AAA: Monitor Group Report Shows Impact Investing is Working

A new report from the Monitor Group shows that investment in developing nations
is becoming big business, with help from support from advocacy organizations, su
ch as Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA) and high profile impact investors.
Boston, MA, June 04, 2011 -- A new report from the Monitor Group shows that inve
stment in developing nations is becoming big business, with help from support fr
om advocacy organizations, such as Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA) and high pro
file impact investors.
The report, entitled Promise and Progress: Market-Based Solutions to Poverty in
Africa, outlines how foreign investors are increasingly aware of the money to be
made in socially and environmentally responsible investments. These can include
anything from supporting small businesses in Kenya, to investing in sustainable
forestry plantations in Brazil.
The impact investing industry is small, but rapidly growing. High profile suppor
ters include Bill Clinton and Bill Gates, who both have investment vehicles that
specialize in supporting aid by investing in businesses in Africa. Monitor Grou
p partner, Mike Kubzansky, explained why impact investing is so important: “Today
in Africa, more than 500 million people are struggling to subsist on $2 a day or
less, and despite well-intentioned government policies and massive amounts of f
oreign aid and philanthropy, poverty rates continue to rise.”
Impact investing is one of the best ways to help people living in developing cou
ntries to help themselves and their local areas by growing their small business,
employing locals and giving the next generation something to look forward to. “Th
ese market-based solutions engage poor people as customers, offering them social
ly beneficial products at prices they can afford, or as business associates – supp
liers, agents, or distributors providing them with improved incomes,” added Mr Kub
zansky.
The report from Monitor was published after analysis of some 439 enterprises in
nine sub-Saharan nations over a 16-month period. AAA, which analyses and advocat
es alternative investment opportunities – particularly impact investing – has welcom
ed the report on the success of impact investing.
AAA’s partner Anthony Johnson said: “These kinds of reports help to cement impact in
vesting as a viable means of helping developing nations become stronger and more
self-sufficient. At the same time, we shouldn’t overlook the chance to see positi
ve financial returns from such investments, as the success of ethical projects i
n Brazil have demonstrated."
Firms such as Greenwood Management have shown that sustainable forestry is a luc
rative industry to invest in within emerging economies, like Brazil.
Contact :
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-898-6317
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com