Social Capital Index Unveiled by Xigi.net

The other day, we posted an article by PSD Blog suggesting that the new development paradigm still suffers from the same shortcomings of the old guard. Today, we have come across one initiative to help address those concerns, as Xigi.net has released a new Social Capital Index that intends to be a tracking tool for investors to monitor and compare various blended value investments.

We have launched the Social Capital Index, a timely tracking of investments in the social capital market, including social enterprise, (health, education and workforce development) fair trade, digital inclusion, and some clean tech and microfinance investments. Over time we will be able to size the Social Capital market and its growth trajectory in each sector

… The SoCap Index has (in the center column on this site) three parts: an asset class fan, that goes from debt to equity to strategic grants, and a fund matrix, describing some of the funds in the Social Capital Market. We will be adding to the index on a monthly basis. They are pdf files for download now but once we are sure we know what form the market (you the readers) want the information, we will be turning it into a searchable online database.

Microcapital.org highlights while this is an interesting development the lack of scope of the index right now makes it somewhat useless right now.

In its current state, the index seems most limited by its scope, or lack thereof. Because it only covers a handful of investments in a growing field, it likely will not be of immediate use to its audience. It is clear, though, that Xigi’s intention is for the new index to hit a critical mass, a point at which it can come to be viewed as a central database of information for all blended-value investors, akin to the MIX Market’s mission for microfinance. Right now, index information is only available in downloadable PDF format and is updated monthly. In the future, Xigi sees a searchable database that can be updated in real time.