Blended Finance

There are three ways in which private resources can be harnessed for meeting societal needs: Social finance is a rapidly growing industry – the number of social investors is fast multiplying while bi-lateral aid stagnates.  The OECD estimates there is US$228bn of social impact investment under management. Many international NGOs are now exploring the possibility of moving down the social …

The good, the bad and the ugly of pitching for funding

A new trend is sweeping the globe, the advent of the challenge fund which invites social entrepreneurs who are pitching for funding in a competition space. From Barloworld’s Mbewu programme which will see R30 million awarded to social innovators who face off in “The Big Pitch” through to SAB’s Social Innovation Award which has invested R44 million to support 144 …

Rethinking the funding of NGOs

The Next Generation Research Report 2020, Disruption with Impact dived deep into how the development sector, and how the funding of NGOs, is changing. Some of the most significant pressures that organisations face is the demand to become more professional and business-like in their operations. This in turns put greater emphasis on adopting cutting-edge evaluation, incorporating innovative technology and putting …

Revolutionising monitoring and evaluation through impact measurement

The advent of the SDGs, growing dissatisfaction with current economic models, the explosion of impact investing, impact measurement and other innovative finance models coupled with the potential that the fourth industrial revolution presents and the growing ubiquity of digital technology has created the context in which an overhaul of current monitoring and evaluation practices is required. Robert Picciotto says in …

Strengthening the impact investor, philanthropist and social enterprise relationship

An Impact investor is often seen by many as an effective way to finance the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Much is made of the trillions of dollars invested each year by investors and how this cash could be utilised to transform the humanitarian sector. But there is still remains a lot of uncertainty on how effective impact investing …

Aligning philanthropy and social development with Sustainable Development Goals

The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations in 2015 has resulted in a seismic shift in the social development and humanitarian sectors. The 17 SDGs offer a blueprint that aims to align economic, social and environmental development. They are the most visionary development goals ever set and the intent behind the global goals is to mobilise …

Using Innovative finance for new economic models in a new world

The Swedish teenagers stinging words couldn’t be more accurate. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and address the climate crisis requires a complete overhaul of how the global economy is structured. The current economic system is not just failing the planet but the people who call it home and around the world there are calls to reboot the economic …

Building consensus through a new social compact

There is also growing concern over the sustainability of corporate social investment initiatives and large philanthropic funds/endowments and impact investors. While business and trade unions are increasingly at loggerheads, the climate crisis adds additional complexity. Globally distrust of the wealthy elite is at record highs due to growing recognition, thanks to ubiquitous access to information through digital media, that capitalism …