Innovative Solutions for Social Impact in Colombia

This year has started out with a lot of energy and opportunities for Measurement Matters. After officially transitioning from E2E to Measurement Matters in Janurary, we were able to focus on getting our operations up and running in Bogotá. The Measurement Matters team is excited to share the following updates on our activities and projects:

• We’ve moved into a new office! You can find us at Carrera 6 No. 49-51 Oficina 201 in the neighborhood of Chapinero Alto, Bogotá. The space is shared with two partner organizations, Social Lab and ANDE, which we know will bring about interesting collaborations that are already in the works!

• Advancing the structuring of a Social Impact Bond for the Cooperativa Multiactiva de Madres Comunitarias del Valle (Coomacovalle), Measurement Matters is carrying out an initial study to build the results framework for the social value they generate in their early childhood care programs. Working together with our partner, The BC.Lab, we are currently carrying out this study which focuses on the nutritional outcomes of Coomacovalle’s current system in order to have a framework on which to develop a Social Impact Bond to scale their business model. Coomacovalle serves more than 8,000 children below the age of 5 in the at-risk neighborhood of Aguablanca in Cali. In addition to childcare, Coomacovalle provides the children with nutritious meals which are supplied by their network of local suppliers and businesses. Our objective is to measure the social value of Coomacovalle’s initiatives, specifically in relation to improving the nutrition of children under 5 years old, in order to effectively manage that impact and provide a foundation of measurement on which their business model can grow and achieve self-sustainability. Together, with the Secretary of Health of Cali’s City Council, Coomacovalle and The BC.Lab, we will be presenting out initial findings at the event, Nutrition 2030 in Cali on March 1^st in order to advocate for children’s nutrition and gather more stakeholders around this fascinating project.

• We are working together with The BC.Lab, in strategic alliance with Concordia, to create the Innovative Finances Coalition, which will be launched during the Innovative Finances Event we are organizing on May 11^th leading up to the 2019 Concordia Americas Summit in Bogotá on May 13-14^th. For the Americas Summit, Concordia will bring together international high-level stakeholders in the public, private and financial sectors to identify gaps and opportunities and collectively build an agenda around innovative finances for development in Latin America. We are eagerly looking forward to these key events in May and have been coordinating with Concordia and The BC.Lab to support this summit in order to make the most of this important space for innovative finances in the region.

• With the support of partner agencies, Fundación Función Esperanza and CoreWoman, we are continuing to build a network and identify funding opportunities for our “AMEAM Kit” (shortened title in Spanish) focused on young women in Cartagena and Quibdó. This kit is a series of methodologies, resources and tools designed to measure the personal and societal conditions that influence youth pregnancy--one of the greatest barriers for women's long-term empowerment and economic participation in society in Colombia. The kit is designed to create a new, destigmatized and data-driven dialogue around intersectional, root problems--and potentially taboo issues--that prevent women from participating as fully empowered citizens in society from a young age. The Kit is an open-source online platform to inform policy makers, local leaders, other decision makers, women and girls on how we can continue to measure and positively manage their futures to benefit all of society.

Stay tuned for more updates soon!

Links:

• Video Explaining Coomacovalle Project with The BC.Lab