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Centre for Innovative Finance and Social Impact

The Centre for Innovative Finance and Social Impact (CIFSI) at Indian School of Development Management (ISDM) aims to mainstream innovative finance for social impact as a complement to government and philanthropic spending. The Centre seeks to provide knowledge and capacity-building tools to facilitate social purpose organisations to access private capital for social change.

How Does It Work?

Innovative financing refers to a set of financial solutions and mechanisms that create scalable and effective ways of channelling private money from the global and domestic financial markets towards solving pressing global problems.

At ISDM, CIFSI will provide knowledge and opportunities for the social sector and social purpose organisations to raise capital through hitherto untapped models and sources.

How Does It Work

Vision

To become a leading voice in the development ecosystem and
provide an objective view on innovative finance and social
impact in India while driving a thinking on innovation and
the future of innovative financing.

Mission

Knowledge

Create and disseminate high-quality and actionable knowledge on innovative finance and impact assessment to drive social impact.

Practice

Drive funding and social impact assessment tools, approaches and practices through convenings, events, workshops and learning modules.

Collaboration

Develop collaborations and build partnerships and networks to enable social purpose organisations to leverage private capital better, facilitate funding for profit and non-profit social enterprises through the social stock exchange and enable social impact organisations to evaluate the impact they create.

 

Our Knowledge Products

CIFSI's knowledge resources and capacity building tools seek to empower recipient social purpose organisations with the right information, skills, and expertise necessary to access innovative financing for social impact

Theory Of Change

In the development ecosystem, effective and adequate financing
mechanisms are at the core of achieving impact at scale. By
broadening the scope of financing through innovative finance, CIFSI can
play a role in enhancing opportunities for social purpose organisations
to acquire the resources required to address
pressing developmental challenges.

Core Areas of Work

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Enable and empower social purpose organisations to utilise innovative forms of financing to better leverage private capital for fulfilling the sector's funding requirements.

WoB

Enable social purpose organisations and funders to assess the impact of organisations and projects/initiatives, that will ultimately support their need to raise more private capital.

devmgt

Strengthen the regulatory environment of financing for the social sector.

Key Stakeholders

CIFSI intends to bring together multiple stakeholders and contribute towards building a stronger community of financiers for sustainable social change. The stakeholders include:

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Social purpose organisations
Private investors image
Private investors
Impact investors image
Impact investors
Academia, researchers, and students image
Academia, researchers, and students
Philanthropists and donors image
Philanthropists and donors
Corporate Social Responsibility management image
Corporate Social Responsibility management
Social Stock Exchanges and capital platforms image
Social Stock Exchanges and capital platforms
Regulatory bodies such as SEBI image
Regulatory bodies such as SEBI

Upcoming projects

Primer on Innovative Finance Instruments

This is an introductory primer for the recipient social purpose organisations to unpack all the essentials on innovative finance instruments. It includes other relevant details such as stakeholders, processes, value proposition, applicability, and associated risks. Led by examples and demonstrations, the primer also highlight the recipient’s eligibility for attracting innovative finance.

Self-assessment tool for social purpose organisations

A tech-based digital interface that helps organisations seek specific details on different innovative funding instruments, weigh their opportunities and check their eligibility for securing such funds.

Indian School of Development Management, supported by Citi India's CSR efforts, launched the Centre for Innovative Finance and Social Impact (CIFSI) to mainstream innovative finance for social impact.

Admission open for PGP-DM