Theme
Philanthropy

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"The report, aimed at donors, underscores the transformative potential of reevaluating funding for Enterprise Support Organizations (ESOs) and its profound impact on the sustainability and scalability of services that bolster Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are vital contributors to economic growth, particularly in emerging markets, offering innovation, employment opportunities, and societal and environmental advancements. These SMEs rely on Business Development Services (BDS) provided by ESOs. However, current funding often prioritizes short-term quantity over long-term quality. The report emphasizes the pivotal role of donor relationships in fostering ESO growth and sustainable service delivery. By analyzing the growth trajectories of prominent ESOs globally and the role of donors in their development, the report provides recommendations for more effective donor engagement to enhance sustained impact. Using the metaphor of trees, it distinguishes visible aspects (services provided) from less apparent ones (culture, governance, finance, systems) and stresses the need for balanced growth across dimensions to achieve sustained impact. Shifting donor practices towards comprehensive organizational development of promising ESOs is likened to nurturing a tree for consistent, quality fruit production at significant scale over time."

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"Blended finance solutions offer the potential to combine development capital with a variety of financial instruments such as impact bonds, concessional capital, and risk mitigation structures. We consistently see that deployment of these instruments is limited because of the inherent complexity and cost. But more so, due to a lack of awareness and standardization among capital providers. Without addressing these core issues, enterprises are deemed too risky, and the potential for social and financial returns may not be realized. Through this report, we aim to raise awareness about the importance of enabling funding for social enterprises – understanding their unique characteristics and challenges in capital raising – and articulate the key issues involved in applying blended finance to SMEs. We hope to simplify current bespoke solutions to build replicable and scalable financing solutions. We propose solutions that include building capacity of enterprises, embedding sustainability into the design of instruments, simplifying impact management, and creating open databases on blended finance transactions."

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With support from The Lemelson Foundation, ANDE conducted interviews with 13 representatives from a select group of funders and impact investors to identify barriers to and opportunities for funding climate entrepreneurship. While not an exhaustive list of funders, these representatives provided practical insight on how climate entrepreneurship is seen among funders focused primarily on climate action and/or entrepreneurship and how greater funding could be allocated to the intersection.

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"Este relatório oferece uma retrospectiva dos principais avanços e tendências no setor em 2019, além de insights relevantes baseados em dados iniciais e emergentes do potencial impacto da pandemia da COVID-19 nessas tendências."

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"En el presente informe se ofrece un resumen retrospectivo de los principales acontecimientos y tendencias del sector en 2019, así como las percepciones pertinentes basadas en los datos iniciales y la información emergente sobre el posible impacto de la pandemia COVID-19 en esas tendencias."

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"This report stems from a point of view shared by Toniic and Shell Foundation: that venture philanthropists and impact investors actively collaborating can increase the amount of impact investment capital into early-stage impact enterprises. The objective of this report is to provide a practical and user-friendly guide primarily for impact investors to encourage them to deploy their investment capital directly or indirectly (via financial intermediaries and funds) into impact enterprises at an earlier stage. In particular, we have targeted individual investors and family offices."

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"Donor agencies and foundations use grants to stimulate entrepreneurial growth in developing countries. However, some practitioners have asked whether these grants tend to flow to expatriate entrepreneurs with ties to developed countries (where most grants originate), rather than to local entrepreneurs. This article tackles this question using a data set of 3,434 nascent ventures from 92 developing countries. The authors find that ventures with ties to a developed country are significantly more likely to raise grant financing and in more substantial amounts. Ventures with a founder born in a developed country are the most likely to receive grants, with a weaker effect when considering prior work experience in a developed country. This “expat gap” cannot be explained by differences in education level, prior experience, or ties to other developing countries. Donors seeking to support local entrepreneurs in developing countries should consider ways to make their recruitment and selection processes more equitable."

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"This collaboration between Yunus Social Business and Boston Consulting Group looks at how Venture Philanthropists (VPs) have a unique opportunity to shape the future of social business. The report outlines a methodology to help VPs maximize the social impact of their investments at two levels. First, to understand and optimize the fund's impact on the social business to build stronger and more resilient companies, and second, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how the social businesses can optimize services and products to deliver better outcomes for beneficiaries."

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"ANDE has been tracking the growth and impact of the small and growing business (SGB) sector in emerging market economies for our annual State of the Sector report since 2009. The analysis examines global trends in support for small and growing businesses through capacity development services, direct private investment, and donor funding, as well as specific trends by region. The latest report provides a retrospective summary of key developments and trends in the sector in 2019 and relevant insights based on initial data and emerging information on the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on those trends in 2020."

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"This document describes our development of an impact management approach, which we define as the management of assets in order to meet explicit impact goals (alongside financial goals). It is primarily intended for existing or prospective impact investors – although we hope the logic can also be relevant for other practitioners engaged in philanthropy and sustainability, in the interests of coordinating the various approaches to creating societal impact."

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