Flows of humanitarian aid to address natural and human-made disasters were inadequate before the Trump administration gutted USAID and its $40 billion annual budget.
Belgian impact investment firm KOIS and social enterprise MzN International are partnering on Human Planet, a pitch-style accelerator program to match humanitarian organizations and projects with foundations, development finance institutions, family offices and other private investors.
“Private and impact investors are seeking meaningful ways to allocate capital toward sustainable development, but doing so in piecemeal fashion is not fast enough,” said MzN’s Christian Meyer zu Natrup. “We’re bringing these two sectors together – social impact and private finance – so projects can scale up without being solely dependent on traditional donors and grants.”
Human Planet aims to “accelerate the financial sustainability of humanitarian and climate projects – ensuring life-changing initiatives become investable, scalable and impact-driven,” the partners said in a statement. It will provide organizations with technical assistance and sustainable finance design support for their humanitarian projects, and connect those projects to investors in a Shark Tank / Dragon’s Den-style pitch event.
Beyond aid
As global aid funding shrinks, other humanitarian organizations have been experimenting with investment tools designed to move projects and communities beyond donor dependency. The International Rescue Committee launched its Airbel Impact Lab, an innovative finance division, in 2019 to test blended finance, offtake contracts and even debt swaps to help stabilize communities and local economies affected by long-term conflicts.
Mercy Corps runs multiple accelerator programs and a venture fund for startups supporting climate adaptation, financial inclusion and other positive social outcomes.
Save the Children and UNICEF both have venture funds that put a “child lens” on startup and social enterprise investing.
