Finance and Investment

Finance & Investment Strategies to End Poverty

Inclusive growth for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) with Payal Dalal and Evelyn Nguyen

Micro and small enterprises (MSEs) are vital to inclusive growth. Payal Dalal of Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and Evelyn Nguyen explain why.
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Charlotte Ntim

During our conversation, Charlotte Ntim, Disruptive Technology Officer with IFC’s Gender and Economic Inclusion Group, shares with us how the pandemic has disproportionately impacted on women-owned businesses, and why achieving gender parity on e-commerce platforms could be a $15 billion opportunity.
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Corporate Philanthropy Reimagined:  The Resilience Fund for Women in Global Value Chains

The emerging post-pandemic world demands both reflection and imagination. Changemakers in the private sector should consider this a strategic moment to transform the way business engages with local communities in their global supply chains, and to advance new solutions to the pressing need for gender equality, health, and economic resilience.
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Since the pandemic, many businesses have accelerated their strategies towards greater social purpose.

Are you a company considering Corporate Social Investing as a way to mainstream purpose within your business? Reach out to Sophie Faujour at EVPA on sf******@*****eu.com for an informal chat and guidance. This article by Sophie also provides valuable insights.
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Announcing the launch of the GSMA Innovation Fund for Digital Urban Services

Do you leverage digital technology to deliver urban services with social, economic and environmental Impact? if you do so in the fields of plastic and waste management, energy, water or sanitation, the newly launched GSMA fund could support you. Red on to learn more.
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In finance we trust

The recently released 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer startlingly reveals that business is the only trusted institution. And yet, the financial sector remains the lowest trusted sector for the tenth year in a row. Pratik Desai provides an insight into WBA’s recent report, which lays the groundwork for a new benchmark to assess financial institutions on their performance towards the SDGs.
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2020 Hindsight to 2021 Foresight: Driving the Inclusive Digitization of MSMEs

In 2020, the modern economy became synonymous with the digital economy, and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth re-doubled efforts to help MSMEs survive and thrive. Here they share four guiding principles that they will be incorporating into their work in 2021 to help bring about an inclusive and sustainable digital economy that works for everyone, everywhere.
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Jessica Espinoza Trujano

Whether you have been working on the topic of gender investing deeply for years or you are new to the idea. Whether you are an investor, entrepreneur, development finance institution or corporate – take a listen to Jessica Espinoza Trujano.
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Fred Brown

Fred Brown is the President and CEO of The Forbes Funds. A capacity builder and catalyst for non-profits in the Pittsburgh area, USA. The work Fred is leading goes far beyond simply helping NGO’s up their performance. Fred has been creating innovation labs, frameworks to ensure anti-racism within organisations and impact measurement tools, among other things. During our conversation, you will hear what Fred expects to be the big themes for not just the next five years, but the next 30! Get your pens and paper out, it is worth taking notes.
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Renewable energy investments can boost the Caribbean’s sustainable recovery: Innovative financing approaches

Unlocking an economic boost by investing in renewable energy can be a pillar of the COVID-19 recovery, but will require significant work to align actors across the sector. Read more in this article, the second in a series on Renewable energy investments, from the Clinton Global Initiative and Resilience Capital Ventures.
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Renewable energy investments can boost the Caribbean’s sustainable recovery: A green economic stimulus

The growing renewable energy sector offers a significant opportunity for advancing green recovery and economic diversification in the Caribbean. The disruption occasioned by the pandemic could be a kickstart to speed up these shifts. Read more in this article, the first in a series on Renewable energy investments, from the Clinton Global Initiative and Resilience Capital Ventures.
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How impact investing can boost rural economies during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

With a global recession and increasing food insecurity, rural development needs to focus on more than just improving agricultural productivity. Innovative financing is critical to strengthening rural economies in developing countries. Impact investments are particularly suited to address rural inequities in a post-COVID world.
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New tools for allocating capital to impact

Investor interest in impact and sustainable investing is mounting. But how do we know that an investor or fund manager is truly putting their money where their mouth is, versus simply re-labeling as ‘impact’ what they were already doing?
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Is impact investment our most effective tool for a sustainable recovery?

At the dawn of the decade, many global leaders lauded impact investing as a panacea to the $2.5 trillion funding gap the world needed to meet the SDGs. Now, in the midst of a global pandemic, does it hold the same promise?
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Scaling the Impact of Digital Financial Services: The Opportunity and Imperative during COVID-19

In global supply chains a rapid shift to digital payments has, in the short term, enabled critical support to reach the most vulnerable populations: low-income workers who rely on regular wages or government payments to feed and support their families. More broadly, however, the shift has highlighted the longer-term potential of digital wages to drive financial inclusion and resilience.
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Reinforcing the ‘S’ in ESG during COVID-19: reflections from our investees

As businesses worldwide grapple with the effect of nationwide lockdowns, it’s clear that COVID-19 has provided an opportunity to reflect on responsible investing and business practices in the private sector.
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Study on the Economic Impact of COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa Demonstrates High Loss of Income and Usage of Digital Loans

A new study on the economic impact of COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa demonstrates high loss of income and uncertainty around future employment, especially among informal workers. Loans are also in heavy use, which presents an opportunity for the private sector to assist through more favorable lending programs. 
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The Cost of Cash to Ghana’s Cocoa Sector

Ghana is among the world’s leaders in the use of mobile money, but shockingly, the cocoa sector still pays upwards of 7 billion cedis (US$1.2 billion) every year in cash and checks to purchasing clerks, who then transfer it to farmers in cash. This means over 90% of the farmer transactions are still made in cash. Our organizations have released today new analysis showing that the costs and risk of cash to the cocoa sector are valued at more than $20 million every year, or more than 20% of turnover for all LBCs.
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Technology and Partnerships: Force Multipliers for an Inclusive Economic Recovery

Five tips for how social sector organizations can use technology to help combat COVID-19’s economic impact
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Inclusive digital payments solutions for the garment sector workers in Bangladesh

In March, when we announced the taka 5000 crore stimulus package (about $600 million) to pay workers’ salaries in export-oriented sectors, particularly ready-made garments which account for over 80% of the country’s exports, we encountered a major roadblock. Only 1.5 million of the 4 million workers were paid digitally. The rest were paid in cash.
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What do we mean by "Finance and Investment"?

Learn about advanced financial strategies that aim to eradicate poverty. Our focus includes investment solutions and economic policies for lasting change.

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