Want social mobility? Go to a state university

Cal State Los Angeles and SUNY Stonybrook had the highest “mobility rate” in a new study by the Equality of Opportunity Project. The study of 30 million college students tracked the likelihood that a student from a lower-income family ends up in a higher-income family. Pace University in New York was the rare private school

Move over fintech. Human agents drive financial inclusion

Technology is helping give more people access to payment, saving, loan and investment services. But Greta Bull, head of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, says the real game changer is distribution. The key to M-Pesa’s mobile payments system, for example, is its network of agents who allow customers to convert cash to digital

Using Cell Phone Data to Establish Credit Scores in Latin America

First-time borrowers face a classic chicken or the egg dilemma: a borrower needs a good credit score to get a loan but needs a track record of repaying loans to establish a good credit score. Increasingly though, another, more ubiquitous measure of creditworthiness is all consumers will need: their cell phone data. In Latin America, for

Is the Developing World the Next Whitespace for Venture Capital? Fred Wilson Thinks So

It’s only halftime in the global mobile revolution. The first part largely redefined how rich countries accessed the Internet. The second part will reinvent how the developing world gets education, healthcare, financial services and other basic needs. [blockquote author=”Fred Wilson, Union Square Ventures” pull=”pullleft”]If you ask me where the next big whitespace for VC is…I would

Clara Miller: Steering a Course Toward Shared Prosperity (Podcast)

https://medium.com/media/eb41009a46819b10cf3eade040db7b6e/href The need for a new strategy for raising living standards for poor Americans was the catalyst for the F.B. Heron Foundation to go “all-in” for impact. The mid-sized foundation is in the process of aligning all of its $300 million in assets with its mission of helping people and communities help themselves out of poverty.

ImpactAlpha’s #DealFlow 2.18.16: Jana’s Free Internet Raises $57 Million

This week in impact investing: mobile ad platform Jana raises $57 million to expand free internet services; Social Finance launches a South Carolina social impact bond for mothers and children; a fund in the UK offers tax relief along with an expected 8 percent return; and more! Jana raises $57 million to expand free internet service.

ImpactAlpha’s #DealFlow for Jan. 8, 2016: Weekly Roundup of Impact Investments

This week: The investment winds are blowing for both small- and large-scale wind deals; the Kresge Foundation pledges $20 million to early childhood education in Detroit; and mom-and-pop shops in Peru and Venezuela may have more access to working capital to expand their businesses. Big Investment in small-scale wind. United Wind has received $200 million