The Delta Fund

Join us in person in D.C. or online for this hybrid event next week! Breaking the cycle of poverty through innovative finance brook.gs/3uXZc30 @BrookingsGlobal @ECA_OFFICIAL @village_ent @IDinsight @InstiglioInc @TheDeltaFund #innovfinance #DIB

We worked on this Development Impact Bond as the lead investor. Join us on Apr 26 to hear from the stakeholders involved on the success and learnings of the program. Panelists include: @brianboland @EGWBrookings @avnish_g @RuthLevine5 @tmuriuki @mcarthur brookings.edu/events/breakin…

Great organizations like @village_ent and @projectequity are leading in those two areas. We will share more about them and other organzations soon.

Asset ownership is an important vehicle that enables people to earn a better living while also building ownership for the long term. Two important growing trends are in Employee Stock Ownership (ESOP) and Cooperative (Co-op) ownership of businesses.

A post on our focus areas and what we aim to achieve. delta-fund.org/post/about-the…

@mulagostarr Graduation models have proven to provide a significantly more sustainable impact. It is cash+.

What, exactly, are these families "graduating" out of? The authors claim that we're going to see "$21m in lifetime benefits" How' could that be? IN THESE SAME 2 COUNTRIES, the effects of $1000 cash transfers dissipated within four years! 7/n

Another day, another DIB; this one an ultra-poverty graduation project in Kenya/Uganda. People are going nuts over the results: "powerful!" "incredible!" They're "lifting people out of poverty!" I read the full report. My own reaction was "WTF!" 1/n idinsight.org/publication/vi…

@mulagostarr We should press these early DIBs to learn what does and does not work. Rather than outright dismissing them, we should test, learn and evolve them for better. Maybe DIBs aren’t the model long term but results based financing models likely are. We can apply this work there.

And what are DIBs like this for? Will they drive the bulk of the NGO's future implementation (no.) Is it a one-time process that spectacularly/lastingly boosts performance? (unlikely). Did anything happen here that couldn't be accomplished with smart grant funding? (no). 10/n

@mulagostarr Responded to your blog and tweets. Lots of issues with what you raised. #comment-5795729259" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">mulagofoundation.org/blogs/another-…

if anyone wants to debate/critique/discuss/complain about my consequential-impact/DIB thread from yesterday, we put it on our mulago blog. easy to post a response. having tossed the grenade, it's the least I can do: mulagofoundation.org/blogs/another-…

@mulagostarr There is something disappointing about the bullying power of a foundation leader. Your words have increased impact because recipients of funds in the philanthropic space are afraid to push back too hard. Especially when you start on Twitter and not the research org you fund.

But enough "OMG we did a DIB!" Sorry to be the skunk at the picnic, but when the % return to investors exceeds the % by which you increased desperately small incomes, it's probably best to declare your victory quietly. 13/n

@mulagostarr What I do know is that yet again world class research methodologies have proven that the work Village Enterprise does is impactful, extremely cost effective and scales well. That shouldn’t be lost in your questions around the DIB.

I admire this NGO; they do solid work and this IS a cost-effective intervention. But "cost-effective" does not necessarily mean "materially consequential" either, and the sad truth is that it's hard to transform lives on the cheap. 12/n

@mulagostarr Since these are two sided agreements I would expect this to normalize over time to something people feel is more equitable. What is the best way to attract MORE capital into these proven interventions to help them scale while managing public capital responsibly?

And then you lard up the whole thing with the hefty costs of a DIB, including an 8% return to investors. This is justified because the NGO "exceeded targets" and the NGO "introduced an adaptive management system with customized dashboards." 8/n

@mulagostarr This type of paternalism that is widespread in philanthropy bothers me. Rather than a white American deciding from San Francisco what’s good for people in Kenya / Uganda maybe we let them? Our work on the ground says that these are meaningful impacts.

It's a well-done RCT. Here are the results: a 6% increase in consumption and a 6% increase in assets. That's from really low baseline. For perspective, it would be like increasing the US minimum wage by 43 cents an hour. 2/n

@mulagostarr Tone here is disappointing. Fair to ask questions but it would be better if you actually engaged with questions rather than with snark. You didn’t engage with @idinsight the organization that conducted the research and that Mulago funds. There are answers to what you raise.