In case B, in late summer 2020, the founder has decided to prioritize the company's rating agency, advocating for robust and standardized impact assessments for all firms. He felt confident about his company's new strategic direction and focus during the pandemic. But how could he ensure impak Finance Inc. grew toward its mission and attained financial sustainability?

Teaching note for products 9B20M216 and 9B20M217.

The founder and chief executive officer of impak Finance Inc. had grown his financial technology start-up, based in Montreal, Canada, into a company with two main business lines: an extensive and comprehensive assessment and rating agency that used advanced social impact measurement and scoring software, and an online marketplace platform that used the cryptocurrency impak Coin and connected like-minded consumers, investors, and businesses to support .....more

This note explains the workings of money and cryptocurrencies and introduces what money is, before briefly reviewing its history. The note elaborates on the workings of money today (i.e., fiat currencies such as the US dollar and the European euro) and the importance of debt in the financial system. It then explains what cryptocurrencies consist of, notably the workings of blockchain technologies and the goals that utopian currencies hope to achieve. .....more

Teaching note for product 9B20M135.

Verge Capital was a social finance organization in London, Ontario, that connected local aspiring entrepreneurs with funds that would support initiatives with societal or environmental missions that benefited local communities. In 2019, the social finance manager at Verge Capital had to recommend one of two social impact business proposals that the organization should fund a CA$30,000 loan to. The two options were (1) Sri Lankan Foods, which operated .....more

Spreadsheet to accompany product 9B20M135.