39 - Exploring new possibilities by blending philanthropy and impact investing

The Impact Investing Podcast

While the field of social finance and impact investing has blossomed in recent years, most people still tend to think about donating or impact investing as discrete activities with discrete approaches or strategies.

Say the word "philanthropy" and most people think of oversized cheques at black-tie galas where your donations are spent by organizations on goods, services, and programs. Say the words "impact investing" and most people think of rigorous due diligence where your money can be leveraged far more through investment and reinvestment.

But what would happen if we combined the two approaches? That's what today's guest is here to discuss. Farahnaz Karim is the Founder & CEO of Insaan Group; a non-profit raising donations which the organization uses to invest in innovative businesses and solutions for the poor, a term they call "catalytic philanthropy".

Farahnaz is a social entreprenur, political scientist, and humanist. She has worked with the OSCE, the United Nations, the World Bank and non-profits across a wide range of developing countries across multiple continents. Farahnaz was previously a teaching fellow at Harvard University and a faculty member at Zayed University in Dubai lecturing on global history and humanities. She holds an MPA from Harvard, a Diplôme d’Etudes Supérieures from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Switzerland) and a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University (Canada). And if all that wasn't enough she is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Exeter (UK).

During this episode, we discuss Insaan's unique approach, the contexts in which it is most effective, how Insaan makes investment decisions, the unique ways they engage donors through the process, examples of entrepreneurs they've invested in, and their current fundraising campaign. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end where we discuss how Insaan measures and manages impact.

Resources from this episode:

• Insaan Group Website, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
• Farahnaz's Bio
• Farahnaz's Alliance Magazine article "The Nature of Capital and Other Threats to Impact"