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Getting the Most out of Monitoring Data: An Impact Investor Explores the Value of a Unified Approach
Monitoring data is a source of frustration for many impact-focused organizations, as many see it as another line item in their budgets, a task required for funder compliance, or a backward-looking tool that isn’t necessarily relevant to future programming. But as Juan Taborda Burgos, Scott Caple and Jorge Bouchot at Root Capital argue, this paradigm fails to recognize the power of monitoring data to inform strategy and insights. They explore how Root Capital has standardized its monitoring system across its global programs, and highlight the value of taking a unified approach to collecting and utilizing this data.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing
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BOI and GIZ Sign Strategic Partnership to Accelerate MSME Growth and Sustainable Development in Nigeria
The framework outlines an agreement focused on delivering coordinated interventions across key areas, including access to finance, entrepreneurship development, capacity building, and market access.
- Source
- Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (link opens in a new window)
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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The Missing Ingredient in Impact Investment in Africa: A New Financing Model for Business Advisory Service Providers Tackles the ’Lack of Investable Pipeline’ Challenge
Despite the growth of impact investing in Africa, investors still face a commonly cited constraint that could impede future deal flow: the lack of investable pipeline. But according to John Scicchitano at Pangea Africa and Rob Mills at Social Finance International, the main reason for this issue is the fact that African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) often struggle to meet the technical standards that impact investors demand, while lacking the network that could connect them to these investors. They explore how business advisory service providers (BASPs) can help meet these needs for SMEs, and present a new financing mechanism that can help BASPs scale up their investment facilitation support.
- Categories
- Investing
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responsAbility Invests Up to USD $15 Million in South East Asia’s Skye Renewables
With this funding, Skye Renewables plans to scale its project portfolio in Southeast Asia, aiming to increase its installed capacity to several hundred MWp within five years.
- Region
- South Asia
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British International Investment Partners With Rawbank to Enhance Financial Inclusion for Small Businesses in DRC
BII’s $25 million senior loan facility will improve access to finance for SMEs and non-mining corporates in DRC.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Analysis: Impact Investing’s Defining Moment
In 2008, the Rockefeller Foundation Board of Trustees approved $38 million to support the Impact Investing Initiative, with the establishment of the Global Impact Investing Network as a key outcome. The GIIN was conceived as the “prime collective action platform” and “chief legacy instrument” to sustain and extend the gains of the initiative (Harji & Jackson, 2012; Jackson & Harji, 2012).
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Global
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing, nonprofits
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The Hidden Filters: How to Fix the Biases that Skew Investment Pipelines Away from Women Founders
Over the past decade, gender lens investing has moved from the fringes of impact investing into a more mainstream priority for many investors. But as Michal Januszewski at LeFil Consulting argues, while the overall gender-lens thesis has gained traction, the actual representation of women-led businesses remains stubbornly low within investor portfolios, with women-only founding teams capturing just 2.3% of global VC funding in 2024. He explores the structural and behavioral biases that can exclude women founders in each stage of the investment funnel, and shares practical recommendations on how investors can address them.
- Categories
- Investing
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Oikocredit and GCPF Invest USD $10 Million in Sawa Energy to Support Expansion of Commercial and Industrial Solar Projects in Africa
The facility will enable Sawa Energy to scale the rollout of distributed solar and battery systems for commercial and industrial clients, supporting businesses seeking reliable and cost-effective alternatives to grid electricity and diesel generation.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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