Taught by Kartik Desai
This course is designed to help students develop a strong foundational understanding of the key principles frameworks, tools and examples of innovative finance specific to its evolution in India and broader global context over the last 25 years. It will focus on Impact Investment but also cover other adjacent and overlapping segments of the Innovative Finance Capital Spectrum including ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Investing, Climate Finance and Blended/Social Finance, each comprising a distinct investment segment across the risk-return-impact spectrum. The course is designed for student with an interest in development economics, social entrepreneurship and capital markets, who want to apply their understanding of economics, finance and investing to create positive social and environmental impact through new business models and financing structures. It will provide a comprehensive overview of the innovative finance landscape and its evolution, through an analytical assessment of each segment on the capital spectrum, and evaluation of case studies of major impact investors and their use of different innovative finance instruments to help solve major development challenges in climate change, social inclusion and income creation.
The overall objective of the course is to help students ‘think like an impact investor’ by understanding the key insights and lessons of thought leaders and pioneering funds who have helped define these new asset classes and helping to frame the key debates that continue to remain to enable the students to pursue further research and build careers in this field.
