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Social Impact Bonds in Latin America: Reframing Social Development in the Region
The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, in March launched a $5.3 million fund to test a new social sector financing tool: Social Impact Bonds. This fund is a window to a promising new approach to social development in Latin America. SIBs hope to improve the effectiveness of social programs through an alignment of incentives and a powerful multi-sector partnership.
- Categories
- Finance
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The Great Equalizer: How advances in “big data” allow tech-savvy start-ups to compete with the major players in East Africa
Thanks to the availability of fast, inexpensive data, start-ups with technology-enabled models can create scaled products and innovate much faster, smarter, and more cheaply than incumbent institutions. Accion Venture Lab’s Nate Gonzalez discusses why this is particularly relevant to the SME lending space in East Africa.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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Impact Investing in the Base: A chat with Vox Capital’s Daniel Izzo
Daniel Izzo is the pioneering co-founder of Brazil’s first impact investing fund, Vox Capital, which focuses exclusively on BoP-serving businesses. Vox has invested in 12 companies, six with equity stakes and six with convertible debt investments, in Brazil. Tara Sabre Collier talks with him about the ins and outs of reaching the BoP demographic.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
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World Bank to Spend $8 Billion on Nigeria Over Four Years
The World Bank said it will provide Nigeria with projects worth $8 billion targeting job creation, social services and governance as part of its new country partnership strategy with Africa’s largest economy.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Weekly Roundup – 4/25/14: Ringing the Bell on Social Enterprise, Remembering Rana Plaza
Each week the New York Stock Exchange invites a different group to ring the opening and closing bells to start and stop the day’s trading. On Monday, a new group did the honors: representatives from the U.S. National Advisory Board (NAB) to the Social Impact Investment Task Force. While the bell ringing is purely symbolic, the symbol is important nonetheless: Impact investing has moved from the fringe to the mainstream – or at least mainstream recognition.
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- Uncategorized
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How Mobile Tech is Changing Africa’s Landscape to Create Opportunities for Women
For years analysts have said that “Africa is Rising,” but now it’s really happening. With an expanding population and steady economic growth, social enterprise in Africa is today seeing real returns on investment. This “double-bottom line” success — financial plus humanitarian gains — is drawing new attention to Africa to not only advance, but also yield change.
- Categories
- Technology
- Tags
- impact investing
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Myth of Sustainable Investment Performance Sacrifice ‘Finally Withering Away’
Speaking to Blue & Green Tomorrow after the launch of the Pax MSCI International ESG Index fund, Keefe explained that environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors were becoming increasingly relevant to companies’ long-term financial risk and performance.
- Categories
- Environment, Impact Assessment
- Tags
- impact investing
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Beyond the Pioneer: Getting Inclusive Industries to Scale
Beyond the Pioneer enumerates the barriers to scale that hinder, not just the firm, but the entire ecosystem, including the value chain, public goods, and the regulatory and policy environments.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
- Tags
- impact investing
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