With a focus on impact investing, this event will explore how to build markets in Africa as well as pipeline opportunities and challenges. The agenda includes sessions such as: (1) Investing in SMEs [Small and Medium-sized Enterprises] and Start-ups; (2) Systems and Design Thinking for
Tag: Impact Investing
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) Impact Forum; October 4-5, 2023; Copenhagen, Denmark
This event will address sustainable development via impact investing. The agenda offers sessions including: (1) Impact Analytics, Predictive and Optimization tools: What Does “Good” Impact Look Like?; (2) Designing the Future of
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Navigating the Future of Impact Investing in Asia; May 9, 2023; Hong Kong, China
Attendees at this conference will debate investing “with the intention to generate social and environmental impact alongside a financial return” in Asia and worldwide. The topics to be covered include: 1) the current status of the sector; 2) methods for
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Private Asset Impact Fund Report 2022;” by Anne Estoppey, Ramkumar Narayanan; Published by Tameo
This report is derived from a survey of managers of private asset impact funds (PAIFs), which are defined as investment vehicles “that have more than 50 percent of their non-cash asset[s] allocated both to private debt or private equity instruments and to emerging and frontier markets, with a development impact bias.” The survey sample comprises
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Deetken Impact Fund to Focus Gender Lens on Education, Financial Inclusion, Health, Housing
Canadian asset manager Deetken Impact recently launched the Deetken Impact Alternative Finance Fund IV with a target volume of USD 100 million. Deetken plans to deploy the fund’s assets as “founder-friendly…
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Helmig’s FS Invest Buys 75% of Invest in Visions, Microfinance Fund Manager in Germany
FS Invest Holding, which is owned by Germany’s Helmig family, recently paid an undisclosed sum to acquire a 75-percent stake in Invest in Visions (IIV). Launched in 2006, IIV manages “investments in sustainable agriculture, social enterprises and social impact lending,” including in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and decentralized
MICROFINANCE EVENT: SOCAP22; October 17-20, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA
This event has been held each year since 2008. Although the 2022 agenda has not been announced yet, SOCAP21 included panels on topics such as: “The New Tech-touch Balance: How to Deliver Inclusive Fintech (Financial Technology) Solutions for Underserved Populations,” “Driving Social Impact by
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: M&G Acquiring Majority Stake in Impact Investment Firm responsAbility
M&G, a UK-based holding company seeking “to help our customers invest for a more sustainable future for the planet and society,” recently moved to acquire 90 percent of responsAbility Investments of Switzerland. ResponsAbility invests in low- and middle-income countries with the aim of increasing financial inclusion, supporting agriculture deemed sustainable and reducing the effects of climate change. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval, and M&G is expected to acquire
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Impact Platform Capshift Closes $5m Equity Funding Round for Investment Infrastructure
Capshift, a US-based facilitator of impact investments, recently closed an investment round totaling USD 5 million to expand its “technology platform, impact investment research database and advisory capabilities.” Capshift defines impact investing as that “made with the intention to generate positive, measurable, social and environmental impact alongside
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Impact Investing World Forum; September 23-24, 2021; London, UK, with Virtual Option
The Impact Investing World Forum (IIWF) is focused on investments that are in line with concerns such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The event will feature speakers from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Impact Investor Symbiotics Spins Off Consultancy Tameo
Symbiotics Group, a Switzerland-based impact investing firm, recently launched an independent research firm Tameo, which aims to “promote the growth of the impact investing industry by increasing transparency and supporting evidence-based decision-making via independent solutions.” The new firm will provide investors and investment managers with: (1) impact measurement, labeling, reporting and verification services; (2) the publication of benchmarks, indexes and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Joint Impact Indicators (JIIs) Bridge HIPSO, IRIS+ to Streamline Investors’, Investees’ Measurement of Gender Equality, Job Creation, Climate Impacts
A group of investors recently launched the Joint Impact Indicators (JIIs), a framework for increasing “harmonization in the way that impact investors measure and report on the effects of their investments.” The indicators, which were developed by The Global Impact Investing Network, a US-based nonprofit, and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation, focus on three areas:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Temasek Commits $500m in Equity to Impact Investor LeapFrog to Boost Financial Services, Healthcare in Africa, Asia
Temasek Holdings, an investment firm owned by the government of Singapore, recently committed USD 500 million to LeapFrog Investments, which is focused on financial and health services in Africa and Asia. Temasek will acquire a minority stake of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Creation Investments Launches Debt Fund in India to Focus on Microfinance, SMEs, Housing, Education
Creation Investments Capital Management, which is based in the US city of Chicago, recently opened an office in the Indian city of Bengaluru and launched a fund for lending to non-banking financial companies in the country. The target firms are those that
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP UP: “Sizing the Impact Investing Market,” Published by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)
This is a summary of a paper by Abhilash Mudaliar and Hannah Dithrich; published by GIIN; April 2019; 16 pages; available at: https://thegiin.org/research/publication/impinv-market-size
The authors assemble data, including the results of the Global Impact Investing Network’s (GIIN’s) Annual Impact Investor Survey, to estimate the size of the worldwide impact investing market. GIIN defines “impact investments” as those that return a monetary profit while creating “positive, measurable social and environmental impact.” As of December 2018, the authors estimate the total assets under management (AUM) within the impact investing universe to be valued at
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 6th Sankalp Africa Summit; February 21-22, 2019; Nairobi, Kenya
This summit will focus on promoting social entrepreneurship and impact investing, which the event organizers describe as “using business as a tool to achieve social impact” while also generating profits. The themes for the first and second
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Investing for Impact; February 12, 2019; New York, USA
The third annual Investing for Impact summit, which is organized by The Economist, a UK-based research and publishing firm, will cover the rise of impact investing. The US-based Global Impact Investment Network (GIIN), whose representatives were featured at the 2018 iteration of Investing for Impact, defines impact investments as those “made with the intention to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.” This year’s event will cover topics such as (1) Holistic Impact: Doing Well by Doing Good;
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) Presents “Metrics from the Ground Up;” February 18 – 19, 2019; Merida, Mexico
Metrics from the Ground Up focuses on measuring the impact of small and growing businesses (SGBs) and developing strategies to increase that impact. Its organizer, the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE), is an adoption partner of the