The new year started with the worst-ever stock market performance ever. As January ends, rising interest rates, falling commodity prices, devalued currencies and the slowdown in China confront investors with multiple challenges that are not likely to disappear anytime soon. In that context, is impact investment a promising new approach, or a soon-to-be-forgotten afterthought? Listen to the […]

In a sign of healthy competition, not one but two private equity fund managers are gearing up to raise tens of millions of dollars apiece to bet on the recovery of coastal fishing industries and local communities in the developing world. The Sustainable Ocean Fund plans a $50 million first close later this year, and […]

Editor’s note: The following is part of an ongoing series of posts about U.S. financial innovation enterprises and initiatives.    Since the market crash of 2008, financial recovery for some major American cities is still an uphill battle. Cities like Detroit and Atlantic City have faced an array of forces stifling positive growth, from crime […]

UNITED NATIONS — Slushy sidewalks notwithstanding, climate leaders passed through UN security Wednesday with a spring in their step. In a reunion of sorts for the COP21 climate agreement in Paris, an all-star, all-expert cast descended on the United Nations to prod investors into urgent and aggressive action. No rush, guys.Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the […]

Experimentation and social change go hand in hand. At a time when government resources are constrained, we need to experiment with new approaches to finance and scale promising social programs. At Living Cities, we are exploring new ways to unlock private capital for social good, harnessing the collective power of 22 of the world’s largest […]

The government officials, business leaders and private investors gathered at Davos this week can continue their deal-making after the elite event ends on Convergence, a new online match-making platform to facilitate “blended financing” for developing countries. Officially launched at this week’s World Economic Forum, Convergence aims to expand investor networks, reduce search costs and streamline due diligence and […]

There’s an intriguing line in the new Credit Suisse and McKinsey & Co. report on the growing interest among institutional investors for financial products that protect ecosystems, drive sustainable commodity production or reduce carbon emissions. Among mainstream investors, the report says, “The conservation impact of a product is generally of little importance.” The report, “From […]

There’s a growing body of evidence that gender equality and women’s leadership and participation boosts the performance of companies and countries. So what do we do about it? Suzanne Biegel, who calls herself a “catalyst-at-large,” has launched Women Effect, to help entrepreneurs, investors, advisors and others figure that out together. Suzanne, a longtime angel investor, […]

Relevée is a fine jewelry design and manufacturing company that provides a pathway to complete independence for some of the world’s most vulnerable women including survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence and child marriage. Relevée was started by, and is spinning off from, the nonprofit social enterprise Made By Survivors.  As a for-profit social enterprise, […]

Companies often get fined for poor behavior. Now, some will get rewarded for behavior that serves the poor. A pilot program funded by the Swiss government will pay bonuses to Latin American businesses that can prove that they are improving the quality of life of their poor customers. The enhanced revenues should make such high-impact businesses […]

Investors can earn double-digit returns while simultaneously helping to restore and protect global seafood supply, according to first-of-its-kind market research by Encourage Capital. Investors got a sneak peek at two blueprints last autumn, as reported by Impact Alpha. Now the report is out in full, with all six blueprints for investing in profitable fisheries with social […]

Investors can earn double-digit returns while simultaneously helping to restore and protect global seafood supply, according to first-of-its-kind market research by Encourage Capital. Investors got a sneak peek at the research last autumn, as reported by Impact Alpha. Now the report is out in full and it features six blueprints for investing in profitable fisheries with social and environmental […]

Dealflow goes global this week: Abraaj Group bets big on healthcare expansion in India; Australian retirement funds attracted to affordable housing; and Big Issue Fund’s raise bodes well for UK social enterprises. Growth markets for health care. Betting on the growing demand for affordable healthcare in India, the Abraaj Group, the Dubai-based private equity firm, acquired a […]

Sourcing fresh, high-quality fish with reliability is P.T. Bali Seafood International’s business and the fish business isn’t easy in Indonesia. So processing fish closer to where fish is caught makes sense. Access to better fish and use of better technology means Bali Seafood can pay fishermen more. And more money lets the fishermen improve their fishing gear and […]

R. Buckminster Fuller was a founding father of systems thinking. You can look it up. And you can look up an index of ideas that honor such thinking in the roster of winners of the annual Fuller Challenge, the $100,000 award given by The Buckminster Fuller Institute, which is seeking to extend the vision of the 20th-century inventor […]