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What a Decade of TRANSFORM Teaches Us About Partnerships
The playbook’s central message is that meeting today’s social and environmental challenges requires radical collaboration at speed and scale.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
- Region
- Global
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The True Cost of Impact-First Investing
Drawing on one of the first collaborative cost studies of its kind, spanning eight leading impact-first investment organizations managing $197.2 million across 362 investments, this paper challenges one of the sector’s most persistent myths: that impact-first funds are inherently inefficient.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Global
- Tags
- data, impact investing, research
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2026 Coffee Barometer: Sustainability Cannot be Built on Permanently Cheap Coffee
The newly released 2026 Coffee Barometer exposes systemic flaws in the global coffee industry over the past 20 years.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Global
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Report: 810 Million Women Still Not Using Mobile Internet in Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Compared to 595 Million Men
Persistent barriers such as those related to affordability, skills and safety concerns continue to limit women’s digital inclusion in low- and middle-income countries.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Global
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Visible From Space: New Research on Zipline’s Impact in Africa Beyond Healthcare
The findings document a 22% reduction in child fatalities from severe acute malnutrition, a 68% direct return on investment for smallholder pig farmers, and $850 to $1,200 in additional annual household income near Zipline distribution hubs.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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UN Report Warns AI’s Water, Land and Climate Costs Are Rising Faster Than Governance
AI-related water consumption could equal the basic annual domestic needs of 1.3 billion people by the end of the decade.
- Categories
- Environment, Technology
- Region
- Global
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Flipping the Script on Investor Feedback: A New Survey Gives Entrepreneurs a Platform to Assess — And Influence — Their Impact Investors’ Practices
There have been a number of critiques of impact investing in recent months, targeting several common investor practices. Yet as Yaquta Fatehi at the William Davidson Institute (WDI) points out, these appraisals rarely come from entrepreneurs, who often receive feedback from investors, but typically lack the ability to respond in kind. She shares a new research initiative by Acumen and WDI called "Founders in Focus: The State of Impact Capital" that aims to change this dynamic: Instead of focusing on what entrepreneurs need to do differently to attract investment, it invites founders to capture their experiences with investors — both the good and the bad — in a structured manner that can spark actual change in the investing ecosystem. The survey is open to founders and C-suite executives across Africa, Asia and Latin America who have raised capital in 2024-2025: Respond by June 26 to add your views.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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Analysis: Why the World’s Most Ambitious Coal Phase‑Out Deal Has Failed – And What It Means for Climate Finance
The failure to decommission Cirebon-1 matters beyond Indonesia. It suggests the world’s flagship model for financing the end of fossil fuels isn’t working. And the longer it takes to admit that, the harder the transition becomes – for Indonesia, and for everyone.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
- Region
- South Asia
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