We’ve recently discussed the latest improvements and inventions in the world of assistive technology. This post is an update on what’s been going on nationally globally in the past month.

Although there were no major breakthroughs recently in terms of new devices or technologies coming to the market the related studies and events held worldwide indicate that we’re steadily embracing the need and the marketing opportunities for assistive technologies.

Assistive tech market is growing nationally

The “Disabled and Elderly Assistive Technologies” report released by Research and Markets on May 26, 2016, gave an overview of the current markets and trends for disabled and elderly assistive technologies, including voice synthesizers, Braille readers, and wireless monitoring devices.

Just like “impact investing,” “social entrepreneurship” has been a buzz term for a while, along with “social responsibility,” “corporate sustainability,” and the concept of B Corporation.

Investing in social entrepreneurship is not just for the public problem-solvers of Silicon Valley who want to do good while turning a profit. Sure, Uber gives rides to jurors in Michigan and Airbnb is working with Portland and San Francisco on streamlining disaster response in case of an earthquake or other emergency, but some argue that every business should be socially conscious.

We’ve all heard such terms as “social entrepreneurship,” “conscious capitalism,” and “social investment.” Impact investing is part of the same philosophy, meaning that the process provides money for companies and projects meant to benefit the society and the environment — with financial gain.

It’s not cut from the same cloth as other types of investment, but rather serves as an alternative — with its own set of merits, hurdles and how-to guidelines — that is making great strides toward mainstream and has the ability to positively influence human progress. It is also changing the landscape of business practices and philanthropy as we know it.

What is impact investing?

“Impact investing is a spectrum. It means different things to different people,” notes Tony Abraham in his article for Technical.ly Baltimore. The articles praises Brian Trelstad’s (who is partner at Bridges Ventures, a fund manager company specializing in sustainable and impact investing) January 2016 guide in Harvard Business Review on the kinds of impact investing, but still calls it a “wonky breakdown.”