-
Impact Investing Impasse: The Case for 4-Hour Due Diligence
Impact investors are often guilty of stringing along social entrepreneurs with needlessly long due diligence processes, "abusing their power and privilege," says Andy Lower at investing firm A Different Approach to Poverty. Weeks can easily turn to months – a delay that's unfair to entrepreneurs, and unacceptable in other industries. In response, his firm has devised a four-hour due diligence process, which has sparked interest – and a fair amount of push-back – in the sector. Lower discusses the approach in this provocative Q&A.
- Categories
- Investing, NextBillion Originals
-
India’s Impact Capital Vacuum – And What to Do About It
Impact investments in India grew by double digits between 2010 and 2016, and are expected to reach US $8 billion by 2025. But the on-the-ground reality is not so rosy. Investors are flocking to financial services and larger-scale companies, while early-stage enterprises and impact sectors such as agriculture, health care and clean energy face a funding gap. While there is no secret sauce for changing this dynamic, Gagandeep Bakshi and Sameer Gaud at Intellecap offer five guiding principles to help social enterprises with successful fundraising.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
-
Tackling Poverty Close to Home: Why Acumen is Boosting Financial Health in the U.S.
More than 40 million Americans live below the poverty line, and a majority live paycheck to paycheck. That's why, after nearly two decades and over $110 million of impact investments in Africa, Asia and Latin America, Acumen has expanded its focus to include the United States. Amon Anderson and Sarah Willis discuss how Acumen America, through its financial inclusion portfolio supported by MetLife Foundation, aims to build a future where low-income Americans enjoy stability, protection and prosperity.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Technology
- Tags
- Acumen, banking, digital payments, education, financial inclusion, financial innovation, financial services, fintech, impact investing, investment fund, MetLife Foundation, mobile finance, mobile money, mobile phones, social enterprise, social entrepreneurship, social impact, sustainability, technology
-
On Pioneering Capital, Mentorship and Accelerators: It Turns Out You Can Do (A Lot) More With Less
Less than 3 percent of impact investment funds made their way to early-stage ventures in 2017. Sachi Shenoy and Nathan Byrd of Upaya Social Ventures believe the impact investing sector must do better. After several years of investing pioneer capital in social enterprises, they offer several solutions that take advantage of a "less is more" philosophy.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Impact Assessment, Investing
-
Four Steps to Avoid Dead-End Impact Investing Leads
Dead-end leads are frustrating for both entrepreneurs and investors. They involve wasted time and resources, disappointment, and the erosion of relationships – and sometimes the exchange of capital that's a poor fit for the entrepreneur’s business. To prevent these issues, the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) has created an online toolkit to help impact entrepreneurs identify their top investor targets. Kimberly Langsam and Cathy Clark at CASE summarize the simple four-step process – and CASE will host a free online demo with more information on March 13 and 19.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Impact Assessment, Investing
-
I’m not trying to strongarm CEOs to adopt my worldview, says head of $6 trillion money manager
Fink sent a letter last week to the chief executives of the world's largest public companies, calling for them to help improve society or risk losing support from BlackRock, which just surpassed $6 trillion in total assets under management in the latest quarter.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- North America
-
How Impact Investing is Advancing Affordable Housing
For millions of people, especially for the 13.2 million who have worked with the organization to build new or updated homes, Habitat for Humanity is a household name. But many don't realize that the international charity that put “sweat equity” on the map is also pioneering a different approach: A pair of funds that invest in businesses that advance affordable housing via financial products and services. Jyoti Patel, global director-capital markets at Habitat’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter, discusses the funds and their wide-ranging impact.
- Categories
- Investing
-
Empowerment Mainstreamed: Applying Gender Equity Across the ESG Standard
With the emergence of impact investing, the time is ripe for a transformation in global business practices regarding gender equality and women’s empowerment. But for that to happen, businesses and investors will need to expand gender considerations beyond the narrow confines of the social dimension of ESG, says Linda Jones of Mennonite Economic Development Associates. She explores MEDA's innovative framework for helping enterprises apply gender goals across the ESG standard.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
Parent Organization
