A team of Haas students is one of 11 finalists in a competition co-sponsored by Berkeley-Haas and Kellogg that aims to encourage MBA students to identify strategies that solve global social issues while also delivering financial returns.
The 2012 International Impact Investing Challenge attracted 37 entries from 23 graduate schools, including four entries from outside the U.S. The Haas team that made the finals consists of Kathryn Doyle, Gerald Matthe, Alex Nisichenko, all MBA 13; and Mikaeli Akolly, MFE 13.
The team created a financing vehicle that it's calling the "Economic Development Impact Bond," which provides subsidized financing to small- and medium-sized enterprises that are critical to a multinational corporation in emerging and frontier markets while shifting the risk to capital markets.
The finalists will present their proposals at a final event at the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco on April 13. The judging panel will be comprised of experienced officers and investors who currently manage family foundations, pension funds, and university endowments, and $15,000 in prizes will be awarded to the winning teams.
“We have a real opportunity here to elevate and showcase the intersection of finance and social impact, which is a primary area of study for many Haas students,” says Jo Mackness, executive director of the Center for Responsible Business at Berkeley-Haas.
Kellogg launched the challenge last year to spur interest in financial vehicles that deliver social and environmental impact and are of the size and scope that would be of interest to institutional investors. Students addressed issues such as food supply in India, clean power, and mobile technology in emerging markets.
The International Impact Investing Challenge is sponsored by New World Ventures; Equilibrium Capital Group; The McCall Foundation; Forest Capital Partners, LLC; Impact Assets; the Carol & Larry Levy Social Entrepreneurship Lab; the Calvert Foundation; the Milken Institute; and Water Asset Management, LLC.
Learn more about the International Impact Investing Challenge at impactinvestingchallenge.org.