News
The Government of Canada’s recent announcement that it is allocating $800M to a new Social Finance Fund for Canada has vaulted the nation from its lagging position in impact investing and innovative finance to a position as an international leader in this space. While the details are still to be worked out, and the funds
The Mastercard Foundation has launched a $2M seed fund to help Mastercard Scholars from across Africa kick-start social enterprises to solve community problems and build their own livelihoods pathways.
The African Evaluation Journal just published the article “Understanding and Optimising the Social Impact of Venture Capital: Three Lessons from Ghana,” which reports on an action research project undertaken jointly by the Institute of Development Studies and the Venture Capital Trust Fund of Ghana. Among other things, for example, the study found that venture investments
A new case study on the work of the University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corporation shows how post-secondary educational institutions can build green, social real estate projects, including affordable housing, and incubate scaled social enterprises—all in partnership with community organizations. Commissioned jointly by the McConnell Foundation and UWCRC, and authored by Edward Jackson
On October 20, 2018, at the British Columbia Horticultural Garden, Dr. Budd Hall and Dr. Rajesh Tandon, joint holders of the UNESCO Chair in Community-Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education, conferred a lifetime achievement award on Dr. Ted Jackson for his leadership in advancing participatory partnerships in Canada, Africa and Asia.
On October 25, 2018, at the Social Capital Markets conference (SoCap 18) in San Francisco, some 70 delegates engaged in a workshop on the Intersection of Participation and Impact Investing, discussing obstacles to and best practices for expanding participation at all stages of the investment cycle. Panellists included Morgan Simon, author of Real Impact
On October 20, 2018, at the British Columbia Horticultural Garden near Victoria, British Columbia, a successful dual-purpose event was held, first, to raise funds for the work of the Martha Farrell Foundation to fight violence against women and girls in India and, second, to celebrate the 75th birthday of Dr. Budd Hall of the University
On October 31, 2018, at the European Headquarters of UBS in London, the DFAT-funded Investing in Women initiative organized a workshop to present the findings of the recent review of its impact investment component. The review team of Ted Jackson and Kaylene Alvarez facilitated the workshop, which was attended by more than 20 practitioners
More than 300 investors, entrepreneurs, philanthropists and policymakers gathered in London, England to participate in the first Gender-Smart Investing Summit. Major sponsors included UBS, CDC, Investing in Women and the Tara Health Foundation. Gender lens investing champions Suzanne Biegel and Joy Anderson, CDC CEO Nick O’Donohoe and UN Under-Secretary General Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Long-time development colleague and former Senior Associate of Jackson and Associates, Dr. Lilly Nicholls, was recently accredited as Canada’s new Ambassador to Panama in a ceremony with Panama’s President, Juan Carlos Varela, and Vice-President Isabel de Saint Malo.
