From Back Street to Wall Street Podcast

From Back Street to Wall Street Podcast

Brought to you by Knowledge@Wharton and Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), From Back Street to Wall Street focuses on how economic growth is achieved through financial inclusion and the democratization of services.

Impact investing is rapidly moving from the margins to the mainstream in both the finance and international development sectors. With over $114 billion of assets under management, it has become apparent that the financing gap for social and environmental solutions can be met at a much faster rate through market investments than through philanthropy. Investors across sectors are realizing that financial returns are not necessarily sacrificed in making these investments. In this podcast series, join Durreen Shahnaz, Founder and CEO of IIX and Mukul Pandya, Executive Director and Editor-in-chief of the Knowledge@Wharton Network as they speak with international experts about how to bringing finance to bear on the world’s most pressing issues.

Knowledge@Wharton

(K@W) is the online business journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a global audience of over 4 million and a Radio Show (on Sirius XM) with over 650,000 listeners.

Impact Investment Exchange

(IIX) is a global leader in the impact investing movement with a network of over 35,000 ecosystem players worldwide. In a special collaboration, K@W and IIX have together created a feature series titled “From Back Street to Wall Street.”

In this series, Wharton alumnus and founder of IIX, Prof. Durreen Shahnaz, joins Mukul Pandya, the Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief of K@W to take listeners on a journey across the globe to explore how impact investing is connecting the back streets to the Wall Streets of the world.

Clean Cooking: How Technology and Advocacy Are Helping Save Lives

More than 3.5 million people die prematurely each year from indoor air pollution caused by using solid fuels such as wood and animal dung for cooking and heating. Sixty percent of those who die are women and girls. Ben Jeffreys from ATEC Biodigesters and Dymphna van der Lans of Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves discuss the need for clean cooking technologies in disadvantaged communities. Listen Now

How Impact Investing Can Reduce Maternal Mortality

In the developing regions of the world, only half of women receive adequate health care. Every two minutes a woman dies during pregnancy and childbirth — or more than 800 women a day. Most of these deaths would be preventable if the women had access to quality maternal health care before, during and after childbirth. Mary-Ann Etiebet and Jagdeep Gambhir share their perspectives on addressing women’s health issues in poor, remote locations. Listen Now

How Innovative Business Models Can Bring Cheap Energy to Poor Communities

Some 1.2 billion people — or 16% of the global population — don’t have access to electricity. Entrepreneurs are developing innovative, off-grid energy solutions to bring power to those populations, but challenges of varying kinds are slowing down their progress. Hear Mera Gao Power co-founder Nikhil Jaisinghani and family office head David Allen explain why for-profit social impact projects offer the best solution to some challenges with poverty. Listen Now

How to Drive Competitive Returns with Impact Investing

How do impact investors build portfolios that have impact (generate both monetary and social returns)? Hear from Annie Chen, founder and chair of RS Group, a Hong Kong-based family office, and Tony Davis, founder and CEO of New York City-based Inherent Group, a family office that manages equity and debt investments on this episode of From Back Street to Wall Street. Listen Now

Unlocking Endowments: Foundations Are Stepping Up Impact Investing

Ten years after the Rockefeller Foundation coined the term “impact investing,” it has become a $250 billion market and an expanding global movement. Today, foundations across the U.S. and globally are increasingly looking to use their endowments to achieve social or environmental goals. The Ford Foundation’s Roy Swan and Christine Looney and Mari Kogiso from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation discuss how foundations are leveraging their endowments to achieve social or environmental goals. Listen Now

The Blue Economy: How Impact Investing Can Help It Grow

The world’s oceans provide food security to 3 billion people who rely on fish as their primary source of protein. However, their livelihoods are under threat as 90% of the global fisheries are being fished at above their maximum sustainable levels. Dale Gavin from the Meloy Fund and Aimee Gonzales from PEMSEA discuss creative solutions for balancing the need for sustainable fishing with protecting the livelihoods that depend on it. Listen Now

How Businesses Can Drive Health Care to the Underserved

Omar Ishrak, CEO of Medtronic, and Parveez Ubed, founder of ERC Eye Care, discuss their business models for bringing low-cost health care services to the underserved. Listen Now

‘Freedom at a Price’: Why Regulation Is Crucial to Fintech’s Future

How is fintech breaking barriers to build financial inclusion around the world? Hear from Yew Kiat Phang, vice chairman and CEO of Credit China, and Eddie Hartman, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of LegalZoom on this episode of From Back Street to Wall Street. Listen Now

Why Impact Investing Needs to Go Mainstream

IIX’s Durreen Shahnaz discusses impact investing and the recent $8 million Women’s Livelihood Bond. Listen Now