Social Impact Investment, way to go!
Social impact investment is the use of public, philanthropic and private capital to support businesses that are designed to achieve positive, measurable social and/or environmental outcomes together with financial returns.
Social impact investment can not only help to direct new capital flows to developing economies; it can also bring greater effectiveness, innovation, accountability and scale to investments, increasing their economic and social benefits for the world’s poor.
Many companies are already rising to the challenge. For example, in Africa M-KOPA Solar is offering “pay-as-you-go” solar energy for customers who do not have access to more central resources. The innovative M-KOPA business model has enabled the company to take their solutions to scale, spreading success by creating jobs for 650 full-time employees and 1 000 commission-based sales agents.
Unlike traditional foreign direct investment, social impact investment is concentrated in developing or emerging markets. For us to get the aspect right, there is need to strengthen the overall governance framework to ensure a sound business environment in developing countries, in particular in the least developed countries and in countries emerging from conflict.
Chopped by
