TOR166: Venture Funding For Social Actors With Alix Zwane Of The Global Innovation Fund

Most social sector work, if not all of it at this stage, is driven by some type of results framework that is focused on outcomes. Unsurprisingly, when people (or a government or foundation) give you their money to do some good in the world - they want to know that it actually happens… or, as often happens, at least you gave it your best shot. Underpinning these frameworks are theories of change. In this paradigm, gaps in markets or social contexts are identified by the social actor and then the design programmes, products and services in an attempt to fill those gaps. Now, for those of you who have been listening to this show for any amount of time, this is standard stuff and, as you know, we’re here to talk about how we break this system. So, on today’s 166th Terms of Reference Podcast, my guest is Alix Zwane. She and I explore an alternative to the theory of change approach - what she and her colleagues call being venture or entrepreneur driven. Alex is the CEO of the Global Innovation Fund, a $200 million fund that takes a venture capital approach to supporting entrepreneurs and the scaling of evidence-based innovation in global health and development. This is an exciting discussion as we discuss the Fund’s current ventures and the criteria for those investments, how the Fund partners with the private sector, how you successfully exit from investments in social problem solvers and much more.