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How Innovation is Delivering in Development

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Why we should take risks on things which are hard Image
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May 19, 2023
Why we should take risks on things which are hard

GIF CEO Alix Peterson Zwane recently gave the Keynote speech at the Yale School of Management Impact Investing Conference. We share here Alix's full keynote address. We know less than we think we do I know you’re going to hear...

GIF Independent Evaluation: Request for Proposals Image
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May 09, 2023
GIF Independent Evaluation: Request for Proposals

As the Global Innovation Fund prepares for the next iteration of its strategy, FCDO has commissioned an independent evaluation. To view the Terms of Reference document for the independent evaluation, please click here. This exercise will include an analysis of...

GIF supports innovation to prevent early female marriage in Bangladesh Image
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Apr 14, 2023
GIF supports innovation to prevent early female marriage in Bangladesh

GIF is pleased to announce we have awarded a $805K grant to the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) and the University of Kent to deliver and evaluate a new programme designed to reduce child marriage amongst girls aged...

GIF invests in social intervention which engages new fathers in Rwanda Image
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Apr 02, 2023
GIF invests in social intervention which engages new fathers in Rwanda

GIF has awarded a $1.8 million grant to the Rwanda Men’s Resource Centre (RWAMREC) to support its innovative programme aiming to make men better fathers, reduce domestic violence and promote equality. Called Bandebereho, which means ‘role model’ in Kinyarwanda, the...

GIF backs food-tech business which empowers female processors in India Image
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Apr 02, 2023
GIF backs food-tech business which empowers female processors in India

GIF is delighted to announce our $2 million investment in S4S (‘Science for Society’) Technologies, the developers of a solar-powered food dehydrator which cuts down food waste and boosts the income of female agricultural entrepreneurs. Without access to cold storage...

Sida strengthens its commitment to supporting GIF’s climate work Image
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Apr 02, 2023
Sida strengthens its commitment to supporting GIF’s climate work

We’re delighted to announce that Sida, Sweden’s government agency for development cooperation, has reaffirmed its partnership with GIF, allocating an additional 70m SEK ($6.6 million) to help us invest in more innovations across the developing world, including those focused on...

Introducing our 2022 Impact Report Image
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Apr 02, 2023
Introducing our 2022 Impact Report

I am delighted to launch the Global Innovation Fund’s 2022 impact report detailing the progress made to advance GIF’s mission of accelerating innovation to improve the lives of the world’s poorest people. Through grants, loans and equity investments, GIF’s portfolio...

Why we need continuous innovation and experimentation in development Image
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Feb 16, 2023
Why we need continuous innovation and experimentation in development

The Global Innovation Fund was established as an impact-focused, venture-style investment vehicle, designed to be able to support the rigorous testing and scaling up of innovative solutions to problems faced by the world’s poorest people. As such, innovation and experimentation...

Kenya Innovation Week: Why we must take risks to make economic and social progress Image
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Dec 08, 2022
Kenya Innovation Week: Why we must take risks to make economic and social progress

This year’s Kenya Innovation Week (KIW), held from 6th to 8th December in Nairobi, focussed on innovations’ potential to develop economies and improve individual livelihoods. Through panel discussions and start-up exhibitions, centred around the theme ‘Connecting Innovations GLocally”, the event...

Takeaways from the Asia Philanthropy Congress: Innovation is driving development in Asia Image
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Nov 30, 2022
Takeaways from the Asia Philanthropy Congress: Innovation is driving development in Asia

The Asia Philanthropy Congress, which took place last week in Tokyo, is a platform that seeks solutions to social problems through cross-sectoral collaboration. It also provides a venue for setting agendas to address Asia’s social issues as well as facilitating...

GIF investments chosen in philanthropist’s funding round Image
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Nov 21, 2022
GIF investments chosen in philanthropist’s funding round

Five GIF investments have been selected to receive funds from American philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in her latest $12 billion giveaway. Scott’s announcement praised the use of funds as a means to get money to “a diverse group of smaller organisations”...

From seed to scale: Accelerating innovative enterprises Image
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Nov 16, 2022
From seed to scale: Accelerating innovative enterprises

Traditional aid agencies and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) cannot always take risks on early stage, innovative ventures, which creates what is often referred to as the “pioneer gap”. Early seed funding, where available, may help the innovators to understand the...

MTV Shuga shows that ‘edu-tainment’ changes lives Image
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Nov 11, 2022
MTV Shuga shows that ‘edu-tainment’ changes lives

The MTV Staying Alive Foundation’s mission is to drive social change among youth. Fusing data-driven insights with pop culture is their modus operandi. The foundation is now scaling up its work in Africa and India, with the aim of mainstreaming...

How UK aid is building global climate resilience Image
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Nov 08, 2022
How UK aid is building global climate resilience

According to the World Bank, “climate change will push up to 130 million people into poverty over the next 10 years, unravelling hard-won development gains, and could cause over 200 million people to migrate within their own countries by 2050”...

For innovative companies offering solutions to the climate emergency, the moment is now Image
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Sep 26, 2022
For innovative companies offering solutions to the climate emergency, the moment is now

The world’s largest diplomatic convention is taking place in New York this week, with the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) taking place in-person for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The agenda includes the ongoing impact of...

My top three lessons in innovative investment Image
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Sep 09, 2022
My top three lessons in innovative investment

I was fortunate enough to spend time this week attending the Centre for Global Development’s annual Development Leaders’ Conference in Paris. It is always a great forum for discussing the challenges and opportunities facing the wider development community, and...

Innovations closing the educational access gap Image
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Sep 01, 2022
Innovations closing the educational access gap

Many families around the world will be preparing for the start of the new school year this week. Education is considered a universal human right, and our right to access it will be taken for granted by many. However, there...

Venture Support for Gender Equality Image
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Apr 06, 2021
Venture Support for Gender Equality

Previous blogs throughout March have illustrated how GIF looks at the issues around gender equality in international development and the tools we use to support our decision-making, drawing on examples of gender transformative investments in our portfolio. In the latest...

Embedding a Gender Lens into the Investment Process Image
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Mar 29, 2021
Embedding a Gender Lens into the Investment Process

GIF’s investment mandate is focused on finding and funding innovative ventures and solutions that have high potential to be impactful on the lives of the poor, scalable to reach millions and cost effective. Applying these criteria has meant that GIF’s...

Gender in Practical Impact - Case Study Image
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Mar 24, 2021
Gender in Practical Impact - Case Study

Is it desirable – or even possible – to place a value on improving women’s and girls’ agency? Yes to both, according to GIF. We think that funders and policymakers implicitly place a value on women’s agency when they choose...