Media Development Investment Fund has been selected for the ImpactAssets 50 (IA 50), a free, online resource for impact investors and their advisors, for the fifth consecutive year. The IA 50, now also in its fifth year, is the first publicly available database of private debt and equity impact investment fund managers.
“We are honored to have been selected for the IA 50 for five straight years,” said Harlan Mandel, CEO of MDIF. “Recognition as one of only 50 featured impact investment funds is important in highlighting the financial and the social impact of investing in independent news businesses in countries where access to free and independent media is under threat.”
MDIF provides debt and equity financing, supported by intensive technical assistance, to independent media providing the news, information and debate that people need to build free, thriving societies. Since inception in 1995, it has provided more than $133 million in financing to more than 100 news businesses in nearly 40 emerging and frontier markets. It has a current portfolio of $41 million.
The ImpactAssets 50 is the only free, public, searchable database of outstanding impact investing fund managers. It includes a range of funds across the globe, spanning diverse issue areas and investment, with demonstrated and compelling social and environmental impact. Fund managers included in the IA 50 2015 manage a combined $13.6 billion in assets devoted to creating measurable, positive impact.
The IA 50 selection committee is chaired by ImpactAssets’ Chief Impact Strategist, Jed Emerson, and includes experts from The CAPROCK Group, Toniic, UBS, and Blue Haven Initiative.
ImpactAssets is a nonprofit financial services firm that increases the flow of capital into investments that deliver financial, social, and environmental returns. Read more about the IA50 and its selection process here.