for applications for $250,000 of GCV Impact Grants.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Region
- North America
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Sorry, ‘Feel Good’ Investors: Deep Impact Requires Concessions
There's a big crowd of investors on the side of the return continuum seeking a feel-good, low-risk way of earning an invitation to speak at the next GIIN or SOCAP, according to Greg Neichin and Diane Isenberg of Ceniarth. There are far fewer willing to make the necessary and realistic concessions required to generate impact in the most underserved places in the world.
- Categories
- Investing