Blog

To continue developing a deeper understanding of impact investing and finance for development, Autumn Gorman from USAID's Private Sector Engagement Hub discusses what is and what is not yet impact investing in this first installment of a four-part blog series.

This blog, written by Catharine Phiri, Senior Technical Adviser for Market Systems, Corus International, was originally posted on Vikāra Institute's website.

By Elina Sarkisova

This blog, written by Dexis, was originally posted on Vikāra Institute's website.

In this second installment of a four-part series on impact investing and finance for development, Autumn Gorman from USAID's Private Sector Engagement Hub discusses blended finance.

This blog, written by Kathryn Merckel, ACDI/VOCA, was originally posted on Vikāra Institute's website.

This blog, written by John Chettleborough & Chris Henderson, Practical Action was originally posted on Vikāra Institute's website.

This post was written by Holly Lard Krueger. During the pandemic, opportunities to step out of our day-to-day and into a place of sharing and learning took on greater importance. For many in the market systems development (MSD) community, the annual Market Systems Symposium (MSS) is one of these special opportunities to come together (virtually) to share, debate, and learn.

Like many countries around the world, gender inequality remains prevalent throughout social and economic systems in Rwanda. Discriminatory gender norms have hindered the opportunity for sustained equality among men and women in many facets of life, including within the cooperative sector. The Rwandan government has shown their commitment to advancing gender equality through numerous laws and policies at the national level; however, generations of subconscious gender biases and mindsets are not so easily changed, continuing the cycle of restrictive gender norms and inequity.

This blog post, written by Thom Sinclair, director of knowledge management and collaborating, learning, and adapting at Bixal was originally posted on the Vikāra Institute website.

This blog written by Mike Klassen, Springfield Centre and Sonja Hofstetter, Swisscontact was originally posted on Vikāra Institute's website.  

This post was written by Ellie Wong and Tamam Noor, World Vision Australia and was originally published on the Vikāra Institute's website.  

This blog was authored by Obed Diener, Technical Advisor, Economic Participation, Global Education, Employment and Engagement, FHI360, and was originally published on the FHI360 website.

This post was written by Luca Crudeli and Dun Grover, ACDI/VOCA was originally published on Vikāra Institute's website.  

Private Sector Engagement (PSE) is about pursuing market-based approaches and investment as a means to address development or humanitarian challenges. PSE represents an opportunity for USAID to expand its impact and achieve development objectives in a scalable, sustainable way.

This post was written by Benjamin Medam and Daniel Hudner, Mercy Corps was originally published on the Vikāra Institute's website.  

By Lauren Yang, USAID INVEST Communications People who join tech company Fulfillment Bridge rarely leave. Since day one, CEO and founder Kais Khadhraoui has established a flexible company culture, only requiring employees to work from Fulfillment Bridge’s office three days a week. Mondays and Fridays are free days, allowing team members to work from home, take short trips to see parents, or even do their work lying on a beach.

The current COVID-19 pandemic calls for innovative solutions and increased collaboration with new partners, including the private sector, to expand reach and access to all vaccines.

In early 2020, the Feed the Future Bangladesh Rice and Diversified Crops Activity, funded by USAID and implemented by ACDI/VOCA, began an assessment to understand how the Activity could increase financial access for agricultural small- and medium-sized enterprises (agri-SMEs) in Bangladesh during COVID-19. The assessment originally focused on opportunities for the Activity to increase financial access through agent banks during the pandemic.

This month, The Market Corner looks at health systems and why health professionals are turning to systems thinking and market systems development (MSD) approaches in their work. Systems thinking evolved with contributions from a diversity of disciplines.

INVEST and Dalberg developed a new guidance note to support USAID staff, providing a brief overview of how USAID can facilitate blended finance activities and ensure they achieve both additionality and human impact.

This post is authored by Susan Rae Ross, Sr. Private Sector Engagement Advisor, Office of Maternal/Child Health and Nutrition, USAID Global Health Bureau; Dr. Folake Olayinka, Immunization Team Leader, Office of Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition, USAID Global Health Bureau; Dr. Gaurav Sharma, Sr. Maternal, Newborn, Child Health Technical Advisor; and Dr. Christopher Morgan, Sr Immunization Technical Advisor for the MOMENTUM Private Healthcare Delivery Project.

This post is the second in a two-part Market Corner series looking at health systems and why health professionals are turning to systems thinking and market systems development (MSD) approaches in their work. Read part one here.

This post is authored by Susan Rae Ross, Sr. Private Sector Engagement Advisor, Office of Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition USAID Global Health Bureau; Dr. Folake Olayinka, Immunization Team Leader Office of Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition, USAID Global Health Bureau; Dr. Gaurav Sharma, Sr. Maternal, Newborn, Child Health Technical Advisor; and Dr. Christopher Morgan, Sr. Immunization Technical Advisor for the MOMENTUM Private Healthcare Delivery Project.

This post is the third in a three-part Market Corner series looking at health systems and why health professionals are turning to systems thinking and market systems development (MSD) approaches in their work. Access part one and part two.