Archive for 2017

SINGAPORE — In 2016, veteran Japanese investment banker and private equity investor Takeshi Kato embarked on a new chapter of his life. Deeply moved by the poverty and social issues he saw while working in India, Kato began investing in social enterprises through BWiz Capital, a small Tokyo-based investment company he set up with some financial help from friends.

The company’s portfolio ranges from OneBreath, a U.S.-based startup that provides affordable medical ventilators to hospitals in India, to Indonesia-based Krakakoa, which helps cocoa farmers seeking to produce beans for artisanal chocolate. Read More.

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Kinara Capital, which lends to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) without collateral, has raised $14.5 million in Series C funding from multiple investors including existing ones, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Patamar Capital, and new investors Gaja Capital and Gawa Capital.

This round has also provided exits to Shriram City Union Finance Ltd and investors of IIX’s Impact Partners platform. The fresh round of funding will be deployed to expand the product portfolio in existing and new geographies in India and increase investment in technology to improve efficiency in field operations. Read More.

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SolarHome, the pioneer in Pay-As-You-Go (“PAYG”) Solar for off-grid households in Southeast Asia, secured its first debt funding. The new financing comes on the heels of the pre-Series A equity funding round that the company recently closed. Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), a global leader in impact investing, played a pivotal role in the securing of this financing by providing the company with impact assessment and technical assistance services as well as connecting SolarHome with its debt-provider Kiva, an online lending platform connecting lenders to entrepreneurs. This support was provided as part of the award-winning IIX Acceleration for Capacity-building and Technical Services (IIX ACTS) program in partnership with USAID. Read More.

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Impact investing is more than an emerging asset class. In a world where business models and financial equations often perpetuate inequality, impact investing is an opportunity for systemic change. If approached pragmatically and innovatively, it can transform our traditional financial system into one that offers economic opportunity to even the most remote and underserved populations. As impact investing gains traction and becomes one of the most rapidly-growing fields of investment, it is crucial to harness its power to promote equity and inclusion in financial markets. Read More.

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Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), and Pacific Trade Invest Australia (PTI Australia) signed a letter of engagement to catalyze growth of the impact investing market across the Pacific Islands targeting mostly women-focused enterprises. PTI Australia is Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)-funded Pacific Island agency that creates jobs in the Pacific Islands by facilitating trade and attracting impact investment into the region. IIX noted it will begin to effectively build the market for impact investing beginning in aquaculture and agriculture sectors with plans to expand the ecosystem deeply across 16 pacific island countries and the surrounding oceans. Read More.

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