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Global Innovation Fund

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Global Innovation Fund
Formation2014
TypeNon-profit
Registration no.1171353
PurposePrevention/ Relief of Poverty

Overseas Aid

Economic/community development/employment
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
CEO (Acting)
Joseph Ssentongo
Websitehttps://www.globalinnovation.fund/

The Global Innovation Fund (GIF) is a non-profit investment fund. It invests in the development, testing, and scaling of social innovations with the potential to have a measurable impact on the lives of those living on less than $5 per day, such as new products, services, business processes, and policy reforms.[1] It is headquartered in London[2][3] with offices in Washington, D.C., Nairobi and Singapore.[4]

History

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GIF was launched as an independent nonprofit[5] in 2014 with a $200 million commitment from the UK's Department for International Development,[6] the U.S. Agency for International Development,[7] Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,[8] the Swedish International Development Agency,[9] as well as The Omidyar Network.[10][11][12]

GIF was founded "with the goal of creating an entity separate from government bureaucracy that could look at what different financing models can do for development".[13] Its founding aim was to "pool capital to spur creative, pioneering interventions to tackle global development challenges".[14] Alix Peterson Zwane was named as GIF's first CEO in 2015.[15]

Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced the launch of GIF[16] following the revision of the UK's foreign aid agenda, which pledged to uphold the UK government's commitment to spend 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) on Official Development Assistance and “a step-change in the effectiveness of the UK’s approach to aid”.[17]

In 2024, GIF launched a "spinoff" subsidiary, GIF Growth, designed to help early growth-stage companies across the developing world to scale.[18]

Specialist funds

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Innovating for Gender Equality

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In 2019, GIF announced a new sub-fund focused on gender equality in partnership with Global Affairs Canada.[19] The sub fund invests in “innovations that increase the agency of women and girls. Innovations in the fund work towards greater participation by women in decision making, prevention of violence against women and girls, and greater control over assets”.[20]

Innovating for Climate Resilience and Adaptation

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At the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, GIF launched its Innovating for Climate Resilience fund, in partnership with the Adaptation Research Alliance and the Global Resilience Partnership and with seed funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.[21]

This sub fund “invests, through grant, equity and debt instruments, in innovations with the potential to scale and support the world’s poorest to build resilience and adaptation”.[22] In 2022, GIF announced the first innovations to receive investment from the Innovating for Climate Resilience fund:[23] Agritask, a decision-support platform for agricultural operations which received investment of $3 million;[24] and PLACE, a non-profit hyperlocal mapping organisation, which received a $460,000 grant.[25]

GIF Growth

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In 2024, GIF launched a “spinoff” subsidiary, GIF Growth, designed to help early growth-stage companies across the developing world to scale.[26] The vehicle targets high-impact development projects in emerging markets, where access to funding and capital is often scarce, and aims to provide them with "long-term patient capital".[27]

Notable investments

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GIF invested in the Series B funding round of Kenyan plastic recycling startup Mr Green Africa.[28][29]

GIF invested in the Series A $7.5m funding round of WhereIsMyTransport, a London-based provider of data and technology solutions to improve public transport.[30]

GIF invested in the $25m Series B funding round of OnlinePajak, a web-based tax application that allows taxpayers to perform calculations, payments, and tax reporting in a single platform.[31]

GIF led in the Series B funding round of Nigerian mobile payments company Paga, which works to allow users to send, receive and pay bills using mobile platforms.[32] GIF invested in the $6.3m Series A funding round of mClinica, a Singapore-based startup who provide healthcare data in Southeast Asia.[33]

Approach

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Investment

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GIF's aim is to support evidence-backed interventions impacting people living on less than $5 per day.[34] GIF supports "new and innovative service delivery or management models, behavior-change tools, policies, processes and products, as well as innovative technologies"[35] through investments in the range of $50,000 to $15 million.[36] GIF uses a tiered financing approach to support the scaling of innovations,[37] with funds being allocated depending on the stage of development.

  • Pilot innovations are “at an early stage but have a credible plan for how they can be developed and tested in a real-world setting”.
  • Test and Transition innovations “have already shown promise of success at a small scale, and have some information on operational, social, and financial viability which need to be solidified before they scale”.
  • Scale innovations “have a clear evidence base and a credible plan for scaling to reach millions of people which is logistically, politically and financially feasible.”[38]

Impact measurement

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GIF uses a methodology called Practical Impact.[39] This helps GIF to “forecast the impact of prospective investments and use this information to guide investment decisions”.[40]

Singapore office

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In June 2022 GIF announced the establishment of its Singapore office, stepping-up its commitment to backing Indo-Pacific innovators.[41]

References

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  1. ^ "GLOBAL INNOVATION FUND - Charity 1171353". Register of Charities - Global Innovation Fund. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  2. ^ "GLOBAL INNOVATION FUND - Charity 1171353". Global Innovation Fund - Contact Information. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  3. ^ Zumbansen, Peer C. (2021). The Oxford Handbook of Transnational Law. Oxford Handbooks. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 386. ISBN 978-0-19-754742-7.
  4. ^ "Who we are". Global Innovation Fund. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  5. ^ Chang, A.M. (2018). Lean Impact : How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good. Newark: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. p. 200.
  6. ^ "Global Innovation Fund". GOV.UK. 2021-11-24. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  7. ^ "Castro, Kim Introduce New Legislation to Spur Innovative Approaches to Foreign Aid Delivery at USAID | U.S. Congressman Joaquin Castro". castro.house.gov. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  8. ^ Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2018). "Aid program performance report 2017-18" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  9. ^ Sida. "Challenge Funds". Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  10. ^ Omidyar Network. "U.S., UK, Sweden, and Australia Launch New $200 Million Global Innovation Fund in Partnership with Omidyar Network". Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  11. ^ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2017). Review of Science, Technology, Innovation, and Partnership (STIP) For Development and Implications for the Future of USAID. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. p. 102.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations for 2017: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourteenth Congress, Second Session. United States: U.S. Government Printing Office. 2016. p. 200.
  13. ^ February 2016, Molly Anders (2016-02-19). "Global Innovation Fund's first investments shed light on mission". Devex. Retrieved 2023-10-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Saldinger, Adva (2014-09-24). "Major donors launch new fund to support innovation". Devex. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  15. ^ July 2015, Adva Saldinger // 17 (2015-07-17). "Global Innovation Fund names first CEO, charts path forward". Devex. Retrieved 2023-10-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Temple-West, Patrick; Tett, Gillian (2023-06-07). "Slutty Vegan's secret sauce brings fresh spin to plant-based burgers". Financial Times. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  17. ^ Department for International Development, HM Treasury (2015). "UK Aid: Tackling global challenges in the national interest" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  18. ^ November 2024, Vince Chadwick // 04 (2024-11-04). "Global Innovation Fund goes looking for 'the missing middle'". Devex. Retrieved 2024-11-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Global Affairs Canada (2017-01-21). "Project profile - Innovating for Gender Equality Fund". Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  20. ^ "Innovating for Gender Equality". Global Innovation Fund. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  21. ^ "Innovating for Climate Resilience Fund". Global Resilience Partnership. 2021-11-09. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  22. ^ "Innovating for Climate Resilience". Global Innovation Fund. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  23. ^ "Global Innovation Fund announces first round of investments under its 'Innovating for Climate Resilience' fund". MaxiNews. 2022-06-08. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  24. ^ "AgriTask". Global Innovation Fund. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  25. ^ "PLACE". Global Innovation Fund. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  26. ^ November 2024, Vince Chadwick // 04 (2024-11-04). "Global Innovation Fund goes looking for 'the missing middle'". Devex. Retrieved 2024-11-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ "Growth Homepage". Global Innovation Fund. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  28. ^ "The Capital Quest | SeamlessHR gets Series A; Kenya's Mr Green Africa, Nigeria's Pivo bag funding". The Capital Quest. 2022-01-13. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  29. ^ Agyeman, Constance (2021-09-23). "Africa's eco start-ups seek to turn the tide on plastic pollution". Impact Alpha. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  30. ^ Dorbian, Iris (2020-03-02). "WhereIsMyTransport lands $7.5m Series A". Venture Capital Journal. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  31. ^ "OnlinePajak raises over US$25mil in Series B funding". Digital News Asia. 2018-10-23. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  32. ^ "Nigerian fintech Paga raises $10m in round led by Global Innovation Fund". Ventureburn. 2018-09-07. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  33. ^ Russell, Jon (2017-02-15). "mClinica raises $6.3M to map healthcare data in Southeast Asia". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  34. ^ Matthews, Dylan (2023-04-25). "The US foreign aid budget could do a lot more good. This House bill wants to force it to". Vox. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  35. ^ "UNGA Dispatch: The Launch of the New Global Innovation Fund". Center For Global Development | Ideas to Action. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  36. ^ Inventing Medical Devices: A Perspective from India. India: Notion Press. 2016. pp. Appendix 1.
  37. ^ Natarajan, Gulzar; Zwane, Alix Peterson (2023). Rangarajan, Anu (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Program Design and Implementation Evaluation. Oxford University Press. pp. 529–540.
  38. ^ "Funding Stages". Global Innovation Fund. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  39. ^ "Practical Impact: GIF's Approach to Impact Measurement". ANDE. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  40. ^ Global Innovation Fund (June 2019). "Practical Impact: GIF's approach to impact measurement" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  41. ^ "Impact-driven Global Innovation Fund opens Singapore office". CityWire Asia. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
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