Case Studies
6 Aug 2017

Making markets work for the poor: How the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation uses program related investments

by Paul Brest, David Bank and Dennis Price
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This report looks at program-related investments (PRI’s) at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  It presents eleven different cases of impact investing, and mentions the importance of Theory of Change:

  • “For every investment we do, we’re thinking about the theory of change and the pathway to impact, and then defining metrics around those.”
  • “A third lesson is the importance of understanding your markets and understanding the economics of your markets and the theory of change for how you get to a functional market. In a lot of cases, to gain that knowledge we’ll also do grants alongside investments. Often, that work on regulatory issues, market research, R&D, or product development—that is supported with grants—is as important as our PRI investment.”