5th European Microfinance Award on Microfinance and the Environment

The objective of the 5th European Microfinance Award on Microfinance and the Environment is to highlight opportunities for microfinance to improve environmental issues in the South and encourage the industry to find innovative solutions for global environmental concerns. The award of €100,000 from the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs – Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs will be…

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What is Social Impact Investing?

Social investment is the provision and use of finance to generate social, or social as well as economic, returns. Over the last ten years various forms of social investment have grown rapidly and new forms have been introduced. This growth reflects a range of developments on both the demand side (a new generation of social…

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Impact Investing in West Africa, a first analysis available online.

I have recently shared a number of resources and material about Impact Investing and also have mentioned my interest in Africa. Today, I have been reading this amazing report that mixes both of my current interests:  Impact Investing in West Africa, the first comprehensive analysis ever conducted on the impact investing industry in the region. The report aims…

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A 7 step guide to early stage impact investing

A few days ago I published about the expansion of Impact Investing and the discussions held at the last IE Impact Investing Forum that took place in Madrid. I also included some key resources about Impact Investing Today, I want to share with you a e-guide that aims to help those with an interest in investing in…

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My 8 favorite trends in the microfinance sector. 2013 Microfinance Week.

Last week I participated in the 2013 European Microfinance Week, one of the main conferences on financial inclusion. It brings microfinance stakeholders together to discuss important developments in the sector and contributes to shaping the global approach to microfinance. This time it gathered 378 participants form 59 countries and focused on the future of the…

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Dreamstarter: a crowdfunding platform launched by StartSomeGood and ING Direct in Australia

This year I am teaching again  Development Finance and Innovative Finance Models in different Universities. I always look for innovative cases to discuss with students and I have found this interesting initiative of how banks can support social businesses. It has happened in Australia, where the crowdfunding platform, StartSomeGood has partnered with ING DIRECT Australia to launch…

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