Year: 1982. Place: the temple town of Puri in Odisha. An 18-year-old Britisher looked on dumb-founded at the plate of food he was served — four or five lumps covered in something black.
Jerome Booth, wary of spicy food and the Indian summer, had asked for something light. He was in India doing a short stint for Oxfam, the international coalition of non-governmental organizations. "The local hosts cooked for me and, fearing that it would turn out too bland, they put dollops of black pepper to compensate," Booth recounted, while tucking into kebabs at a Mumbai restaurant a fortnight ago. Booth has his own India story to tell. He has experienced India in ways that many Indians have not — suffering heat-strokes twice and having his meals of dal-rice on banana leaves. Over the past three decades, Booth has learnt to enjoy spicy Indian food, including the humble vada pav. He has also made a pile of money, and has turned investor. Booth has just committed $100 million to the telecom sector in India.
Booth's journey from NGO-volunteer to economist and investor-turnedemerging markets evangelist is unique, as are the other two pieces that are a part of this narrative on how diverse investments flows into India are. The Chinese are keen to invest in hardware and telecom, and the Japanese want to be part of India's infrastructure development. The three stories here are about investors and investments originating in the West and in softer, unconventional areas.
'Invested in Fantasy' talks about the new venture of Ray Newal, the founder of Jigsee, an online streaming service. Though conceptualized in Canada, it is totally focused on India. 'The Name's Bond, Impact Bond' tells the story of how a novel financial instrument, the development impact bond, is being tried out for the first time. It funds an Indian NGO focused on educating young girls in India.
Sometimes battles find unusual heroes. In Rajasthan's Koliwara, a village in Pali district, the battle against child marriage has the village priest Savaram Devasi leading it. He has refused to officiate at marriages of child brides, having witnessed the death (due to early pregnancy) of two girls whose marriages he had solemnized. Instead, Devasi (popularly known as Bhopaji) has allied with NGO Educate Girls (EG) and supports their work. That the temple is bang opposite the school helps. Safeena Husain, founder and CEO of EG, says: "Bhopaji has a somewhat scary appearance, almost like a dacoit. He keeps an eye on children trying to bunk school and chases them back in."
EG has been working in Rajasthan since 2006-07, picking up three of the worst districts of the state in terms of girls' education. This year the EG footprint has doubled to six districts. Like Bhopaji, Husain has found one more unusual hero for her effort this year — a new financing instrument called the development impact bond (DIB). The DIB is a bond fund that allows her a lot of freedom. "A village school may need a toilet, while another may need investments in other areas. The DIB is linked to outcome and allows us freedom to spend the money," says Husain.
The need for the freedom can be illustrated easily, if we look at the list of EG's donors. Vodafone, the telephone company, funds the NGO for its work with 45,000 children. Cartier, the international jeweller, funds one district. Then Eros, the film distribution company, has been funding work in one block for three years. EG is also funded by LGT Venture Philanthropy, an arm of Liechtenstein Bank.
The Social and Financial Impact
The DIB is structured on the model of the social impact bond used in the UK at the Peterborough prison to help reduce government's costs of managing inmates and their rehabilitation. This is how it works. UBSOptimus Foundation, the arm of UBS that helps clients achieve their philanthropic goals, pays money upfront to EG and becomes the investor. Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) of the UK is the ultimate donor but it pays UBS Foundation only after the performance of EG is measured, in this case by a US-based validator called Instiglio. Depending on the performance, UBS can earn an interest of 7-13 per cent from CIFF. UBS takes on a money risk and EG a reputational one.
Source: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-09-07/news/53653095_1_jerome-booth-child-brides-rajasthan
Jerome Booth, wary of spicy food and the Indian summer, had asked for something light. He was in India doing a short stint for Oxfam, the international coalition of non-governmental organizations. "The local hosts cooked for me and, fearing that it would turn out too bland, they put dollops of black pepper to compensate," Booth recounted, while tucking into kebabs at a Mumbai restaurant a fortnight ago. Booth has his own India story to tell. He has experienced India in ways that many Indians have not — suffering heat-strokes twice and having his meals of dal-rice on banana leaves. Over the past three decades, Booth has learnt to enjoy spicy Indian food, including the humble vada pav. He has also made a pile of money, and has turned investor. Booth has just committed $100 million to the telecom sector in India.
Booth's journey from NGO-volunteer to economist and investor-turnedemerging markets evangelist is unique, as are the other two pieces that are a part of this narrative on how diverse investments flows into India are. The Chinese are keen to invest in hardware and telecom, and the Japanese want to be part of India's infrastructure development. The three stories here are about investors and investments originating in the West and in softer, unconventional areas.
'Invested in Fantasy' talks about the new venture of Ray Newal, the founder of Jigsee, an online streaming service. Though conceptualized in Canada, it is totally focused on India. 'The Name's Bond, Impact Bond' tells the story of how a novel financial instrument, the development impact bond, is being tried out for the first time. It funds an Indian NGO focused on educating young girls in India.
Sometimes battles find unusual heroes. In Rajasthan's Koliwara, a village in Pali district, the battle against child marriage has the village priest Savaram Devasi leading it. He has refused to officiate at marriages of child brides, having witnessed the death (due to early pregnancy) of two girls whose marriages he had solemnized. Instead, Devasi (popularly known as Bhopaji) has allied with NGO Educate Girls (EG) and supports their work. That the temple is bang opposite the school helps. Safeena Husain, founder and CEO of EG, says: "Bhopaji has a somewhat scary appearance, almost like a dacoit. He keeps an eye on children trying to bunk school and chases them back in."
EG has been working in Rajasthan since 2006-07, picking up three of the worst districts of the state in terms of girls' education. This year the EG footprint has doubled to six districts. Like Bhopaji, Husain has found one more unusual hero for her effort this year — a new financing instrument called the development impact bond (DIB). The DIB is a bond fund that allows her a lot of freedom. "A village school may need a toilet, while another may need investments in other areas. The DIB is linked to outcome and allows us freedom to spend the money," says Husain.
The need for the freedom can be illustrated easily, if we look at the list of EG's donors. Vodafone, the telephone company, funds the NGO for its work with 45,000 children. Cartier, the international jeweller, funds one district. Then Eros, the film distribution company, has been funding work in one block for three years. EG is also funded by LGT Venture Philanthropy, an arm of Liechtenstein Bank.
The Social and Financial Impact
The DIB is structured on the model of the social impact bond used in the UK at the Peterborough prison to help reduce government's costs of managing inmates and their rehabilitation. This is how it works. UBSOptimus Foundation, the arm of UBS that helps clients achieve their philanthropic goals, pays money upfront to EG and becomes the investor. Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) of the UK is the ultimate donor but it pays UBS Foundation only after the performance of EG is measured, in this case by a US-based validator called Instiglio. Depending on the performance, UBS can earn an interest of 7-13 per cent from CIFF. UBS takes on a money risk and EG a reputational one.
Source: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-09-07/news/53653095_1_jerome-booth-child-brides-rajasthan
