Newsletter No. 10

Latest Academic Trends in Impact Investing in Brazil

The tenth edition of our newsletter reviews three international researchers who are currently working on sustainable finance or Impact Investing. It also contains information on executive education courses that have been taken place, a case study that was developed through IILA, as well as recent articles and publications related to the topic.

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St.Gallen Executive MBA in São Paulo

The 22 students of the St.Gallen Executive MBA finished their last compulsory course between November 24th and December 3rd in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. The classes in Brazil focused on the growing market of the low-income population; the so-called base of the pyramid and emerging middle class. Apart from the lectures on the political, economic and business environment and consumer behavior, the students prepared through the case study of Dr.Consulta (private health care for low-income customers), visits to the retail environment of the market as well as a market research organization that focuses on consumers in favelas for their final exam (developing a service or product for this market segment). In Sorocaba (city in the industrial belt of São Paulo), the group learnt more about how the minister of development attracts innovation-intensive companies. They were also hosted by Embraer Executive Jets- which serves as an example of a Brazilian National Champion- and introduced to the business segment of small private jets. In Argentina the students dived deep into the challenging business environment of multinational companies that interact in a country used to economic crises and inflation. 

THE STATE OF IMPACT INVESTING IN LATIN AMERICA

The publication of Bain & Company describes the current Impact Investing landscape in Latin America, its criticial challenges and future possibilities. Bain & Company mentioned the problem of sourcing investment opportunities, the difficulty in measuring impact, the challenge for finding suitable exit opportunities and the lack of supporting institutions as the main challenges that keeps Impact Investing from going mainstream.