Blog – Page 13 – INVESTED DEVELOPMENT

January 28, 2011

Welcome Back

>Twenty eleven might have started nearly a month ago, but the real work for ID has just begun. We started our 3rd calendar year in a BIG way; launching the BSP Fund with our partner Blue Sky Projects and kicking off two multi-month research projects with MIT’s SEID program and a group of student interns from Northeastern. We are also welcoming three new key players to the ID team: Christina Tamer as Marketing Intern, Serrano … read more

October 8, 2010

Weekly Review – October 3– October 9

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(almost)Every week at Invested Development we scan the web for articles that relate to what we do and what we like. This week we read a lot about… well, we read a lot.

Can Wal-Mart make it in Africa?
Wal-Mart acquired South African-based Massmart, a retailer with 288 stores in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa for $4.1 billion. Critics of the deal point out that some of Wal-Mart’s international adventures have gone badly,

October 1, 2010

Weekly Review – September 25 – October 2

(almost)Every week at Invested Development we scan the web for articles that relate to what we do and what we like. This week we read a lot about… well, we read a lot.

Five Winners Announced in Google’s $10 Million Contest to Change the World
Finally after two years, Google has announced five winners of their $10 million challenge. The five projects combined will receive a total of $10 million to fund their ideas.

September 24, 2010

Weekly Review – September 12th – September 25th

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(almost)Every week at Invested Development we scan the web for articles that relate to what we do and what we like. This week (ok, two weeks) we read a lot about… well, we read a lot.

Investing in Africa: An Interview with Todd Moss from the Center for Global Development
It is clearly a tricky path to navigate, but the opportunities are growing. Mr. Moss highlights the two sectors that make up our

September 13, 2010

Weekly Review – August 29th – September 11th

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(almost)Every week at Invested Development we scan the web for articles that relate to what we do and what we like. This week we read a lot about the big picture issues surrounding impact investing.

Publically Traded Social Impact: what does it mean for how we do business?
SKS Microfinance, one of the largest microfinance organizations in the world, recently issued an IPO that raised over $350 million. Started in 1997 as

August 30, 2010

Weekly Review – August 15th – August 28th

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(almost)Every week at Invested Development we scan the web for articles that relate to what we do and what we like. This week we read a lot about…

BP Oil Spill Claims Another Victim, An Aspiring Entrepreneur

Just another example of why it is impossible to predict what challenges a start-up will face. We hate to hear about entrepreneurs becoming the victim of uncontrollable circumstances and we also hate to hear that it

August 13, 2010

Weekly Review – August 8th – August 14th

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Every week at Invested Development we scan the web for articles that relate to what we do and what we like. This week we read a lot about impact financing, from Angels to Stock Exchanges and everything in-between.

Social Angel Investors Need to Figure Out How to Get to “Yes”

You would think that as often as we link to Nathaniel Whittemore’s articles, we would pop-up on his radar. Cleary, not yet. We have

August 11, 2010

Bees Do It for the Honey

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At a recent social entrepreneurship forum we were amazed by the ideas and technologies being presented; mobile phone based eye diagnostics, safe and affordable infant incubators, and even affordable sanitary pads. Inspiring stuff.

What was less inspiring were the business models. Despite a clear realization of the high-impact each product could have, the massive market potential, and the obvious lack of large distribution networks, each technology was coupled with a non-profit designation and an

Weekly Review – August 1st – August 7th

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We missed last week, so this weeks Weekly Review has a few more stories then usual. In case you are new to the blog, every week at Invested Development, we scan the web for articles that relate to what we do and what we like. This week we read a lot about clean water and mobile money.

PlayPump’s Problems Prove Designing for Water Shortages Is Tough Work

This is a quick illustration of the

Leveraging Mobile Ubiquity to Improve Life at the Base of the Pyramid

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This post is the second of a series on mobile phones and the Base of the Pyramid. You can find the first of the series here.

In our previous post we explored the explosion of mobile phone access and the innovative businesses that enabled it. In the next two posts, we will look at companies and trends that are leveraging mobile access to provide valuable services to the poor in emerging markets.

SMS

Truly Patient Capital – How We Can Create Systemic Change – Part 2

In our last post we introduced our Pareto Holdings concept. Pareto is a socially oriented holding company that swaps Preferred Stock shares in nescient (but profitable) impact ventures for its own Common Shares. The thought is that a large holding company’s Common Shares will be increasingly more liquid than a single investors Preferred Shares in an early stage company.

If you missed that post, here’s the link. We ended the last post before fully … read more

Weekly Review – July 18th – 24th

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Every week at Invested Development, we scan the web for articles that relate to what we do and what we like. This week we read a lot about start-ups a little about laptops.

Small Business Strategy–Setting Up a Dynamic, Triple Bottom Line Advisory Board

These guys might not have the statistics right (Dunn & Bradstreet estimates that over 80% of start-ups are not in business after 5 years), but the advice is solid. Recruiting

Truly Patient Capital – How We Can Create Systemic Change – Part 1

Over the last few posts we have been sharing our thoughts on the industry in general. We started ID last year because there was a need in the market for seed investment capital for impact-oriented startups. We thought the solution was simple. Let’s do what they did in Silicon Valley! Then came reality.

Silicon Valley has throngs of experienced industry executives with deep pockets fresh off their latest IPO. They not only throw money at … read more

Weekly Review – July 11th – July 17th

>Every week at Invested Development, we scan the web for articles that relate to what we do and what we like. This week we read a lot about alternative energy with some mobile tech thrown in for good measure:

Kenyan Women Light Up Villages with Solar Power

If you follow our work at all you know that there is not shortage of solutions to rural electrification in Africa. This is another illustration of how

Weekly Review – July 4th – July 10th

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Every week at Invested Development, we scan the web for articles that relate to what we do and what we like. This week we read a lot about big pictures issues in development and cross border investing:

Investing Across Borders 2010

Thanks to the World Bank, investors finally have a simple, informative website with just about all they need to know about a countries regulations on direct foreign investment. Of course, knowing is just

Weekly Review – June 28th – July 2nd

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As every week, our team looked for the best articles on the web concerning social entrepreneurship and impact investing. Today we share with you interesting ideas and initiatives from Change.org, NextBillion etc.

And happy 4th of July!!

Waste Ventures – Lessons Learned from an Echoing Green Finalist

An honest look back at three lessons learned by Waste Ventures in their failure to secure a 2010 Echoing Green Fellowship. If we have heard it

Mobile Phones at the Base of the Pyramid: Accessibility and Affordability

This is our first post in a series on mobile technology’s proliferation and impact on the poor in emerging markets. We will highlight the players that helped create demand and the innovative ideas that continue to drive it.

Why Mobile Matters

Numerous studies have proven that connectivity increases income. For example, Robert Jensen, economics professor at Harvard, developed a study that tracked fishermen in southern India. The study found that by investing in cell phones, … read more

Weekly Review – June 21st – June 25th

>Every week at ID, we look for articles related to impact investing, social entrepreneurship, or even our investees/investors. This week we join the community to announce the Echoing Green Fellows, share great news for funding social enterprises, great partnerships and investing in Africa. Come join us next week for more!

Defense giant and tiny tech link up for India

ID portfolio company, Promethean Power Systems has learned that strange bedfellows can lead to greater

Impact Maximization – Incorporating the full costs of doing business

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Capitalism

The businesses our industry is supporting are often referred to as social enterprises, social ventures, social businesses or impact enterprises. They are, by and large, businesses that not only do-no-harm, but intend to do-good[1]. Nomenclature aside, it is an industry that requires the belief that capitalism is the most effective way we know to efficiently bring products and services to the masses.

Before you label me as a Reagan Republican

Weekly Review – June 14th – June 18th

>Each week at Invested Development, we scan the web for articles about social entrepreneurship, angel investors, and we look out for great announcements. This week we are announcing the Unreasonable TV, the MIT Global Challenge, The Billionaire Pledge and a PBS documentary about Acumen Fund.

MIT launches Global Innovation Challenge targeting BoP

Engineering for Good. Our friends at MIT are really on to something. Not only have they added a BoP focused track to their

Weekly Review – June 7th – June 11th

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Every week at Invested Development, we scan the web for articles that relate to what we do and what we like. This week we are talking about a great analogy between angel investors and rock stars, another initiative by the Grameen Foundation, how solar panels are not “so green”, and some insights from the last World Economic Forum in May.

Angel Investors as the new rock stars

The title alone makes it obvious why

Investing in Development – Looking back at Year 1

Invested Development is very close to celebrating our one-year anniversary (and I have the $500 incorporation renewal to prove it). For some reason, anniversaries often become times of reflection, introspection and (the always dangerous) existential pontification. Considering that this is our very first anniversary, we have very little time for looking back or inwards, but we have spent a lot of time pondering our own existence.

So I’ll stick to the latter. Invested Development exists … read more