You’ve heard it from impact investors: there just aren’t enough investable deals. And you’ve heard it from impact entrepreneurs: where’s the capital we need to get our business off the ground? In this Returns on Investment podcast from ImpactAlpha, Cathy Clark, director of Duke University’s Case Initiative on Impact Investing (Case i3), says the key to bridging […]

This week in impact investing: mobile ad platform Jana raises $57 million to expand free internet services; Social Finance launches a South Carolina social impact bond for mothers and children; a fund in the UK offers tax relief along with an expected 8 percent return; and more! Jana raises $57 million to expand free internet […]

Small business owners often lack the collateral required by banks for loans. But many small and growing businesses do have another valuable asset: cash. A pilot project in Nicaragua is testing an innovative loan structure that relies on companies’ cashflow to unlock financing for small- and medium-sized enterprises. The test of the new Variable Payment […]

Latin America’s homegrown community of impact investors will get an assist from two visitors this week. First up is Pope Francis, who has called for markets to better serve the basic interests of people. “Impact investors are those who are conscious of the existence of serious unjust situations,” he said at a Vatican conference in 2014. Also visiting […]

This week in impact investing: A new fund from the makers of Sesame Street backs childhood health and education ventures; alternative fish feed producer Calysta teams up with Cargill; Sanergy raises $1.7 million for franchise toilets in Kenya; and retail investors in Canada can now invest online in CoPower’s first green bond. New Sesame Ventures and […]

As governments around the world look for more efficient ways to finance critical social services, the UK government is engaging the private sector to fund the arts, research into treatments for dementia, incubation of new social enterprises and other initiatives. ImpactAlpha recently spoke with Edward Evans, a senior policy advisor in the UK Cabinet Office’s Social Investment […]

Tech innovation is not enough. Sistema Biobolsa, a social enterprise working in Mexico and Latin America, developed biodigester technology that helps farmers turn animal manure into cooking fuel and high-quality fertilizer. That reduces smoke from open fires, increases farm yields, keeps waste out of water sources and reduces greenhouse gases. But those benefits were not […]

When Bill Gates agreed a couple years ago to put a small piece of his personal fortune into a fund that invests in companies serving low-income customers in India, he invited the fund managers to return with a plan to scale up their investments and their social impact. The fund managers recently took such a […]

Dealflow is back with the deals big and small: A $20 million raise for African and Asian solar microgrid provider Powerhive; another financial services investment in Ghana for LeapFrog; and a social impact bond to tackle homelessness in Denver raises $8.6 million — to be repaid based on a reduction in jail time. Powerhive raises […]

Community-supported fisheries are becoming a hit with finicky foodies and green consumers that like to be able to trace their seafood back to the dock, and sometimes the boat that it came from. The idea has been that payment from consumers at the start of the season provides participating fishers upfront capital and a fair […]

We live in the Age of Brand Management. The holy grail of “brand managers” is always the simple and compelling message, told by words, images, stories and evidence. In their constant quest, truth is both resource and constraint on what they can say, show and imply. There is constant tension between the subtle complications of […]