Notes from a changing world...
July 2021
Impact Investing is becoming more diverse and sophisticated  using various capital instruments to deploy capital such as private and public debt, private and public equity, mezzanine debt, and cash equivalents among others. East and Southeast Asia regions are one of the fastest growing regions of investments, growing at a CAGR of 25% and 23% respectively. Further, over half of impact investors intend to increase their investments and portfolio companies in sub-Saharan Africa. This growth is projected to increase especially since there is still an annual USD 2.5 trillion gap in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. 

Despite the projected growth in investments, there is a lack of diversity in where investments are made. Research from 2020 pointed to three factors that give us reason to believe that the impact investing bubble is about to pop;

  1. 50% of the capital deployed into ventures in Africa went to only 10 companies in 3 countries: South Africa, Mauritius and Kenya. 
  2. The funding landscape is heavily biased towards a number of sectors. 53% of funding went to just two industries: fintech and clean technologies.
  3. 51% of funding went to just 3 products: solar energy, data and analytics, and PAYG.

There is no lack of innovative pipeline, but to ensure a better spread of investments, there is a need to increase the supply of impact capital and innovate on new sources of financing.
Join us for the 13th Edition of the Sankalp Global Summit, a 3 Day virtual summit with a global community, enabled by a seamless algorithm based networking tools. Check out our limited period Head-start Offer (ends July 16 at 12 PM IST)
CELEBRATING NEW CHAPTERS
Congratulations to Spintex Engineering, a spider-inspired silk company, for winning the 2021 Ray of Hope Prize! By mimicking how a spider spins silk at room temperature, Spintex creates high performance, sustainable textiles that are 1,000 times more efficient than an equivalent synthetic fiber. Read More
Happening in the Ecosystem
Opportunities for Entrepreneurs
ISIF Asia, a program of the APNIC Foundation, is a Grants and Awards program empowering organizations across the Asia Pacific region to research, design and implement Internet-based solutions to solve Internet development challenges that support community development and growth. This year’s ISIF Asia program will become one of the largest Internet development initiatives of its kind in the Asia Pacific and will dramatically increase funding available to eligible public and private sector, academia, non-profit and social enterprise projects with USD 1.7 million available. Find out how this USD $1.7 million Internet development initiative can help your project. Apply Now...
The Black Founders Fund is intended for startups with self-identifying Black leaders or companies directly supporting the Black community. Established startups based in Africa who are seeking seed-stage funding are encouraged to apply. Apply Now...
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (Danish MoFA) and Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC) have partnered to implement the GreenBiz Programme for the next five years, from January 2021 to December 2025. The programme will support 300 businesses to create over 3,000 full time job opportunities. Learn More Here...
Microverse wants to educate overlooked coding talent from Developing Regions. As digital transformation efforts accelerate, the competition for talent is growing more intense. Rather than simply helping companies find the right employees, Microverse is trying to enlarge the talent pool by attracting and educating students from developing countries. Read More...
Events
Impact Conversations with Aavishkaar Group | Episode 6
Aavishkaar Group presents Episode 6 of ‘Impact Conversations' in collaboration with AVPN 
(Asian Venture Philanthropy Network). Join this discussion as the panel brings in perspectives from across the #Asian context, in the evolution of ‘Responsible Investing’, the sectors and themes taking a lead in this movement, and the active role being played by stakeholders within the #impact ecosystem to make it part of the mainstream discourse.
July 12th to 16th, 2021
Transform 2021 is the AI event of the year for enterprise execs looking to maintain their competitive edge in an AI and data driven world. Join in for the latest insights and strategies on cutting-edge, business-changing technologies. This will be a 5-day series of online AI and data summits. Register Now...
July 27th to 28th, 2021
Join ANDE West Africa for this year's virtual Regional Conference! This will be a 2-day, highly interactive conference featuring sessions on solutions to common challenges that SGBs face, networking meetings, and plenaries with thought leaders in the SGB space. Register Now...
Thursday, July 29, 2021
Impact!Africa workshop plenary: Infrastructure and Human Capital. Infrastructure development has contributed to wide-spread advancement in our communities, which support human capital accumulation. Many developed Sub-Saharan African communities are experiencing exponential economic and population growth, especially among people between the ages of 18 and 30. How can we use existing assets and data to more effectively allocate resources to advance economic and social development? Register Now...
Updates
Ghanaian logistics startup Jetstream Africa has announced a US$3 million debt and equity seed funding round to support its mission to enable businesses on the continent to see and control their cross-border supply chains.
The Gates Foundation announced that it will be committing $2.1 billion to advancing gender equality globally over the next five years.
Kenyan startup Ed Partners Africa, a non-banking financial institution serving affordable private schools, has raised US$1.9 million in funding as it bids to improve the quality of education received by learners from low-income communities.
Nigerian e-health startup and the current Sankalp Global ward winner, MDaas Global has raised a US$2.3 million seed extension funding round to help it launch a new service – SentinelX – and expand across the country.
Job Opportunities
Application Deadline: Friday, July 9, 2021
Ford Foundation is looking for a Social Media Manager (SMM) to lead and implement the foundation president’s and organization's social media strategy — developing, executing and evaluating their social media ecosystem across multiple platforms to optimize audience engagement and growth. Apply Now...
Application Deadline: Sunday, August 1, 2021
The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is seeking a driven and creative Digital Communications Manager to oversee and drive the development and execution of GAIN's digital strategies across their global programmes. This role is based in one of our GAIN offices in either London or New Delhi and is offered on a permanent basis. Apply Now...
Portland, a fully integrated communications consultancy trusted by some of the highest profile organizations, governments and individuals in the world, is looking for a Senior Consultant to work in their Nairobi office. Apply Now...
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Sankalp Forum was initiated in India in 2009 by Intellecap, part of the Aavishkaar Group, to create a thriving ecosystem for business-led inclusive development. Over the past 10 years, Sankalp has built one of the world's largest impact enterprise focused platforms that has showcased and discovered 1800+ entrepreneurs, through 25 editions and has connected them to 600+ investors. Sankalp has enabled enterprises and entrepreneurs and has helped raise over USD 270 million in funding and disbursed over USD 870,000 in cash grants. Sankalp Forum engages with Governments, Corporations, influential platforms like the G8 and G20, media and civil society to drive a paradigm shift in inclusive development approaches.