Social & Economic Empowerment

Social & Economic Empowerment (C5KE) invests in companies that are using their platforms to open up economic and social opportunities to underserved and undervalued populations. In turn, these companies will empower generations through enhanced access to services including education, financial services and technology.

Fund goal: Create equal social and economic opportunities for all subsets of society whilst progressing human development.

Investment Case

We believe that talent is equally distributed, however, opportunity and resources are not. Underserved markets are a huge growth opportunity. Innovative technologies and financing is changing the landscape — addressing the cost challenges of delivering services to remote communities. And in more developed economies, societal and gender barriers are being broken down to enable previously underserved individuals to contribute to the economy.

Social and economic empowerment is not a philanthropic endeavour — it underpins a global transformation already taking place that could unlock trillions of dollars of human potential.

• The World Bank estimates that there are between 420-510 million micro, small and medium enterprises globally. The majority of these (around 400 million) are located in developing economies (World Bank Group).
• If women were given the same opportunities to participate in the economy as men, it would add up to $28tn (or 26% GDP) by 2025 compared with a business-as-usual scenario. This economic potential is highest in developing countries (McKinsey).
• According to the World Bank, the loss in human capital wealth due to gender inequality alone is estimated at $160.2 trillion (World Bank Group).

Impact Case

It’s believed that about 2.33 billion people – or just under a third of the global population – are at risk of exclusion from actively participating in the economy (SOAS). Neglecting to address the marginalisation of underrepresented groups can have grave consequences. At an individual level, the repercussions of exclusion manifest as a loss of income, long-term financial hardship, substandard education, and bleak job prospects. On a national level, the economic costs are equally significant, culminating in a missed opportunity for GDP growth and human capital development.

• Worldwide, over 2.7 billion women are still legally restricted from having the same choice of jobs as men (UN Women).
• Increased educational attainment accounts for about 50 per cent of the economic growth in OECD countries in the past 50 years (OECD).

The funds in the new portfolio provide access to more investment areas and countries than previous funds on the CIRCA5000 platform.

Check out some of the companies in the Social & Economic Empowerment fund.

Coursera works with 275 of the world’s leading universities to bring affordable and flexible online learning to millions of learners worldwide. From degree programmes to more hands-on projects and courses, to job-ready certifications (Coursera).

Bread Financial offers straightforward, personalised payment, lending and saving solutions. They help customers and partners to take control of their finances through digitally enabled choices that are easy to understand and provide financial flexibility (Bread Financial).

Shopify is a commerce platform that offers millions of business owners a platform to start, grow and manage their commerce businesses from anywhere in the world. They offer sellers tools to help them manage their inventories, shipping and payments (Shopify).

Liberty Latin America is expanding communications and entertainment services across Latin America and the Caribbean. Liberty Latin America currently connects 40 markets in the region and offers both residential and business customers affordable access to video, broadband, telephone and mobile services (Liberty).

Fiverr is the world’s largest marketplace helping individuals and businesses to connect with freelancers. Fiverr people to work flexibly on their own terms, providing opportunities outside of the traditional 9-5 route (Fiverr).

Simulated Historical Index Performance

As the funds do not yet have a historical performance, you can see how the C5KE would have performed based on the past performance of the companies within the index that the fund tracks.

Remember, when you invest your capital is at risk and that past performance is not indicative of future performance. The chart above shows the simulated past performance of the impak CIRCA5000 Impact Indices established by BITA (bitadata.com). It is calculated using backtested data from the underlying holdings of the CIRCA5000 ETFs dating back to 07/09/2012. Your return may be affected by factors such as fund and trading fees, and changes in currency exchange rates. The index currency is based in USD and gross of fees. Factors such as fund fees, trading fees and currency exchange rates may affect your return. The annual TER for CK5E is 0.49%.