Economists estimate that the weight of the global financial economy today is 70 times that of the real economy. This means that majority of our money are spent in a trading economy that does not generate actual production. impak Finance, a Canadian startup, seeks to use the power of finance to generate positive social impacts. Source: Invest It In At the heart of it is the impact ecosystem, impak.eco, where citizens, businesses and investors are in agreement that each dollar

On the evening of 12th December 2017, we welcomed our three guest speakers and invited them to a panel discussion to share their experiences as professionals in the field of impact investing. 1) Mr Martin Rich, Future-Fit Foundation: Mission statement: A Future-fit society protects the possibility that humans and other life will flourish on Earth forever by being environmentally restorative, socially just and economically inclusive. Mr Martin Rich, who previously had a car

Burning matter in order to produce the energy needed for heating, cooking, lighting or powering machinery has been the principal method used by us, humans. Lately, a shift from burning things for energy production to harvesting it can be observed and this is due to 4 major technological advancements that enable the decarbonisation of our households and vehicles. Source: Ensia 1. Renewable forms of energy have become more cost effective than fossil fuels, not only creating ene

Given the current global environment and concerns about climate change, investors are increasingly looking at initiatives and technologies which advance the development of renewable energy projects - the current drought in Cape Town and surrounding areas, for instance, has caused a surge in impact investing by local investors in innovative water re-use projects. Where more than half the world face global water scarcity, there is an impetus to explore the potential of water ma

Hunger, as defined by Oxford dictionary, is strong desire for food, scarcity or lack of food, painful condition arise from need for food. World hunger is the same, but on a global scale. Source: Google Images Background The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that in 2016 alone, there is approximately 815 million people or 11% of global population that is considered to be living under the condition of world hunger. According to the United Nations (UN), conflicts and war

A joint partnership between UBS, a Swiss wealth management giant, and MPM Capital, a bio-venture fund manager, the UBS Oncology Impact Fund (OIF) is an evergreen fund that specialises in investments in early stage oncology and cancer therapeutics. Oncology is socially significant - it is estimated that one in two men and one in three women will contract cancer in their lifetime. With the ageing populations in developed countries and an expanding middle class that is now able

The misconception that impact investing necessitates a trade-off between profitability and social impact has been firmly debunked. Numerous studies have shown that this myth can no longer be accepted as an argument against the efficacy of impact investing. There is, however, one misconception which has not been adequately addressed: that impact investing is reserved for high net-worth individuals, family offices or financial institutions. This is not the case as the prolifera

Last Tuesday, a group of us from King’s Impact Investing Society attended the event “How to Make a Social Impact With You Career?”. We interviewed Min Low, Research Associate of KIIS, to find out more about the event. Q: What is the event all about? A: The event was presented by Dr Phyllis SantaMaria and Mr Gabriel Flores, Directors of Learning Without Borders. Like what the event title says, it is getting us (the participants) together with the presenters, to come together t