The ocean, which regulates climate and supports vital ecosystem services, is crucial to our Earth system and livelihoods. Yet, it is threatened by anthropogenic pressures and climate change. A healthy ocean that supports a sustainable ocean economy requires adequate financing vehicles that generate, invest, align, and account for financial capital to achieve sustained ocean health and governance. However, the current finance gap is large; we identify key barriers to financing a sustainable ocean economy and suggest how to mitigate them, to incentivize the kind of public and private investments needed for top-notch science and management in support of a sustainable ocean economy. READ MORE

Former Morgan Stanley analyst Durreen Shahnaz is the founder and CEO of Impact Investment Exchange (IIX). As the first Bangladeshi woman investment banker on Wall Street, Shahnaz has focused her career on giving value to those who are typically invisible to financial markets.  Founded in 2009, IIX is a global organization that is, according to their website¹, “dedicated to building a more inclusive world by changing financial systems and innovating solutions for women empowerment, climate action, and community resilience.” In 2017, Shahnaz was the recipient of the Oslo Business for Peace Award². In addition to her role as a social entrepreneur, Shahnaz was a professor at the National University of Singapore and also a media executive at Hearst Magazines.  READ MORE

Pakistan-based healthtech firm Sehat Kahani announced it has raised US$1 million in its pre-series A round from investors including the Islamic Development bank, 10Pearls Ventures, Mentors Fund, Korean Impact Collective Funds, and Impact Investment Exchange.

The round also saw participation from the Pakistan-based KASB Group of Companies and Din Group, along with other angel investors.

Sehat Kahani was launched in 2017 as a chain of telemedicine-enabled e-health clinics in underserved communities. Since then, its platform has been used by banks, insurance companies, telecom firms, media houses, pharmaceuticals, and fast-moving consumer goods companies. The firm also serves patients in far-flung areas through small nurse-assisted e-health clinics. READ MORE

Karachi-headquartered telemedicine startup Sehat Kahani has raised $1 million in a Pre-Series A round, it announced today. The investment came from Islamic Development Bank, 10Pearls Ventures, Mentors Fund, Singapore-based Korean Impact Fund, and Impact Investment Exchange. KASB Securities, Din Group, and some angels also joined the round

Founded in 2017 by two female doctors, Sara Saeed Khurram and Iffat Zafar Aga, Sehat Kahani had started as a network to connect home-based female doctors to patients through telemedicine-enabled brick and mortar health clinics. The idea was to use a large number of female doctors who due to family commitments are unable to practice medicine at a hospital or clinic and connect them with patients in underserved communities through a network of nurse-assisted health clinics. READ MORE

The State Bank of Pakistan is taking all necessary initiatives to provide an enabling environment for the information and technology startups and women financial inclusion, the central bank’s governor said on Monday.

“The SBP is working on gender mainstreaming policy titled ‘Banking on Equality: Reducing the Gender Gap in Financial Inclusion’.

The proposed policy aims to introduce a gender lens within the financial sector through identified pillars and specific measures, to bring a shift towards women friendly business practices,” the SBP’s Governor Reza Baqir said at an event organised by Sehat Kahani, a telemedicine startup that has raised $1 million in a Pre-Series A round. READ MORE