Publications

July 2019
Supplement

Omidyar Network's Investment Decisions: MicroEnsure and Lenddo

By: Vikram S Gandhi

A team of investors at Omidyar Network explore two different investment possibilities in the budding financial inclusion space using their investment framework to consider capital alternatives available for both investments, each of which carries highly divergent... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Micro Finance; Investment; Investment Return; Investment Activism; Investment Portfolio; Microfinance; Decision Choices and Conditions; India; Philippines

January 2020
Teaching Note

PROOF: Pro Rata Opportunity Fund

By: Josh Lerner, Shai Bernstein and Terrence Shu

This is a teaching note meant to accompany "PROOF: Pro Rata Opportunity Fund," HBS Case No. 820-030. View Details

Keywords: Finance; Venture Capital; Fund Management; Fund Raising; Investing; Investment Banking; Limited Partners

May 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Teaching Note

Nashton Partners and Its Search Fund Process

By: Richard S. Ruback, Royce Yudkoff and Ahron Rosenfeld

Teaching Note for HBS No. 212-006. In 2008, Jay Davis (HBS’ 08) and Jason Pananos (HBS’ 08) formed Nashton Partners and raised $500,000 from investors to fund their search. After 30 months of searching, and exhausting the money they raised to fund their search, Davis... View Details

Keywords: Search Fund; Acquisition; Capital Structure; Financing and Loans; Investment Funds; Partners and Partnerships

February 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Teaching Note

The Rise Fund: TPG Bets Big on Impact

By: Vikram S Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme and Sarah Mehta

Teaching Note for HBS No. 318-041. View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Impact Measurement; Equity; Investment; Measurement and Metrics; Financial Services Industry; San Francisco

Web

Our Team - Impact Investments

Hill. He then earned a Ph.D. from Harvard's Economics Department. Manager Jonah H. Zahnd Manager of the Project on Impact Investments and the Social Impact Collaboratory Jonah... View Details

Web

Research Design - Impact Investments

Research Design Research Design The Project on Impact Investments uses multi-method research to build insight that is both expansive in its focus and detailed in its analysis. We combine the study of the... View Details

December 2009 (Revised February 2010)
Case

The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF) in 2009

By: Luis M. Viceira and Brendon Christopher Parry

In late June 2009, management at The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF) was considering expanding the footprint of the TIFF Diversified Fund (TDF), the first truly comprehensive endowment management vehicle offered under the TIFF banner. The recent large capital... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Asset Management; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Risk Management; Product Marketing; Financial Services Industry; United States

13 Jun 2013
News

Celtics CEO starts investment fund

October 2024 (Revised November 2024)
Case

SWEN Blue Ocean: Impact Investing Goes to Sea

By: Vikram S Gandhi and David Allen

In August 2023, SWEN Blue Ocean, a €170 million impact fund that invested in startups contributing to ocean sustainability, faced a critical investment decision. Part of SWEN Capital Partners, an €8 billion, Paris-based private equity fund, Blue Ocean was co-founded in... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Investment Funds; Science-Based Business; Technological Innovation; Financial Services Industry; France; Paris; Italy

September 2009 (Revised May 2011)
Case

Acumen Fund: Measurement in Impact Investing (A)

By: Alnoor Ebrahim and V. Kasturi Rangan

Acumen Fund is a global venture capital firm with a dual purpose: it looks for a return on its investments, and it also seeks entrepreneurial solutions to global poverty. This case examines Acumen's new projects in Kenya. The organization's investment committee and its... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Venture Capital; Investment Return; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Risk Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations; Social Enterprise; Financial Services Industry; Kenya

Web

Contact Us - Impact Investments

Contact Us Contact Us If you are interested in learning more about Impact Investments, please fill out the form below. All fields required. Your Name* Preferred Email Address* Your Affiliation* Inquiry* View Details

14 Nov 2021
News

Vikram Gandhi—HBS Professor and Managing Partner at Asha Impact Fund

17 May 2011
News

Why I Won’t Invest in Hedge Funds

June 2019
Teaching Plan

THE VELUX FOUNDATIONS: Selecting Impact Funds

By: Vikram S Gandhi and Nathaniel Schwalb

28 Oct 2020
News

Harvard Business School Collaborates on Impact Investing Data Collection

August 2022 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Boston Impact Initiative: Investing in Local Change

By: Emily R. McComb, Amy Klopfenstein and Mel Martin

In fall 2021, Aliana Piñeiro, impact director at Boston Impact Initiative (BII) discovered that an entrepreneur the organization was considering for an investment had failed to disclose pre-existing debt with another lender. Although the business scored highly on BII’s... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Investment; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Society; Social Issues; Wealth and Poverty; Wealth; Poverty; Risk Management; Financial Services Industry; North and Central America; United States; Massachusetts; Boston