This is My Story – Giving a face to 20 years of impact investing

For decades our society has been struggling to find answers to how to overcome extreme poverty, facilitate basic health care, provide education, empower women, and fight the effects of climate change. Emerging and frontier markets are particularly exposed to these threats, with their populations often left vulnerable and suffering. Impact investing has proven to offer the solution over the last two decades, allowing individuals or small companies to be supported with commercial loans from microfinance institutions or direct investments in the form of private equity, rather than grants or development aid. BlueOrchard was founded 20 years ago by initiative of the UN, and has ploughed the path for an investment class that today is entering the mainstream and becoming the fastest-growing asset class globally. This book is an exemplary testament to the achievements of the last two decades. Who could tell the story better than the individuals who are directly affected by these issues?

This Is My Story allows us to share with you some of the encouraging entrepreneurial stories, personal dreams and insights into the lives of families around the globe who are struggling and fighting against adversity every single day. From more than 200 million individual stirues over the past 20 years we have chosen twelve stories from four continents. Rober Bösch, the world-famous Swiss photographer captured our protagonists in a very personal manner and always with tremendous respect. These stories are accompanied by essays from some of the most influential thought leaders around the world.

Authors: Peter Fanconi, Robert Bösch

Our book is available on Amazon.