Blogs

The Pioneer Gap: impact investing's Achilles heel?

7 January 2013

Here's a revealing new report from the Stanford Social Innovation Review. The authors echo what we have been saying at WSFF for some time now.

"One of the most striking findings of our research is that few impact investors are willing to invest in companies targeting the poor, and even fewer are willing to invest at the early stages of the creation of these businesses, a problem that we call the Pioneer Gap....The reason this happens is twofold. The first is ideological, the belief that by definition anything that uses investing tools must hit market rates of return—without a clear definition of which market those returns are based on.

New WHO study confirms high economic returns to sanitation

7 January 2013

A new WHO study confirms high economic returns to sanitation, and provides country-by-country analysis. On the other hand, expenditure data in the WASH sector remains weak. You can download a PDF version of the study here.

Post-2015: ambitious targets for WASH sector

7 January 2013

The WASH sector is seeking more ambitious targets after 2015, as well as stricter definitions on what is safe sanitation. For more info see  http://www.wssinfo.org/post-2015-monitoring/overview/.

Despite legal advances, UK foundations still wary of impact investment

14 December 2012

New research suggests that UK family foundations "not only need confidence in the legality of social investment, but [also] more evidence of how it is in the best interests of beneficiaries." Go to the article

Investors profit by giving - NY Times coverage of Social Impact Bonds

8 November 2012

"The 'social impact bond,' also known as a 'pay for success' bond, is the latest — and most discussed — tool in a broader playbook philanthropists are using to blend business and charity to make a bigger difference. Sometimes known as impact investing, these approaches include providing low-interest loans to nonprofits, making equity investments in companies that tackle social problems and investing a portion of a foundation’s endowment in enterprises that produce measurable benefits to society and a financial return." Read more at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/09/giving/investors-profit-by-giving-thro...

 

Pages