California's Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) has announced a new partnership that will give MBA students the opportunity to develop their credentials in the field of impact investments.
Through the new partnership, selected MBA students will provide review and make recommendations on clean cooking companies seeking investment from venture funds.
According to Yuwei Shi, dean of MIIS' Graduate School of International Policy and Management, this new MBA project component will help students gain "practical knowledge about the adoption of technological innovations in developing markets."
Students will work directly with the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, a UN-led initiative that aims to enable 100 million households to adopt clean and efficient cooking technologies by 2020.
"Impact investing" refers to the practice of making investments in companies that will create beneficial social or environmental impact. In the past few years, some business schools have begun integrating concepts in impact investing into MBA curriculum and other initiatives. For instance, Wharton students can participate in managing the "Wharton Social Venture Fund," which seeks to partner with early-stage companies that create positive impact. Likewise, Berkeley MBAs have an opportunity to go through an impact investing process with the school's "Haas Impact Investing Network."
With the new partnership, MIIS adds to its growing impact investing resources that students can take advantage of while doing their MBAs. As part of the school's MBA in Global Impact Management, students also have the option of doing a capstone project with the Frontier Market Scouts, an organization that serves as a bridge between low-income individuals and investment funds.
Please see this recent press release for more information about the new MIIS impact investing initiative.
Image: "Microfinance in India" by Peter Haden / Flickr (cropped and rotated)
