An increasing number of institutional investors are seeking sustainable investment opportunities for their portfolios. Specifically, the investors seek to identify investment strategies that can meet the financial needs of the organization by investing in funds, investment vehicles, or direct investments that are consistent with the principles of sustainability and impact. I3C seeks the best proposals that offer a novel investment strategy over current approaches. Teams are encouraged to think beyond venture capital fund vehicles & strategies.

Institutions seeking investments may include but are not limited to:
University Endowments
Retirement and Pension Funds
Family Foundations
Family Offices

The proposal must be a fit for an institutional investor who is seeking:

• Both competitive returns and positive social and/or environmental impact
• Risk management that is commensurate with the target returns
• Transparent performance metrics for both the financial and social return
• Clear linkage between program outcomes and social impact

The institutions are open to multiple asset classes, including but not limited to:

• Private equity/venture capital
• Real assets
• Public equities
• Fixed income securities
• Microfinance lending and investing

The Challenge is looking for innovative investment ideas that balance the tension between financial and social return rather than sacrifice either priority. There is no limitation on asset class or investment vehicle and teams are encouraged to think creatively. The focus is on investment vehicles and fund strategies versus companies.

Eligibility

Graduate students from around the world are invited to participate in the International Impact Investing Challenge. Teams are limited to a maximum of four members, all of whom must be enrolled in a graduate program at the time of the prospectus submission, and the team cannot include more than one member who is pursuing an Executive MBA. All ideas must be the original ideas of the team members. Each team is required to submit a two-page prospectus outlining their proposal. From the submitted prospectuses, ten teams will be selected to present at the finals competition.  At least one team member should be available to present at the finals competition, if the team is chosen to advance to that round, and all team members attending the finals competition should plan to stay for the entire event.  Please note that any team member not in attendance at the finals competition will not share in any prizes awarded to that team.

Deliverables

Entry Submission Requirements
Two-page prospectuses must be submitted by 3/14/2013 at 5:00 PM CST. The prospectus should outline a unique impact investment strategy. The selection committee is familiar with the broad area of sustainable investing, so avoid overemphasizing general observations about this section of the market. Proposals should define the asset class, market opportunity, investment criteria, due diligence process, critical risks, deal selection process, and the monitoring and measuring protocols for environmental and social impact. See our 2012 webinar series here. Take special note of two new, short videos entitled “Why You Should Participate in I3C” and “Expectations for Your Prospectus”. The judging criterion used in this round is the same as that used in the final competition. Ten finalist teams will be announced by 3/27/2013. These teams will be flown to Washington D.C., will be provided with two nights of lodging, and will present their proposal at the finals competition in April.

Student Prospectus Submission
Please click on “Submit a Prospectus” to submit your two page prospectus. Remove all identifying student name and school information from the prospectus before submission.

Finals Competition
The ten teams selected from the previous round will convene on 4/26/2013 at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. for a day-long competition. Each team will have 10 minutes to present their pitch to a panel of judges and will be expected to answer 10 minutes of questions from the selection panel regarding their proposal. Presentation suggestions are listed below. The selection panel will be composed of experienced institutional investors and current officers of foundation funds, endowments and others including organizations such as the Calvert Foundation, Impact Assets, and the US Pension Fund. The same selection criteria will be used in the first and second rounds of competition.

Finals Presentation
For the finals competition, prepare a presentation for the selection committee that lays out your investment strategy and identifies the environmental and/or social impact that your investment vehicle will address. Presentations should:

• Clearly explain how the financial vehicle will achieve the desired social and/or environmental impact defined in the proposal.
• Communicate the details of the investment vehicle including potential market size, strategy for managing risk, target investor, and why the proposed is a fit with their portfolio, financial viability, potential returns, and investment timeframe.
• Contain no identifying student or school name information.