How Zipline raised $190 million to build a global drone logistics network, starting in Rwanda and Ghana

Zipline last month raised $120 million from a roster of investors that includes TPG Growth’s Rise Fund, investment firm Baillie Gifford, Temasek, Goldman Sachs, and Toyota Tsusho Corporation. That comes on top of a $70 million raise last year and brings Zipline’s total fundraising to $225 million.

Al Gore’s Generation Investment raises $1 billion to invest in “sustainability revolution”

A spate of announcements make for a trend in private equity: bigger raises for “impact” and “sustainability” funds, and bigger ticket sizes for deals explicitly targeting global challenges.

Equity crowdfunding changes who gets financed

Early indications suggest equity crowdfunding has the potential to help more women and minority entrepreneurs — often overlooked by traditional funding sources — access funding.

Ford Foundation: Spotting mispriced risks in affordable housing, quality jobs and diverse managers

“We’re trying to prove that it is possible to generate both financial returns that would be appropriate for endowments….and social returns,” says Roy Swan, who lead’s Ford’s mission-related investing effort, in the latest episode of the series.

Zipline’s drone fleet, Haiti’s off-grid energy fund, learning the trades, Chief Opportunity Zone Officers, scouting impact startups at SEED

Zipline’s drone fleet, Haiti’s off-grid energy fund, learning the trades, Chief Opportunity Zone Officers, scouting impact startups at SEED

Interplay Learning raises $5.5 million to train blue-collar workers

S3 Ventures led the firm's $5.5 million Series A equity round. Shasta Ventures, Sierra Ventures, Holt Ventures, Wild Basin Investments, and Shelter Capital Partners also participated.

Rockefeller Foundation seeds city-level support for Opportunity Zones

Rockefeller will provide funding and human resources to six cities, beginning with Newark, over two years to support city-level Chief Opportunity Zone Officers, as well as community engagement specialists.

Scouting the impact ecosystem at SEED

Investors, entrepreneurs, educators, consultants, and others up mingled over chicken pupusas and mushroom onigiri at SEED, a San Francisco conference for early-stage social ventures.

Bamboo Capital picked to manage $17 million renewable energy fund in Haiti

Bamboo Capital, based in Geneva, Switzerland with $290 million under management, will invest the debt and equity in companies that deliver renewable, off-grid energy, including mini grids and pay-as-you-go solar products.