By Emily Chasan
The world’s first development-impact bond to fund girls’ education in India performed better than expected, suggesting the tools of the fixed-income market can be harnessed to supercharge philanthropy in emerging markets.
...
Development-impact bonds are a twist on a growing effort to use financial structuring to back projects that address broader societal goals. About 108 social-impact bonds have raised $392 million since 2010 for causes such as reducing prisoner recidivism, fighting obesity in at-risk populations and helping refugees find employment, according to U.K. nonprofit Social Finance.
The development bonds work with nonprofits and aid agencies rather than governments. Five of the bonds implemented so far have raised $38 million from investors, estimated Amanda Glassman, chief operating officer of the Center for Global Development, a Washington-based nonprofit.
Read the full article here.
