The Global Exchange for Social Investment (GEXSI), piloted in 2002, went operational in January this year and has now established offices in Berlin and London. Created by a consortium of leading global players in the non-profit, public and business sectors, GEXSI aims to promote market-based social investment and development entrepreneurship, thereby contributing towards the poverty reduction targets set by the UN Millennium Development Goals for 2015.

GEXSI plans to achieve this goal by providing brokerage and quality assurance services to investors, connecting private financiers both with development entrepreneurs and with publicly financed projects. The GEXSI Exchange can already offer investors a portfolio of investment choices, along with best practice advice, rating and quality assurance. GEXSI’s priorities over the past few months have been developing its portfolio and contacting potential investors.

On the investment side, GEXSI has already been able to provide advisory services for social investors in India, Russia, Germany and the UK, and it’s currently performing this role in Madagascar, Libya and Brazil. Moreover, GEXSI is in ongoing discussions with a number of large international banks, private equity firms, multinational corporations and bilateral development agencies to explore the possibilities of offering them services.

On the entrepreneur side, GEXSI has created a database that allows access to a carefully selected group of over 200 highly qualified entrepreneurial organizations. GEXSI has contracted ACCESS to develop and test a self-profiling template for development entrepreneurs in order to systematize the periodic re-screening of its portfolio.

GEXSI is sponsored by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Deutsche Bank, Foursome Investments, and the Open Society Institute. The German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development BMZ/GTZ has entered into a strategic partnership with GEXSI to further develop its Public Private Partnerships Program.