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Finding the Right Financial Partner: Lessons Learned from One Startup’s Success in the Funding World
Kinnos was founded during the Ebola outbreak of 2014, marketing an innovative chemical product that allows even untrained workers to apply disinfectant correctly. Its founders (then students at Columbia University) quickly received more than $750,000 in grants and prizes. But as their company grew, they had to learn to navigate the risky landscape of startup investment. According to Christina Tamer at VentureWell, the Kinnos team's success in this area—they have raised $1 million in venture funding from angel investors—offers a number of key lessons for other entrepreneurs.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Health Care, Investing
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Looking for Funds in All the Wrong Places: The Single Biggest Thing Social Entrepreneurs Misunderstand About Investors
Social entrepreneurs often feel like they have to compromise or downplay their missions in order to appeal to profit-hungry investors. But that's not the case, says investment consultant Jenny Kassan, as investors don't always fit the stereotype of a "middle-aged white man in a suit" seeking a fast, lucrative exit. She explores a vast, under-recognized source of investment capital that entrepreneurs can tap – one that actually prefers businesses with a social focus.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
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Education Without Borders: Helping Promising International Students Gain Access to U.S. Universities
Access to American higher education should not be determined by where someone was born, but rather by their merit and potential, argues Joel Frisch of Prodigy Finance. However, financing still hinges on an applicant’s assets and home country – creating barriers for many students in emerging markets. With a model based on impact investing, Frisch describes how Prodigy is helping students get a U.S. education, while helping investors get both social and financial returns.
- Categories
- Education
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Warren Buffett is Investing in Paytm, his First Indian Company
Berkshire Hathaway is investing in India's top mobile payments firm.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
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Turning Intentions into Action: How to Boldly Implement Gender Lens Investing
There is strong evidence around the business case for investing in women, yet many asset managers and impact investors remain unsure about how to integrate a gender lens into their organization’s investment strategy. Though the process can take time to implement effectively, and will differ from institution to institution, David Venn offers several key questions that can help investors take the first step.
- Categories
- Investing
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Women Leaders, Women Lenders: Why Impact Investing Should Follow Microfinance’s Lead on Female Empowerment
Women have been an integral part of microfinance since the very beginning. But though the percentage of women in top leadership positions in microfinance institutions is high compared to the rest of the global banking sector, it’s still lower than women’s proportion of the overall population – and far lower than the percentage of female clients served by these institutions. Abiskar Shrestha, a senior investment officer at MicroVest Capital Management, explores how the sector can boost female leadership – and how investors can help.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
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Global alliance launches guidelines for fintech investors
The Guidelines for Investing in Responsible Digital Financial Services have been launched by an international network of over 50 fintech investors and innovators, aiming to promote fintech funding by providing a framework for evaluating investment opportunities and risks.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Goldman Sachs Backs an ETF That Returns the Love
If you’re going to put your name on an ETF about socially conscious investing, it helps if the rankings it’s based on don’t paint you as some rapacious bank. Not surprisingly, Goldman itself ranks relatively high on the “justness” scale of firms in the ETF.
- Categories
- Investing
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