The Africa Platform 2010 conference focused on the SME finance gap (the "Missing Middle"), featuring expert panels of investors, intermediaries and entrepreneurs discussing the challenges and innovations of operating within this space. In this video, impact investors were asked about how they identified successful entrepreneurs to support. Stuart Yasgur (Managing Director of Social Investment Entrepreneurs at Ashoka), Andreas Widmer (Co-Founder, SevenFund), and Joel Montgomery (Director of International Expansion, Endeavor) talked about their methods.

 READ MORE

Share:  

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

SocialFinance.ca produces a weekly round up featuring social finance related news, insights, job openings, and events. We source the content for these round ups from Twitter, an RSS reader, and directly from our community of social finance practitioners. Below is our round up for the week of June 13, 2011.

 READ MORE

Share:  

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

There's clearly a lot going on in the world of social finance in Canada. As a result, it can sometimes be a challenge to keep track of the range of organizations and initiatives that are involved in building the infrastructure and practices on the ground. And perhaps more importantly, to gain an understanding of what is being learned, what isn’t working, and why.

On April 8, an event hosted by SocialFinance.ca, Social Innovation Generation (SiG) @ MaRS, Social Venture Exchange, and Social Venture Partners Toronto (SVPT) at the MaRS Discovery District aims to do just that. Nine practitioners, drawn from across the spectrum of how finance is being harnessed towards social benefit, will present on the best (and worst) practices in social finance. Speakers span the investor, enterprise, and intermediary worlds, as well as those that bring specific expertise in the area of social impact measurement, microfinance, and peer-to-peer lending.

 READ MORE

Share:  

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

When I started writing for SocialFinance.ca, I had the intention to write about events unfolding in social enterprise within Western Canada. I’ve broadened my perspective since then, but I’m always looking for great news from the West that I can share.  Today, I’m particularly excited to share the news that a new foundation in Calgary has committed itself to furthering the social entrepreneurship movement.

The Trico Charitable Foundation has announced three major initiatives to encourage and promote social entrepreneurship in Calgary, Alberta and across Canada. Keeping in mind the challenges and complexity of social enterprise development, the Foundation has partnered with a number of organizations to help spearhead interest and investment in social enterprise.

 READ MORE

Share:  

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

This is the third blog post in a series on the development of an open business plan for SocialFinance.ca. For the previous post, see Road to Social Impact Lined with Enabling Support.

This morning, I had the privilege of attending an informal discussion featuring Sean Stannard-Stockton of Tactical Philanthropy Advisors, fellow colleagues at SiG @ MaRS, and a collection of leaders within Canada’s philanthropic and social innovation community.

Sean had more than a few insights to share with the group, notably that:

• Every business creates social value although its often overlooked, and every non-profit creates economic value that’s also often overlooked;
• Investments in a non-profit’s overhead (talented staff, ongoing evaluation, and program innovation) are key to creating long-term social and economic value; and
• Effective use of blogging and social media combined with a willingness to share ideas exponentially increases an organization’s capacity to create enduring social impact.

 READ MORE

Share:  

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•