Team Post - 180 Degrees Consulting, SRCC

Wikipedia

“Innovation is the calling card of the future.”
~ Anna Eshoo

Incepted in 2001, Wikipedia changed the way people obtained and searched for information. Traditional encyclopedias that entailed huge costs took a major hit as a result of this change.

With information available at the click of a button, the concept drew huge attention and following, it’s complete free access being the cherry on the cake.

Alibaba

“Changes call for innovation, and innovation leads to progress.”
~ Li Keqiang

Founded in 1999 by Jack Ma, Alibaba group, with a market capitalisation of US$233 billion on the New York Stock Exchange, has grown into an internet behemoth.

Hitting the headlines with the world’s biggest IPO in September 2014, Alibaba group has been able to firmly establish itself in the e-commerce industry through social inclusion and financial participation.

Airbnb

Long before Airbnb persuaded strangers to sleep in one another’s homes and became an industry disruptor, it was just an idea to earn a bit of extra money to make rent.

Today, the privately held company lists more than three million lodgings in nearly 200 countries. It is worth $31 billion, more than Hilton and Wyndham combined, and closing in on Marriott. Airbnb is an inspiring example of how two young entrepreneurs from San Francisco turned a simple idea into a multi-billion dollar company.

Impact Investing Report

According to a recent report by the United Nations, the financing gap to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries is estimated to be
US$ 2.5 – 3 trillion per year. This acts as a testimony to the fact that the world’s development challenges cannot be solved by government funding alone and private capital is quintessential to bridge this fast widening gap. Impact investing is one such measure which helps to obtain a middle ground between the traditionally mutually exclusive facets of financial returns and social impact. This report provides a deep insight into the intricacies of impact investing with special emphasis on the education and agriculture sector. The report also proposes innovative financial instruments based on the models of hybrid-growth dividend mutual funds, hybrid REITs and mortgage lending which can be used to foster impact investments.