I'm working in the social finance advisory and global philanthropy industries for my practicum. The attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and private wealth, including that of individuals, families, and corporations, are crucially connected by this industry. The "enabling environment" for philanthropic capital in Brazil and Nigeria is the specific focus of my project. This entails examining the ways in which market structures, tax laws, and national policy either help or impede the flow of "catalytic capital"—money used to take on greater risks or lower returns in order to mobilize bigger pools of private investment for social good.
This project's context is especially relevant in light of Brazil's recent revolutionary tax reforms and Nigeria's urgent social and environmental issues, including poverty and displacement brought on by climate change. In addition to trying to conform to a new mandatory sustainable taxonomy, the philanthropy sector in Brazil is negotiating a transition from a "Zero Tax" environment to a more complicated fiscal regime. The task in Nigeria entails knowing how to allocate funds efficiently in a setting characterized by a lack of infrastructure and significant funding requirements for public health and education. To assist stakeholders in navigating these intricate markets, our team aims to create a policy-based evaluation that ranks these enabling and impeding factors.
I anticipate gaining a deep comprehension of the relationship between regulation and social impact as a result of this experience. I'm excited to learn how to map a variety of actor ecosystems, from international intermediaries and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to family foundations and grassroots NGOs. By the end of this practicum, I want to have improved my capacity to offer practical suggestions to a top philanthropic advisor, helping to better allocate funds to the most pressing development issues in the world. I can't wait to tackle these problems from a systems-thinking perspective, going beyond separate project analysis to comprehend the larger frameworks that propel long-lasting change.