It’s easy to get wrapped up in an attractive story: the Harvard grad who gave up a comfortable life on Wall Street to move to Africa and start a microfinance institution or the pretty 17-year-old model who abandoned a promising career to rescue orphans in Cambodia.

Daniela Papi, of PEPY and PEPY Tours, points out that not only is this “hero worship” superficial, it’s also harmful. On her blog, she relays a story she heard from a friend: » Continue reading “Stop the Worship and Measure the Impact”

This story originally appeared in our December 3, 2010 e-magazine. Click here to subscribe.

In the first issue of Beyond Profit, published in April 2009, we wrote about the emergence of the impact investing industry, which facilitates investments that create a positive social impact beyond financial return. Earlier this week, a report by J.P. Morgan and the Rockefeller Foundation declared impact investment a new asset class—a remarkable development in the lifecycle of this industry. What does it mean for social enterprise? Lindsay Clinton analyzes the current landscape.

On November 29, J.P. Morgan and the Rockefeller Foundation released a report that will likely serve as a turning point in the development of impact investing. The report, which assesses expected and realized returns of more than 1,000 impact investments, estimates that the industry presents an investment opportunity between US$400bn and US$1 trillion with profit potential between US$183bn and US$667bn. Importantly, the report declares impact investment an asset class which provides a strong indicator to investors who may have shied away from social investing in the past to reconsider this emerging investment category. » Continue reading “Impact Investing: Challenges and Opportunities”

This story originally appeared in our December 3, 2010 e-magazine. Click here to subscribe.

There’s no doubt that the demand for investment is growing, but how much opportunity is there? Nisha Kumar Kulkarni examines the investment potential and how it’s being measured.

Approved Proposals and Credit Issued under India’s Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises

Since 2000, the Small Industries Development Bank of India has increased the amount of credit issued to micro, small and medium enterprises. There has been growing demand for bank funding. » Continue reading “By the Numbers: Today’s Impact Investing Industry”