WASHINGTON, D.C. /eNewsChannels/ — Yesterday, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton launched a new partnership to promote investment in innovation at the inaugural Global Impact Economy Forum in Washington, D.C. The Accelerating Market-Driven Partnerships (AMP) initiative is a public-private partnership that seeks to mobilize innovation and investment around critical global challenges such as poverty, climate change, sustainable cities and waste, and addressing agricultural value chain waste in key growth markets. The pilot initiative will initially focus on promoting sustainable cities and related issues in Brazil.
During the launch of AMP, Secretary Clinton said: “AMP will bring a business eye to taking on social and environmental problems in developing markets. We will launch it in Brazil, focused first on building sustainable cities, from providing low-cost housing, to offering skills training that builds capacity of local workers, to improving urban waste management systems. AMP will draw on the resources of the private sector, civil society, and multilateral partners in both Brazil and the United States.”
AMP will provide a platform for businesses, private investors, social entrepreneurs, government, multilateral institutions and philanthropic organizations to identify and tackle key environmental, social and economic challenges in countries that are transitioning from development assistance. The partnership supports the U.S. Department of State’s efforts to promote sustainable, inclusive economic growth and development that strengthens diplomatic efforts and bolsters U.S. business opportunities and investments abroad.
The pilot initiative in Brazil will build on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s work on the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas to advance sustainable and inclusive cities and housing. In collaboration with the U.S. Department of State, AMP will also develop an “Innovation Toolkit” that identifies critical elements necessary to strengthen science and technology, and to foster the development of entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems. AMP will partner with the World Bank Group’s EVOKE online educational gaming platform.
Brazil is South America’s largest economy and the world’s sixth largest economy in terms of gross domestic product. Since 2003, more than 30 million people in Brazil have been lifted out of poverty and are now active participants in the country’s vibrant economy. AMP will promote catalytic investments, such as investments in women, that create opportunities for sustainable social and economic growth and development in sectors identified as priorities by businesses, investors, government and multilateral institutions. Later this year, a delegation of U.S. officials will travel to Brazil to discuss U.S. support for Brazil’s thriving innovation ecosystem as part of this initiative.
The AMP initiative is being launched in partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the World Bank Group, the Law Offices of Arent Fox and Machado Associates, Grupo ABC, HP, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Mercy Corps.
Other commitments announced at the Secretary’s Global Impact Economy Forum include:
· Investing with Impact Platform: Morgan Stanley Smith Barney announced the launch of the Investing with Impact Platform which will provide the tools and products necessary for clients to combine financial, social and environmental returns.
· $1.25 billion Impact Investment fund: TriLinc Global Impact Fund, LLC announced today its intention to file a registration statement with the SEC for an initial public offering of approximately $1.25 billion, with the purpose of providing an impact investment vehicle for the general public. The Fund intends to use net proceeds it receives to provide growth capital to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) around the world, particularly in developing economies.
Learn more about the Secretary’s Global Impact Economy Forum: http://www.state.gov/s/partnerships/impact/index.htm
Learn more about Accelerating Market-Driven Partnerships (AMP): http://www.state.gov/s/partnerships/
