GIIN in the news Press releases

  • UK's "Big Society" Bank Gets 600 Million Staging Capital

    via Reuters

    July 28, 2011

    Summary

    The Big Society Bank, a project of the U.K. government, is established to provide financing to the social sector in Great Britain.

    From original article:

    "The 'Big Society Bank,' established by British Prime Minister David Cameron to help disadvantaged youths back into employment and fund social enterprise, officially launched on Friday with 600 million pounds ($980 million) of capital.

    "The Big Society Bank said it would get 400 million pounds from dormant bank accounts and a further 200 million from Britain's "Big Four" banks - Lloyds , Barclays , HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland."

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  • A Big Day as Big Society gets the funds

    via London Evening Standardby Anthony Hilton

    July 28, 2011

    Summary

    London Evening Standard columnist Anthony Hilton applauds the official establishment of England's Big Society Capital, a social bank set up to finance the social sector.

    From original article:

    "The banks were sitting on several hundred million pounds of orphan assets - money in accounts that had not been touched for 15 years or more. The plan was to mobilise this capital and use it to fund an organisation that would provide financial muscle for the social sector, which means charities and voluntary associations. These do a huge amount of work but lack the financial expertise and access to capital markets. If they had such access, they could expand and do so much more.

    "That is the heart of the concept behind Big Society Capital. It is an organisation that for the first time will give the social sector access to the capital markets and will marry social expertise with financial expertise."

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  • What Tomorrow's Leaders Are Learning in Africa Right Now

    via Harvard Business Review blogby Tony Elumelu

    July 18, 2011

    Summary

    Tony Elumelu discusses a new program, the African Markets Internship Programme (AMIP), recently established by his self-named Nigeria-based foundation.

    From original article:

    "At this moment, the AMIP is placing students from top African, European, and American business schools in highly structured programs with African companies. AMIP matches the unique skills of each intern with the particular needs of each host business to tackle their most pressing business problems. These include forging new business strategies, marketing new products, and developing African growth strategies. In this way, the interns will build practical knowledge while making a significant contribution to the firms' success."

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  • Investment Driven by Guilt, and That's Good

    via MarketWatchby Thomas Kostigen

    July 14, 2011

    Summary

    The author postulates that people are investing in socially responsible funds and impact investments out of guilt. And that's not a bad thing.

    From original article:

    "More money is flowing into 'good' investments than ever. Take the low-hanging fruit - mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. There are about 500 socially conscious funds, according to the SIF. There are hedge funds, debt instruments and now even private equity vehicles that are aimed at investing in companies with a social conscience."

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  • Making Social Investment More Appealing to Institutional Investors

    via The Guardianby Michael Bear

    July 12, 2011

    Summary

    There is a growing interest in social investment across a broad spectrum of potential institutional investors, from pension fund managers, banks, and private equity firms to independent financial advisers and charitable foundations.

    From original article:

    "However, while modern investors often want to achieve tangible social benefits as well as financial returns, the products on offer within the marketplace are not fully matching investor demands. Until this gap has been bridged, the social investment market will not be able to grow sufficiently to provide the requisite support for social enterprises across the UK."

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  • Root Capital Makes Money By Investing Where Wall Street Won't

    via Fast Companyby Michael J. Coren

    July 11, 2011

    Summary

    Fast Company profiles Root Capital, discussing its strategy to make impact investments in businesses that mainstream investors find too risky.

    From original article:

    "Small money, big change. That, in essence, is what William Foote was banking on when he ditched Harvard Business School to start what is now Root Capital, a "nonprofit social investment fund" that lends to small and medium rural businesses in developing countries.

    "Root Capital's business model is to go where other banks will not - the agricultural sector of poor countries - and loan rural businesses as much as $500,000 to expand or improve their operations. The strategy is posting enviable numbers: Borrowers repaid 99 percent of the $300 million lent to them across Latin America and Africa since 2000 (investors reportedly enjoyed a 100 percent repayment rate)."

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  • The Private Sector Must Assume a Central Role in Global Development

    via The Guardianby Peter Davis

    June 29, 2011

    Summary

    A leader from the Overseas Development Institute writes in The Guardian that companies can help reduce poverty, strengthen governance and improve education.

    From original article:

    "Companies are not social-development organisations, nor should we expect or even want them to be. The donor community needs to overcome its distaste for the profit motive and realise that this is what drives the innovation and dynamism of the private sector. It can present benefits as well as costs, opportunities as well as threats and advantages as well as disadvantages. In development terms, the private sector is neither a good thing nor a bad thing; it is a necessary thing."

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  • MBAs Want to Make an Impact

    via MarketWatchby Thomas Kostigen

    June 25, 2011

    Summary

    U.S. business schools are developing curriculum for aspiring impact investors, who are interested in pairing profit with social and environmental good.

    From original article:

    Scores of business school students want to learn how to make profits in the business world. That's a given. But the way in which they want to profit is changing: they want to do good.

    "Impact investing programs, which combine social consciousness with financial returns, are popping up at universities around the world.

    "'Social entrepreneurship programs have exploded in business schools across the U.S. and Europe,' says Suzanne Biegel, chief executive of Investors' Circle, a San Francisco-based impact investment group."

    "Wharton, Stanford, and other leading business schools have launched social impact initiatives."

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  • Wall Street Must Wake Up to Impact Investing

    via MarketWatchby Thomas Kostigen

    June 25, 2011

    Summary

    MarketWatch columnist Thomas Kostigen calls on the financial services industry to offer more products and advisors who can help individual investors enter the impact investing market.

    From original article:

    "It's time for Wall Street to wake up to the fact that what investors want now is very different from what investors have wanted in the past. While 'greed is good' may have been the mantra of the financial community, what people are saying now is: 'greed can do good.'

    "In small villages on tiny islands throughout Southeast Asia, people can now hear and read the news thanks to investments in local media organizations by the Media Development Loan Fund, an impact investing vehicle. In this region, governments tightly restrict television, radio and newspapers; censorship abounds. MDLF has changed the tide. And millions have benefited. People living in remote areas can become educated. Meanwhile, the fund has turned a profit.

    "There are many impact investing stories to tell like this, from Asia to Africa and beyond. And there is much profit to be made."

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  • America's Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs

    via Bloomberg Businessweekby John Tozzi

    June 21, 2011

    Summary

    In its annual roundup of the top 25 most promising social ventures, Bloomberg Businessweek makes note that a growing class of investors are stepping up to fund these innovative businesses.

    From original article:

    "Investors are beginning to consider social ventures more seriously. 'There's never been more interest from a more diverse group of investors in impact investing than there is now,' says Gilbert. In November, a JPMorgan (JPM) research report labeled impact investments as an 'emerging asset class' with potential investing profits in the hundreds of billions over the next decade. (The report was produced with the Rockefeller Foundation and the Global Impact Investing Network.) The bank distinguished impact investments, intended to create social and environmental benefits, from socially responsible investments designed to minimize the harm of business operations. 'The impact investment market,' the JPMorgan report notes, 'is now at a significant turning point as it enters the mainstream.'"

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  • Some Ways to Get Started as a Social Entrepreneur

    via The New York Timesby Susan Moran

    June 21, 2011

    Summary

    The recession may be increasing opportunities for social ventures in the United States; this article from The New York Times includes some tips for potential social entrepreneurs to get their ventures off the ground.

    From Original Article:

    "With the economy still struggling, it may seem like an impossible time to start a do-good social venture. It can be hard enough to operate any business profitably - let alone one that also tries to improve the world. But some observers believe that the tough times may be increasing interest in social ventures.

    "'I get the sense that the recession actually has resulted in more people taking interest in investing in companies that are doing the right thing right from the start,' said Wes Selke, investment manager at Good Capital, a social-impact venture capital firm in San Francisco. As one indicator, at least three social-impact funds have raised more than $100 million in the last couple of years: Ignia Fund, Leapfrog Investments and MicroVest."

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  • Philanthropy UK Quarterly

    via Philanthropy UK

    June 20, 2011

    Summary

    This issue of Philanthropy UK Quarterly is focused on social impact investment (SII), and features guests columns from some of the most prominent impact investors and advisors.

    From the issue's letter from the editor:

    "In our aim to support and educate we have talked to many experts involved in SII to gain an understanding of the landscape, the challenges and opportunities ahead, and also offer an idea of where donors can play a part. Our case studies illustrate how business, social organisations and philanthropists are coming together to create solutions.

    "We recognise SII spans a wide spectrum and incorporates many technical issues, and this magazine is intended as a resource; so dive in and take what’s useful for you, or put it to one side for reference. Don't be intimidated by the unavoidable complexity at times. There are many more resources and advisors who can help, many of which are listed in our magazine.

    "Alongside our own reports, we bring word from Europe and America. Melissa A. Berman, president and CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, which is at the vanguard of this new approach in the US, and Serge Raicher, co-founder and chairman of the European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA), share useful insight on aspects of social impact investment."

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