Resource Type
Research

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"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."

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"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."

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"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..."

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"The Global Accelerator Learning Initiative collects information from entrepreneurs when they apply to accelerator programs. This report summarizes application data collected from ventures operating in Mexico that applied to participating accelerator programs between 2013 and early 2016."

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"This data summary provides a snapshot of more than 2,500 early-stage ventures that applied to over 50 acceleration programs in Sub-Saharan Africa, and includes regional insights for East and West Africa and country-specific information for Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria."

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"To understand the intermediary role of accelerators in the developing regional entrepreneurial ecosystem of Bangalore, we analyze data from 54 interviews with accelerator graduates, accelerator managers, and other ecosystem stakeholders, and from 49 websites, 13 online video interviews, 26 online news sources and 301 pages of policy documents. Specifically, we adopt a socially-situated entrepreneurial cognition approach to theorize how accelerator expertise, existing at a meso-level, intermediates between (micro-level) founders and the (macro-level). ecosystem. In our model, four types of accelerator expertise-connection, development, coordination, and selection-together increase stakeholders' commitment to the entrepreneurial ecosystem, leading to venture validation (success or failure) and ecosystem additionality. These findings indicate that accelerators contribute to ecosystems in a way that is distinct from, but supportive of, building individual ventures."

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"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."

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"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."

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"This report provides accelerators, researchers, and funders with a qualitative understanding of "what works" and "what is promising" in accelerating impact enterprises. It highlights the key challenges that must be addressed by all stakeholders in order for the field to continue to grow."

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"Combining longitudinal venture-level data with qualitative insights from entrepreneurs, program managers, and investors, this report investigates similarities and differences between accelerator programs run in emerging markets compared to those run in high-income countries. Overall, we find that the two country contexts may not be as different as many people believe. When trying to stimulate the growth of promising ventures, the emerging market accelerator programs in our sample attract similar entrepreneurs and ventures and produce similar outcomes – accelerated revenue and employee growth and accelerated equity and debt investments. However, there are a few subtle but important differences."

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