October 26, 2021
The Brief - Daily Insights into Impact Investing
Featured: Catalytic Capital
Off-takes, guarantees and blended finance: A lexicon of catalytic climate capital. Investments in climate solutions are crucial, but purchase orders can be transformative. Corporations are increasingly using their purchasing power to green their operations and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. Hertz’s order of 100,000 Tesla Model 3s to revamp its rental fleet underscored the power of corporate purchase agreements to drive adoption of new technologies. The $4 billion order was an unmistakable sign that the proverbial hockey stick in electric vehicle adoption is at hand. Hertz launched in 1918 with a dozen Ford Model Ts.
Dealflow: Climate Tech
Investors ramp up climate tech investments ahead of COP26. Venture capital investors poured $16 billion into climate tech startups in the first half of 2021. They’re padding the total ahead of next week’s COP26 global climate summit. Boston-based Via Separations raised $38 million to electrify and decarbonize high-emission industrial processes. The MIT spin-off replaces fossil-fuel energy to separate chemicals, pulp and petrochemicals. Texas-based NGP ETP led the Series B round, with 2040 Foundation and existing investors including Prime Impact, Safar Partners and The Engine.
Signals: Capitalism Reimagined
Expanding employee ownership to empower workers and strengthen small businesses. Impact investors are giving small businesses a boost with a powerful tool that can increase the wealth of employees, their families and their communities: employee ownership. The Seed Commons, a community wealth cooperative, has invested nearly $8 million in local communities. Apis & Heritage Capital Partners in June raised $30 million for its Legacy Fund I to transition businesses with large workforces of color into employee-owned businesses. Longtime investors Shared Capital Cooperative and The Cooperative Fund of New England provide critical financial services to local employee-owned businesses (for context, see “These 12 impact funds are catalyzing transitions to employee ownership”). “It’s time for investors at all levels – from private philanthropy to institutional investors – to join us in this work,” writes Diane Ives, who leads the employee ownership strategy at the Kendeda Fund, in a guest post. “Systemic change only happens at scale.”
Agents of Impact: Follow the Talent
Perry Clarkson is promoted to principal at SJF Ventures… Kristin Ihnchak, ex- of Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, joins Greenprint Partners as director of equitable planning… RSF Social Finance adds five new staff members: Ali Robinson and Michael Jones join as senior relationship managers in lending; Dana Stranz comes on as director of credit and portfolio management; Ellie Pickrell joins as relationship manager in lending; and Vic McKellips as client development manager.
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Podcasts | October 22, 2021
Impact Briefing: SOCAP Week
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 22 – On this week’s podcast, ImpactAlpha’s David Bank joins host Monique Aiken to pick out highlights from SOCAP21 and from Monique’s …
Dawn Lippert, Elemental Excelerator and Earthshot Ventures
Agents of Impact | October 22, 2021
Dawn Lippert, Elemental Excelerator and Earthshot Ventures
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 22 – Dawn Lippert is closing capital gaps at both ends of climate tech funding. For more than a decade with Elemental …
Joe Scantlebury, CEO of Living Cities
The Reconstruction | October 21, 2021
Living Cities’ Joe Scantlebury sees cities as the template for an inclusive America
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 21 – U.S. President Joe Biden wants to ‘build back better.’ Joe Scantlebury is out to make sure the rebuild includes all …
Editor's Picks
Podcasts | October 22, 2021
Impact Briefing: SOCAP Week
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 22 – On this week’s podcast, ImpactAlpha’s David Bank joins host Monique Aiken to pick out highlights from SOCAP21 and from Monique’s …
Dawn Lippert, Elemental Excelerator and Earthshot Ventures
Agents of Impact | October 22, 2021
Dawn Lippert, Elemental Excelerator and Earthshot Ventures
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 22 – Dawn Lippert is closing capital gaps at both ends of climate tech funding. For more than a decade with Elemental …
Joe Scantlebury, CEO of Living Cities
The Reconstruction | October 21, 2021
Living Cities’ Joe Scantlebury sees cities as the template for an inclusive America
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 21 – U.S. President Joe Biden wants to ‘build back better.’ Joe Scantlebury is out to make sure the rebuild includes all …
Top Stories
Expanding employee ownership to empower workers and strengthen small businesses
Capitalism Reimagined | October 26, 2021
Offtakes, guarantees and blended finance: A lexicon of catalytic climate finance
Catalytic Capital | October 26, 2021
Investors ramp up climate tech investments ahead of COP26
Climate and Clean Tech | October 26, 2021
Builders Fund clinches $50 million to invest in growth-stage impact companies
Dealflow | October 26, 2021
How the pandemic is propelling innovators to bridge healthcare gaps in emerging markets
Investing in Health | October 25, 2021
Singapore’s H3 Dynamics closes $26 million for hydrogen-powered air cargo and logistics
Asia | October 25, 2021
CDC Group invests $70 million in BP-backed climate fund for India
2030 Finance | October 25, 2021
Living Cities’ Joe Scantlebury sees cities as the template for an inclusive America
Catalytic Capital | October 21, 2021
$100 billion is just a down payment on financing the climate transition in developing nations
Catalytic Capital | October 21, 2021
Republic raises $150 million to ride the growth of equity crowdfunding
Dealflow | October 21, 2021
SMBX raises $11.5 million to democratize small business lending
Dealflow | October 21, 2021
Cameroon’s Ejara raises $2 million for impact-focused crypto
Africa | October 21, 2021
Capitalism Reimagined
Photo by Guilherme Cunha on Unsplash
Capitalism Reimagined | October 26, 2021
Expanding employee ownership to empower workers and strengthen small businesses
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has made the already unpredictable futures of working and middle class Americans even more fragile. Impact investors are turning …
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Capitalism Reimagined | October 12, 2021
Omidyar Network commits $10 million in grants for reimagining capitalism
ImpactAlpha, October 12 — Markets can be, and are being, reshaped by movements, policies and investments. Omidyar Network, which has spun off a …
Troop cofounders Seb Jarquin, Felix Tabary and Zen Yui in Brooklyn
Stewardship | October 5, 2021
Retail investors get new tools to flex their collective power as engaged shareholders
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 5 – When online investors drove up the shares of GameStop in January, stock market watchers were captivated by the drama, …
Photo by william william on Unsplash
Capitalism Reimagined | September 17, 2021
The Call No. 30: Universal owners aim to turn shareholder power into real-world impact
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 16 – Universal owners are leaning into their power as long-term stewards of capital. Asset owners and managers are deploying a flurry …
Photo by Obi Onyeador on Unsplash
Capitalism Reimagined | September 14, 2021
Disinformation poses systemic risks – so universal owners are pressing media companies to renounce it
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 14 – Talk about negative externalities. False information intended to mislead viewers on climate, COVID-19, racial justice and other issues may drive …
Conservation | September 14, 2021
Move over SPACs. Here come NACs to turn ecosystem services into tradable assets
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 14 – The New York Stock Exchange is seeking approval for a new kind of publicly traded asset based on the …
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Agents of Impact | September 10, 2021
Universal Owners
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 10 – When you own everything, you don’t want everything to go to hell. That’s the simple concept behind the emerging doctrine …
Photo credit: Getty
Climate Finance | September 9, 2021
Letter from New Orleans: Climate risk is business risk, and opportunity
Consider these statements: “Climate Risk Is Investment Risk.” “The climate crisis poses enormous financial risk to investment managers, asset owners, and businesses. These …
Stewardship | September 8, 2021
Companies scramble to get on the right side of Engine No. 1 – and of history
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 8 – This year, companies are taking the call when Engine No. 1 reaches out. Chevron Corp., the world’s No. 8 …
Capitalism Reimagined | September 2, 2021
Chasing alpha is fine, but long-term returns for universal owners require beta stewardship
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 2 – We’re all universal owners now. Pension and sovereign wealth funds that “own the market” have long known they can’t diversify …
Capitalism Reimagined | September 1, 2021
RSVP for Call No. 30: Capitalism Reimagined
If you thought this spring’s ExxonMobil proxy fight was dramatic, just wait ’til next year. Join Engine No. 1’s Michael O’Leary, The Shareholder Commons’ Sara Murphy, Illinois …
Capitalism Reimagined | August 26, 2021
UK’s Nick Hurd on the “window of opportunity” for a green and inclusive transition
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 26 – Nick Hurd, the former MP and government minister, is heading the Impact Taskforce, created under the U.K.’s presidency of the …
The Reconstruction
Photo by Guilherme Cunha on Unsplash
Capitalism Reimagined | October 26, 2021
Expanding employee ownership to empower workers and strengthen small businesses
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has made the already unpredictable futures of working and middle class Americans even more fragile. Impact investors are turning …
Dawn Lippert, Elemental Excelerator and Earthshot Ventures
Agents of Impact | October 22, 2021
Dawn Lippert, Elemental Excelerator and Earthshot Ventures
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 22 – Dawn Lippert is closing capital gaps at both ends of climate tech funding. For more than a decade with Elemental …
Joe Scantlebury, CEO of Living Cities
The Reconstruction | October 21, 2021
Living Cities’ Joe Scantlebury sees cities as the template for an inclusive America
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 21 – U.S. President Joe Biden wants to ‘build back better.’ Joe Scantlebury is out to make sure the rebuild includes all …
Screenshot from Blue Bayou | Image courtesy of Entertainment One Ltd.
Creative Economy | October 19, 2021
New narratives for inclusion and investment at SOCAP21
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 19 – The arrival of Gen Z is upending culture and commerce. “They have very strong values around inclusivity,” said Marcy Ventures’ …
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash
The Reconstruction | October 19, 2021
Echoing Green and Goldman Sachs team to back Black women social innovators
ImpactAlpha, October 19 — New York-based Echoing Green will receive $1 million to create fellowships (applications are open) for Black women social entrepreneurs …
Vanessa Roanhorse
The Reconstruction | October 18, 2021
The Reconstruction: The Indigenous wisdom of lending based on character, not collateral (podcast)
ImpactAlpha October 18 – Current systems of credit are not working. Indigenous wisdom points to more promising approaches: deep local engagement and character-based …
The Reconstruction | October 15, 2021
Call No. 32: Black tech, green solutions for the planet and the people (video)
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 15 – Invest in climate action for the planet – and the people. “Climate change is a public health issue, it’s a …
Kenyan farmer | Photo credit: Jen Watson
Catalytic Capital | October 13, 2021
Researchers ready a dozen-plus deep dives into the complexities of catalytic capital
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 13 – Aceli Africa provides a first-loss cushion of up to 8% to lenders as a way to spur them to back …
New York, NY
The Reconstruction | October 13, 2021
Racial equity planks in a new Community Reinvestment Act can expand the American Dream
When most Americans think about civil rights, we think about the violence perpetrated upon Black Americans and the nonviolence movement that finally helped …
Photo credit: The Motley Fool.
Dealflow | October 13, 2021
Center Creek impact fund raises $30 million to invest in affordable single-family homes
ImpactAlpha, October 13 — Single-family properties represent more than half of all rental housing in the country. Nearly two-thirds of Black and Hispanic …
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Podcasts | October 8, 2021
Impact Briefing: Covering Black tech ecosystems, with The Plug’s Sherrell Dorsey (podcast)
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 8 – On this week’s podcast, The Plug’s Sherrell Dorsey joins host Monique Aiken to talk Black tech ecosystems, the origins of …
Nwamaka Agbo, Kataly Foundation | Photo by Bethanie Hines
The Reconstruction | October 4, 2021
Restorative economics: Creating community benefits by shifting who owns and controls assets (podcast)
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 4 – Black, Indigenous and other communities of color are often told that economic development projects will bring jobs and services to …
Catalytic Capital
Catalytic Capital | October 26, 2021
Offtakes, guarantees and blended finance: A lexicon of catalytic climate finance
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 26 – Investments in climate solutions are crucial. Purchase orders can be transformative. Hertz’s order of 100,000 Model 3s underscored the …
Joe Scantlebury, CEO of Living Cities
The Reconstruction | October 21, 2021
Living Cities’ Joe Scantlebury sees cities as the template for an inclusive America
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 21 – U.S. President Joe Biden wants to ‘build back better.’ Joe Scantlebury is out to make sure the rebuild includes all …
Catalytic Capital | October 21, 2021
$100 billion is just a down payment on financing the climate transition in developing nations
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 21 – For want of a nail…the kingdom was lost, as the old proverb goes. For want of $100 billion, a …
Catalytic Capital | October 20, 2021
Deploying catalytic capital to bridge financing gaps for climate action
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 20 – Climate finance is on a roll. Climate finance is stuck. Both statements are true. Investors have poured record sums …
Catalytic Capital | October 20, 2021
MacArthur’s Debra Schwartz on catalytic capital, cost curves and contributing to solutions (podcast)
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 20 – The readers have spoken. When ImpactAlpha asked subscribers last year to rank the topics where they wanted to see more …
Kenyan farmer | Photo credit: Jen Watson
Catalytic Capital | October 13, 2021
Researchers ready a dozen-plus deep dives into the complexities of catalytic capital
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 13 – Aceli Africa provides a first-loss cushion of up to 8% to lenders as a way to spur them to back …
Catalytic Capital | October 13, 2021
Gathering evidence to put catalytic capital to its highest and best use
Disclosure: Catalytic Capital Consortium (C3) sponsors ImpactAlpha’s coverage of catalytic capital. Today, we are excited to announce 14 new awardees of the Catalytic …
Photo credit: TechFinancials.
Catalytic Capital | October 13, 2021
Lendable taps European alternative structure for $100 million emerging markets fund
ImpactAlpha, October 13 — Lendable provides debt financing for fintechs that help mostly low-income and largely women borrowers increase their incomes or reduce …
Accra, Ghana
Catalytic Capital | October 6, 2021
National advisory boards target local pension funds for small-business financing in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, October 6 – Impact investing in emerging markets has long been dominated by international development finance institutions. The national advisory boards, or …
Photo: Raad Adayleh, AP
Refugee Lens Investing | October 6, 2021
Refugee bond attracts $14 million to support displaced people in Jordan and Lebanon
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 6 – The Syrian conflict has forced 6.6 million people to flee the country; 80% have settled in neighboring countries. The …
Lagos State, Nigeria | Photo by Shyne Bellz
Climate and Clean Tech | September 23, 2021
Africa’s eco start-ups seek to turn the tide on plastic pollution
When a problem is on your doorstep, it’s only natural to be compelled to find a solution. Over the past years, demand for …
Climate Finance | September 21, 2021
On climate action, private investors urge governments to jump in (the water is warming)
ImpactAlpha. Sept. 21 – Many government leaders are being coy about their climate ambitions. Private funders are stepping up theirs. “My message here …
Agents of Impact
Bold leaders. Taking action. Driving impact.