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Catalyzing Retail Investment to Fund the ‘Missing Part’ of the Missing Middle
Recent developments in crowdfunding legislation in the U.S. and general growing interest in retail investment in Europe and the US are signaling a growth in new capital available for impact investing. But how does the impact sector ensure there are enough investment products to cater to the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of unaccredited investors who are increasingly interested in international investment opportunities that will deliver diverse environmental, social, and financial returns?
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
- Tags
- impact investing
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The Unitus Seed Fund: Harnessing Small Equity for Scale at the BoP
I recently had the opportunity to interview Dave Richards, managing director of Unitus Seed Fund – a new seed stage venture fund investing in startups with high potential to improve the lives of many BoP families in India. USF is focused on making small equity investments – typically $50,000 to $100,000 – at the seed stage where round sizes are less than $500,000 and usually less than $250,000.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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Daniel Izzo on Brazil’s First Impact Investing Venture Capital Firm
Recently, the Opportunities for the Majority (OMJ) Initiative of the Inter-American Development Bank hosted Daniel Izzo, co-founder and partner of Vox Capital, Brazil’s first impact investing venture capital firm, which focuses on high potential businesses that serve the Brazilian low income population through products and services with the potential to improve their lives. In addition, Vox Capital is the first Brazilian fund OMJ is investing in.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
- Tags
- impact investing
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World Bank unit, MasterCard Foundation boost crucial small loans in Africa
A World Bank partner devoted to developing the private sector and The MasterCard Foundation will spend millions of dollars so more impoverished Africans can get loans and other financial services, officials said.
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- Uncategorized
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Omidyar Network Executive Forum Unites Business Leaders Investing In Social Change
One network of top executives is proving that good business means wise investments -- specifically investments in people who have the power to create global change but may simply lack opportunity.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- impact investing
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Accion International launches $10 million investment vehicle, Venture Lab
BANGALORE: In a further boost for social venture investing in India, microfinance and investment firm Accion International has launched its $10 million investment vehicle, Venture Lab, which is focused on providing seed capital to organisations that promote financial inclusion.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- impact investing
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Weekly Roundup: A Look at the Recent Impact Investing Conversation (Cacophony)
Impact investing’s presence in the news and online discussions seemed to grow exponentially this week and last week. Here are just a few stories that breathed optimism into the impact investing field by speaking to the associated markets crossed our desks.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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What Impact Investing Could Do For Health Care
In his TedMed talk last week, where he called for a renewed focus on improving root causes of health problems rather than waiting until they cause full blown illnesses, Sandeep Kishore noted this somewhat startling statistic: Of the 30 years of average life-expectancy gains the United States made in the last century, a surprisingly small amount of that average increase--just five years--stems from improvements in the sort of medical care we get in hospitals. The rest of those gains came from other sources, like improvements in water quality and sanitation, vaccinations, and other improvements in public health.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Tags
- impact investing