Over the last decade in impact investing, it has been my observation and belief that emerging markets continue to face significant problems: inequality, hunger, environmental issues, and resource scarcity. Traditionally, these problems are addressed via government initiatives, sovereign funds, and philanthropy. However, these sources are not enough to address all of the capital needs of developing markets, so many have now turned to the dynamism and innovation of the private markets to tackle these complex global issues. [...]

This post is part of our Social Enterprise Initiative 25th anniversary blog series, which highlights some of the faculty, staff, students, and alumni who have been a part of SEI throughout the years. In this post, HBS student Azeez Gupta (MBA 2019), shares his perspective on social enterprise. [...]

This post is the first in our Social Enterprise Initiative 25th anniversary blog series, which highlights some of the faculty, staff, students, and alumni who have been a part of SEI throughout the years. In this post, Jennifer Nash, Director of the HBS Business and Environment Initiative, shares her connection to SEI and her hopes for the future of social enterprise. [...]

Before coming to HBS, I worked for a number of years in financial services in Asia. It was not uncommon for me to wonder what real benefit, other than to provide my clients with the ability to make more money, I was providing to the world. That desire is one of the reasons I wanted to come to HBS. I recently took the class “Investing in the 21st Century: Return, Risk and Impact,” taught by Professors Shawn Cole and Vikram S. Gandhi. Through this class I learned that my previous career could actually provide a positive impact on the world, and that impact investing is becoming more mainstream in the United States. There are many impact funds that manage to achieve market rates of return while at the same time generate positive impact. In the past decade, the ability to measure impact has improved, enhancing the investor’s confidence in this sector. [...]

Chienye Ogwo, the CEO of Africa Initiative for Governance in Nigeria, is a lifelong learner who aspires to be at the cutting edge of her work. Seeking the knowledge and skills to maximize the impact she and her organization have on positive change, she attended the Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management (SPNM) program at Harvard Business School Executive Education. In this interview, she describes what she gained from attending the program. [...]