VIVEinvest celebrates the contribution of women as global front runners of business and social impact. We lend our gender lens to social impact investors and proactively identify opportunities for funds, philanthropists and investors to enrich their portfolios with female headed innovations.
Using familiarity bias to get better return on investment
Familiarity bias is the scientific term to describe the effect ‘what you know is what you trust.’ Trust is the basis of investment decisions. This means familiarity bias is (mis) leading investors to take decisions that are in their comfort zone but not necessarily in their best interest. Here is how they can use familiarity bias to find new opportunities on the horizon and make better investment decisions. Read more
Are men obsolete?
Microfinance has us believe that women are better borrowers and they not only pay back their loans they invest their income in the education of their kids. The men in stark contrast are usually portrayed as worthless drunks that should not be trusted with a loan if their life depended on it. In addition they beat their wives and are absent as parents. Reliable studies seem to suggest we are better off without them both socially and economically. Read more
Tomorrow’s customer has a woman’s face
What does tomorrow’s customer look like? Nobody knows exactly, but it is likely that she has a woman’s face. It is worrying therefore that the financial sector is serving her poorly today. Read more
The Gap is a bit like the hole in the ozone layer
The total funding gap for women owned businesses is estimated around 290-360 billion USD according to the G20 and IFC (2011).To illustrate, that is nearly half the entire GDP of the Netherlands. Read more
Calvert Foundation is on a winning streak with women
WIN-WIN is a program of the Calvert foundation that enables investment in women. It launched in March 2012 and has recently surpassed $20 million in lending to organizations that empower women through health care, microfinance and education. … Read more
5 reasons to bank on women in Emerging Markets
A disproportionate share of weath creation will take place in emerging markets. A huge number of households will move from poverty into the middle class and beyond. Not only the general economy but also the ‘female economy’ is growing faster in emerging markets relative to developed markets. Read more