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‘By making it available to people, you are almost by definition doing good’: Grameen Foundation CEO Alex Counts, on microfinance’s past and future
Microfinance has careened from hero to villain status over the years, before settling into its current persona as a useful but not transformative anti-poverty tool. Alex Counts has had a front-row seat in the sector’s turbulent development, as founder and long-time president/CEO of Grameen Foundation. He shares his frank perspectives on microfinance’s past and future in this video Q&A.
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- Impact Assessment
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Entrepreneur and Artist Aim to Curb Global Infant Mortality Rate
When Jane Chen and Drue Kataoka met at the Forum of Young Global Leadersin 2012, they quickly formed a friendship based on their shared passion for carrying out socially impactful work. They both came from significantly different backgrounds — Chen is the co-founder of Embrace, a startup that hopes to curb high worldwide infant mortality rates by way of the low-cost Embrace infant warmer, while Kataoka is a visual artist whose often interactive work aims to bridge the perceived gap between art and technology. Flash forward three years, and the two women have launched a unique collaboration that combines Chen’s business and Kataoka’s art to raise awareness of and ultimately decrease high global infant mortality rates.
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- Health Care, Impact Assessment
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Now It’s Easier Than Ever to Invest in Stocks for Social Good
With a new online brokerage aimed at millennials, you can pick a theme—like "Improve Education" or "No Glass Ceiling"—and invest. The catch is you'll still be supporting big, conventional conglomerates.
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- Impact Assessment
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Bain Capital Hires Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to Lead Its Social Impact Fund
Bain Capital, the $75 billion private equity firm founded by 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, hired former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to lead a social impact fund.
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- Environment, Impact Assessment
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- impact investing
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Assessing Impact Investing and Borrowing in Old Age
Socially responsible investing in its basic form doesn’t go far enough for some people. After all, countless mutual funds already avoid shares of companies that produce addictive or dangerous products — like tobacco, alcohol or firearms.
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- Impact Assessment
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- impact investing, lending
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Press Release: Banco Santander Announces Commitment to Launch Social Economy Initiative With Georgetown University
Banco Santander, through Santander Universities, signed today a Memorandum of Understanding with Georgetown University, to support a new initiative on the social economy. The initiative will focus on issues of social banking, social finance, and social entrepreneurship. This Memorandum was signed by Ana Botin, Executive Chairman of Banco Santander and John DeGioia, President of Georgetown University.
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- Impact Assessment
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Study: Large Majority of Ultra-High Net Worth Investors Don’t Take Social Impact Into Consideration
Younger wealthy investors have a greater interest in socially responsible investments than older investors.
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- Impact Assessment
- Tags
- impact investing
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MIT Scaling Development Ventures: Bridging Innovation and Impact
This marks the third year that international development, entrepreneurship, and public service programs at MIT have come together to organize the MIT Scaling Development Ventures conference. Each year, the conference brings together perspectives from the international development and business communities to examine the best ways to bring poverty-alleviating solutions to market at scale. This year’s conference takes place at MIT on Saturday, April 11. Registration is free for members of the MIT community.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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