Global Innovation Fund
| Formation | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-Governmental Organisation, Investment Fund |
| Registration no. | 1171353 |
| Legal status | Charity |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Location |
|
| Locations |
|
| Alix Peterson Zwane | |
| Website | https://www.globalinnovation.fund/ |
The Global Innovation Fund (GIF) is a non-profit investment fund. It invests in the development, testing, and scaling of social innovations that will have a measurable impact on the lives of those living on less than $5 per day, such as new products, services, business processes, and policy reforms. It is headquartered in London with offices in Washington, D.C., Nairobi and Singapore.[1]
GIF receives funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office [2], as well as the US, Australian, Canadian and Swedish governments.
History
GIF was launched in 2014 with a $200 million commitment from the UK’s Department for International Development, the U.S. Agency for International Development[3], Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Swedish International Development Agency[4], as well as The Omidyar Network.[5]
UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced the launch of GIF at the G7 summit[citation needed], following the revision of the UK’s foreign aid agenda which pledged to uphold the UK government’s commitment to spend 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) as Official Development Assistance and “a step-change in the effectiveness of the UK’s approach to aid”.[6]
GIF is based on USAID's Development Innovation Ventures, an open, tiered, evidence-based fund that supports innovation for development. Michael Kremer, who co-founded Development Innovation Ventures, was a founding Board member at GIF, as was Esther Duflo.
First investments
In February 2016, GIF announced its first investments in eight social innovation initiatives:[7]
- A $750,000 equity investment in Segovia, a software technology platform that improves the efficiency of aid by making it faster, cheaper, and more secure to transfer funds directly to vulnerable populations.
- A $230,000 convertible note investment in SafeBoda, a start-up company that is reducing motorbike accident deaths and injuries in Uganda, through the creation of an Uber-like network of safe motorcycle taxi (“Boda”) drivers.
- $360,000 in grants to Young 1ove and Evidence Action to support the expansion and rigorous testing of a creative peer education approach to empower girls in secondary school in Botswana to reduce their risks of HIV/AIDS and unintended pregnancies.
- A $610,000 grant to Educate! to support the testing, expansion, and government adoption of a skills-based educational programme in Uganda and Rwanda. The program empowers young people to improve their incomes through an innovative curriculum of entrepreneurship training, mentorship, and business clubs.
- A $2,000,000 grant to Development Media International to rigorously test the impact of a radio-based behaviour change campaign to encourage women in Burkina Faso to prevent unwanted pregnancies through the use of modern contraceptives.
- A $238,000 convertible loan to Poa Power for a pilot in Kenya of a new business model that provides off-grid communities with affordable clean energy using a ‘pay-as-you-go” model.
- A $169,000 grant to Valid Nutrition to test a new food supplement in Malawi that can be made with local ingredients and which is intended to reduce the cost of combating acute malnutrition in children.
- A $225,000 grant to the Born Project to pilot in China and the Philippines a life-saving neonatal technology that screens new-born babies for infections like pneumonia and congenital heart defects – at less than 10% of the cost of traditional screening.
Specialist funds
In 2019 GIF announced a new partnership focused on gender equality with Global Affairs Canada[8] that aligned with Canada’s feminist international assistance agenda and GIF’s focus on improving the agency of women and girls. The partnership uses GIF’s investment process and a strategic gender lens to find and fund innovations that advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.
Innovating for climate resilience and adaptation
At the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland GIF CEO Alix Peterson Zwane launched the Innovating for Climate Resilience fund, in partnership with the Adaptation Research Alliance and the Global Resilience Partnership and with seed funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.[9] The Innovating for Climate Resilience fund invests, through both grants and risk capital, in early-stage innovations that aim to support people living on less than $5 per day to build resilience to the ongoing and unavoidable changes in climate. In 2022 GIF announced the first innovations to receive investment from the Innovating for Climate Resilience fund: Agritask, a decision-support platform for agricultural operations which received investment of $3 million; and PLACE, a non-profit hyperlocal mapping organisation, which received a $460,000 grant.[10]
CEO testimony to U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee
In April 2021 GIF CEO Alix Peterson Zwane gave testimony[11] on the benefits of innovation in development policy to the U.S. House of Representatives’ subcommittee on International Development, International Organizations and Global Corporate Social Impact.
Nairobi and Singapore offices
In April 2020 GIF announced the opening of a new office in Nairobi.[12]
In June 2022 GIF announced the establishment of its Singapore office to grow and service its portfolio of social investments. GIF announced it was stepping-up its commitment to back Indo-Pacific innovators.[13]
Partners
GIF has partnered with Global Affairs Canada, has co-financing partnerships with South Africa’s Department of Science and Technology and the Indian Rural Electrification Corporation, and has corporate partnerships with Unilever and Anglo American.[14]
Funding approach
GIF uses rigorous evidence and development economics to identify and invest in high-impact, early-stage enterprises and innovations. At this early stage, innovators and entrepreneurs face a significant funding gap post-proof of concept and pre-scale up given the risks that still exist. Through grants, loans (including convertible debt), and equity investments, GIF offers a full range of flexible financial tools to support entrepreneurs and innovators from social enterprises, for-profit firms, non-profit organisations, research institutions, and government agencies who offer solutions to global development challenges.[15]
GIF seeks to meet innovators on their terms, providing the support they need to continue to refine their approach, attract necessary funding, and move toward scale. GIF accepts applications for funding on a rolling basis with no deadlines.[16]
GIF uses a staged funding approach, with funds being allocated depending on the stage of development.[17]
Pilot innovations are at an early stage but have a credible plan for how they can be developed and tested in a real-world setting.
Test and Transition innovations have already shown promise of success at a small scale, and have some information on operational, social, and financial viability which need to be solidified before they scale.
Scale innovations have a clear evidence base and a credible plan for scaling to reach millions of people which is logistically, politically and financially feasible.
GIF allocates funding to social innovations that have impacts in Asia, Africa, Oceania, North America and South America.
Impact measurement
To select and manage investments GIF uses a methodology called Practical Impact. Practical Impact allows GIF to forecast the long-term, risk-adjusted impact of innovations across all outcomes, including health, education, livelihoods, and women’s agency, drawing on prior evidence. Investments generate new evidence, which is used to update the forecasts and to report on achieved impact.[18]
Portfolio of investments[19]
| Innovation | Investment year | GIF investment (USD) |
| Development Media International | 2015 | 2,093,265 |
| Educate! | 2015 | 609,674 |
| Valid Nutrition | 2015 | 169,408 |
| Born Project | 2015 | 224,600 |
| Segovia | 2015 | 749,999 |
| PoaPower | 2015 | 238,053 |
| One Acre Fund | 2016 | 15,000,000 |
| SafeBoda | 2016 | 230,000 |
| mClinica | 2016 | 3,120,000 |
| Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) | 2016 | 3,850,000 |
| SparkMeter | 2016 | 657,688 |
| Aquaculture Prize Design (Nesta) | 2016 | 315,566 |
| PayGo Energy | 2016 | 616,705 |
| Afrimarket | 2016 | 3,125,233 |
| MyAgro | 2016 | 225,000 |
| Simpa | 2016 | 2,300,000 |
| Young1ove | 2016 | 362,426 |
| CCT for immunisations (IRD) | 2016 | 856,215 |
| Lively Minds | 2016 and 2020 | 4,785,000 |
| Simprints | 2016 and 2020 | 2,790,192 |
| Educational Initiatives | 2017 | 2,307,658 |
| Talent Beyond Boundaries | 2017 | 229,332 |
| Labelled remittances (IPA) | 2017 | 1,700,000 |
| EM3 | 2017 and 2020 | 8,780,000 |
| TAG Africa | 2017 | 178,015 |
| WhereIsMy Transport | 2017 | 1,140,000 |
| Med Biotech Laboratories | 2017 | 230,000 |
| No Lean Season | 2017 | 2,461,901 |
| Reducing Anemia | 2017 | 1,303,611 |
| Babban Gona | 2017 | 2,978,919 |
| Improving Cash Transfers (Ideas42) | 2017 and 2020 | 4,622,730 |
| Paga | 2018 | 6,000,000 |
| No Means No Worldwide | 2018 and 2020 | 2,105,399 1,900,000 |
| IDinsight | 2018 | 230,000 |
| Stanford Remote Sensing for Smallholders | 2018 | 461,846 |
| Online Pajak | 2018 | 1,750,000 |
| CityTaps | 2018 | 600,000 |
| City Nudges (ideas42) | 2018 | 300,000 |
| Mr Green Africa | 2019 | 1,000,000 |
| StrongMinds | 2019 | 1,600,000 |
| Balloon Ventures | 2019 | 230,000 |
| Drinkwell | 2019 | 500,000 |
| GiveDirectly | 2019 | 2,100,000 |
| CrimeRadar | 2019 | 1,408,359 |
| PATH | 2020 | 868,000 |
| Kamatan | 2020 | 2,291,815 |
| DGMT-SmartStart | 2020 | 1,460,000 |
| International Care Ministries | 2020 | 5,400,000 |
| Chrysalis (EZ Vidya) | 2020 | 1,600,000 |
| J-PAL Health Insurance Project | 2020 | 700,000 |
| Taaron Ki Toli (Breakthrough) | 2020 | 890,000 |
| BRAC | 2021 | 1,054,000 |
| Viamo | 2021 | 1,500,000 |
| Buildher | 2021 | 230,000 |
| MTV Staying Alive Foundation | 2021 | 675,000 |
| Isizwe | 2021 | 460,000 |
| HealthConnect | 2021 | 500,000 |
| Impact(Ed) | 2022 | 2,000,000 |
| PLACE | 2022 | 460,000 |
| AgriTask | 2022 | 3,000,000 |
References
- ↑ "Global Innovation Fund - Transforming ideas into impact". Global Innovation Fund. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- ↑ "UK aid: Tackling global challenges in the national interest". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- ↑ "Global Innovation Fund: Persons with significant control". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- ↑ "Reflections on the Global Innovation Fund's First Chapter". Global Innovation Fund. 2015-07-30. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- ↑ "U.S., UK, Sweden, and Australia Launch New $200 Million Global Innovation Fund in Partnership with Omidyar Network". Omidyar Network. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- ↑ UK aid: tackling global challenges in the national interest https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/478834/ODA_strategy_final_web_0905.pdf
- ↑ Anders, Molly (19 February 2016). "Global Innovation Fund's first investments shed light on mission". Devex. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ↑ "Partnering to improve the agency of women and girls". Global Innovation Fund. 2019-03-07. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- ↑ "GIF launches new climate resilience and adaptation fund". Global Innovation Fund. 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- ↑ "First investments under our Innovating for Climate Resilience fund announced". Global Innovation Fund. 2022-06-08. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- ↑ "United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Development, International Organizations and Global Corporate Social Impact", Wikipedia, 2021-04-18, retrieved 2022-08-01
- ↑ "GIF opens new Nairobi office". Global Innovation Fund. 2020-04-15. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- ↑ "Global Innovation Fund targets Indo-Pacific region in search for new social impact investments". Global Innovation Fund. 2022-06-30. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- ↑ "About us". Global Innovation Fund. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- ↑ "What We Fund". Global Innovation Fund. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- ↑ "Applying for Funding - Global Innovation Fund".
- ↑ "Stage of Funding". Global Innovation Fund. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- ↑ "Practical Impact Assessment". Global Innovation Fund. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- ↑ "Summary table of investments". Global Innovation Fund. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
External links
Category:Charities Category:Non-profit corporations Category:Aid Category:Investment
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