Publication database

This report, written for entrepreneurs and investors, reviews the case for affordable housing sector in Kenya. It covers strategies to bring down the cost of construction and the housing ecosystem and concludes with six key components of success.

This short briefing, part of a series that demonstrates how specific products and services can expand the reach of financing for smallholder farmers, presents an overview of the market size and scope of local bank lending to smallholder farmers. The total debt financing of $9bn is a tiny amount of the estimated $300bn demand. It covers barriers on both the demand and supply sides and makes recomendations on how finance can be expanded.

This short case study reviews how Honey Care worked with several ANDE members to refine its business strategy and access to financing. Open Capital Advisors supported management to become more sustainable and investment ready, and the Lundin Foundation, Root Capital, and Grameen Foundation provided the high-risk patient capital it needed.

This checklist poses key questions that a solar lighting entrepreneur should address to develop a robust model and a compelling case to prospective funders or investors.

This article aims to illustrate how investors can help social enterprises navigate the path towards scale and sustainability by reviewing the story of Acumen investee 'Waterhealth International'. It outlines the challenges and successes faced by entrepreneurs and investors in determining the right types of capital to support the social enterprise.

This report defines challenge funds and the important factors to consider when designing them. It also looks at the challenges and risks associated with challenge funds and gives very good examples of successful challenge funds that have had a meaningful impact around the world.

This study maps the emerging landscape of education impact investing, with a view to identify potential areas for intervention by impact investors. It describes the characteristics of impact investment, including sources of capital, investor profiles and preferences, and areas of investment. Its focus is on investments that broaden access to quality education, especially for the most vulnerable populations.

This paper draws on a review of fifty challenge funds to develop a definition of as ""an organisation that provides grants or subsidies with an explicit public purpose between independent agencies with grant recipients selected competitively on the basis of advertised rules and processes who retain significant discretion over formulation and execution of their proposals and share risks with the grant provider."" A distinction is drawn between business oriented ‘enterprise’ challenge funds and civil society or social development challenge funds, and between relatively ‘light touch’ and ‘hands-on’ approaches to their management and concludes with suggestions for further research.

This short briefing, part of a series that demonstrates how specific products and services can expand the reach of financing for smallholder farmers, presents what is required for a healthy, competitive smallholder banking sector. It breaks banks into four archetypes, including an assessment of how effectively each archetype serves smallholders and its attractiveness to public or commercial investors.

This report presents findings from a preliminary assessment conducted on the inclusive business potential of the ADB’s Private Sector Operation’s Department (PSOD) investment portfolio since 2000. It provides an overview, with case examples, of inclusive business within its portfolio, and discusses how the ADB may increase the inclusive business orientation of its future portfolio.