"This report presents a "state of play" for INGO (International Non-Government Organization) engagement in impact investing, based upon data emerging from the recently fielded INGO Impact Investing Network Survey. It includes an overview of current activities, case studies from members, and findings from group discussions around the key areas of strength and challenge.

The report outlines the data around INGOs' current approaches to making investments, receiving investments, providing technical assistance, and building the impact investing ecosystem. It then delves into some of the most important issues for INGOs, including internal capacity, organizational culture, measurement, and partnerships."

"This report is arranged into two sections. In Part One, the editors overview trends in impact investing among INGOs, drawing on data from a recent survey of 45 INGOs engaged in impact investing. Part Two, a series of chapters, authored by leaders in impact investing, delves into key topics of interest for INGOs. These chapters look more deeply at specific assets INGOs bring to the space, challenges they face, and lessons they have learned over the past few years of engagement. Throughout the report, case studies of what INGOs are doing in impact investing brings the data and lessons to life through real life examples."

"Let’s be honest here: Entrepreneurs will need financing to get through this economic downturn. However, most of the investors that we’ve asked said that due diligence has been slowed either due to travel restrictions, their focus on supporting their existing portfolio of entrepreneurs, or those which already had term sheets in place. So where is this financing going to come from?

Our perspective for this article is the investor side of the conversation. What are angel investors thinking about during this global crisis: Is now the perfect opportunity to invest? Is it a time to hold on to your cash and hide it under the bed?It can make sense to halt making any investments all together – and focus on supporting the existing portfolio – given that most angels invest out of pocket. However, this could be an uncommon opportunity to make investments which could generate very good returns..."

"The purpose of this paper is to estimate the impact of one productive development program (PROPYME) in a developing nation like Costa Rica. This program seeks to increase the capacity of small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) to innovate. Impacts have been estimated assuming that beneficiary firms are trying to maximize their profits and that PROPYME aims to increase these firms productivity. The impacts were measured in terms of three result variables real average wages employment demand and the probability of exporting. A combination of fixed effects and propensity score matching techniques was used in estimations to correct for any selection bias. The authors worked with panel data companies treated and untreated for the period 2001-2011. PROPYME's beneficiaries performed better than other firms in terms of labor demand and their probability of exporting. In addition, the dose and the duration of the effects of the treatment (timing effects) are important."

"This report assesses the progress made over the past four years in building the global impact investing industry. It is divided into three parts: first, context, which introduces the structure of and key actors in the impact investing fi eld; next, an examination of the recent achievements and challenges in building the impact investing marketplace; and fi nally, presentation of a set of recommendations for accelerating the rate of growth of the field."

"Recent years have seen the rapid emergence of a new type of program aimed at seeding startup companies. These programs, often referred to as accelerators, differ from previously known seed-stage institutions such as incubators and angel groups. While proliferation of such accelerators is evident, evidence on efficacy and role of these programs is scant. Nonetheless, local governments and founders of such programs often cite the motivation for their establishment and funding as the desire to transform their local economies through the establishment of a startup technology cluster in their region. In this paper, we attempt to assess the impact that such programs can have on the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the regions in which they are established, by exploring the effects of accelerators on the availability and provision of seed and early stage venture capital funding in the local region."

"The manual is targeted specifically at venture philanthropy organisations and social investors ("VPO/SI"), and more generally at impact investors, foundation and any other funders interested in generating a positive impact on society. The first objective of the manual is to create a roadmap or guidebook to help VPO/SIs navigate through the current maze of existing methodologies, databases, tools and metrics on social impact measurement. The second objective is to trigger a movement towards best practice when it comes to measuring and managing impact...The manual should be useful both for beginners in impact measurement, who are considering how to get started, and for more advanced investors who are struggling with how to better integrate an impact focus into everyday investment management decisions."

"This toolkit is designed to help entrepreneurs, investors, consultants, evaluators or other practitioners deepen their social impact measurement and management process in the impact investing sector. The toolkit is intended to be used in tandem with already existing standards and methods like the GIIN’s IRIS+, the Impact Management Project’s five dimensions of impact, and 60 Decibels Lean Data, to complement and deepen those metrics and approaches."

"Private equity firms play a key role in creating an enabling environment for local business development, and supports their growth objectives by implementing best practice ESG policies in portfolio companies. This survey builds on AVCA's inaugural Sustainability Study, released in 2016. In this edition, we quantify how many jobs have been created from a selection of PE-backed companies in Africa between 2009 to 2016, and evaluate the extent of ESG integration in the private equity investment process."

"The 2020 Annual Impact Investor Survey is the 10th edition of the GIIN's flagship report, which provides the most comprehensive overview of the impact investing market. This edition captures data from 294 of the world's leading impact investors-the most Annual Survey respondents ever-who collectively manage USD 404 billion of impact investing assets, representing an important subset of the USD 715 billion global impact investing market.

The report looks at respondents' investment activity during 2019 and their plans for 2020, market developments over the past decade, and challenges facing the market going forward. Respondents also shared insights on how COVID-19 might affect their activities."