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The development sector will be under the spotlight next week at the GSG Impact Summit in New Delhi. During October 8-9, an estimated 900 delegates from over 50 countries are expected to get down to discussing how an efficient ecosystem can be created for development activity across the world, including India.
Among the guests will be well-known faces such as Al Gore, Ratan Tata, Sunil Kant Munjal, Darren Walker, Cheryl Dorsey, Reema Nanavaty, and the Global Steering Group (GSG) Chairman, Ronald Cohen, who is behind the initiative.
On the occasion, GSG hopes to launch two outcome funds dedicated to India, each one estimated to reach up to $1 billion. These will help home-grown social enterprises get greater access to investment capital. One of the funds — the India Education Outcomes Fund (IEOF) — will be set up to improve the quality of K-12 (kindergarten through Class XII) education. The second, the India Impact Fund of Funds (IIFF), will explore other developmental ventures that have the potential to impact lives at the bottom of the social rung and help stimulate change. “Investment instruments such as Social Impact Bonds and Development Impact Bonds are proving to be successful the world over. They help combine the public, private and social sectors for maximum gain at a large scale. These are ideal for the education sector,” explains Amit Bhatia, CEO of the GSG, detailing his group’s Educate Girls Development Impact Bond (DIB) venture. Through this the UBS Optimus Foundation funds voluntary organisation Educate Girls with an aim to get more girls in school and improve overall educational attainment in 140 communities in Rajasthan, where there is a massive gender gap.
GSG, which is an independent global steering group trying to catalyse impact investment and entrepreneurship, is optimistic that next week’s Summit will throw up many such similar opportunities that will help not-for-profit organisations and governments to drive “social change to benefit the people and the planet, while delivering financial returns.”
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