-
Subsidy and Synergy: How Philanthropy Can Complement Impact Investing More Effectively
The original goal of impact investing was to build out the funding spectrum between philanthropy and commercial investment. But according to Asad Mahmood at SIMA and Nanno Kleiterp, the arrival of private equity firms — promising scale and market-rate financial returns — has pulled all the sector's energy toward the commercial end of the spectrum. They explore the key role philanthropic subsidy has played in the development of emerging markets business, clarify some misconceptions about its role in impact investing, and propose some ways philanthropists and impact investors can better align their efforts.
- Categories
- Energy, Finance, Investing, Social Enterprise
-
Business Seeks Details in Face of Mixed COP29 Climate Messages
While private sector investment was teased throughout the summit - including in a multilateral development bank pledge to mobilise $65 billion of it each year - the devil will be in the details.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
- Region
- Global
-
You Can’t Have Global Standards Without the Global South: Why Emerging Markets Must Lead the Way in Driving Impact Reporting Transparency
In recent years, global standard-setting bodies have released widely adopted impact reporting standards, designed to ensure that companies disclose sustainability- and climate-related information alongside their financial statements. Though these standards are a huge step forward for global impact transparency, Ibukun Awosika argues that they reveal a troubling power dynamic between developed and emerging markets. She explores how key voices in the Global South were left out of the process of developing these standards, and proposes two changes that can ensure a greater role for them going forward.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
-
Press Release: LSE’s 100X Impact Accelerator Announces New Initiative for Future Social Unicorns in Southeast Asia
With over a million impact-first organisations in Southeast Asia, social ventures are the backbone of vital sectors ranging from agriculture to healthcare, education, and climate action. Selected ventures for the programme will receive £150,000 in funding and 12 weeks of programming focusing on “endgame” strategies.
- Categories
- Education, Environment, Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
-
Viewpoint: We Need a New Global Measure for Poverty
To keep us moving in the right direction, we have to make global poverty more visible by finding a better way to measure it.
- Region
- Global
-
Putting Communities at the Center of Impact Measurement: Why Locally Led Evaluations are Key to Measuring Project Success
Development organizations and donors often measure impact by asking if their target population was lifted, to some degree, out of poverty. But as Henok Begashaw at iDE argues, traditional impact measurement approaches centered around poverty reduction — like household surveys designed by outside technical experts — can fail to capture the key outcomes of an initiative. He explores the benefits of a locally led measurement approach that allows organizations to develop a rich picture of project outcomes, based on what beneficiaries themselves say is important.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
-
Smallholder Farmer Adoption of Agtech ‘High but Inconsistent,’ Says New Study From 60 Decibels W/ Gates Foundation
The research team interviewed more than 1,400 Kenyan farmers across 38 counties, using a lean methodology developed and tested in multiple geographies over 2022-2024.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Measuring Systems Change: Three Tools for Understanding Your System-Level Impact
There's a growing realization that traditional solutions to individual global challenges often fail to address the interconnected causes at the root of these issues. As a result, impact-focused organizations are increasingly viewing these problems as part of a broader system, and developing solutions that aim to make positive systemic change. But as Gaurav Gupta and Bianca Samson at Dalberg and Saloni Atal at Artha Global explain, measuring system-level impact presents some unique difficulties. They explore these challenges and share some measurement tools that can allow organizations to separate the signal from the noise.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise, Technology
Subscribe to Our 'Business in Global Development' Newsletter!
Our new weekly LinkedIn newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with curated news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage of impact-focused business in emerging markets.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.