Greetings Agents of Impact!
In today’s Brief:
- Doing more with less in blended finance
- Bio-based agriculture in Brazil
- Defending the freedom to invest at US SIF
Featured: Blended Finance
Blending finance, mobilizing capital and overcoming opposition for sustainable development and aid. As US senators in Washington, DC, debate just how much to cut from health and nutrition for the poor to subsidize tax cuts for the wealthy, international delegations are meeting in Spain to salvage efforts “to end poverty and hunger everywhere, leaving no one behind.” That commitment is part of the draft resolution, to be debated at the UN’s Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville this week, which reaffirms the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and a “strong commitment to multilateralism, international cooperation and global solidarity.” The global consensus stands in stark contrast to the direction in Washington, where the Trump administration in March formally rejected the SDGs, and this month withdrew from efforts in Seville to increase lending by development banks and restructure the debt burden on poor countries. The determination of delegates to close the stubborn $4 trillion annual financing gap for the global goals contrasts with cuts in official development assistance, or ODA, from major donors like Germany, France and the Netherlands, along with the US. The shuttering of USAID, and the broader pullback in foreign aid, has left a $70 billion annual hole in concessional finance, according to Boston Consulting Group, and is likely to contribute to hundreds of thousands of deaths by year end, according to another study. “This presents a massive challenge to blended finance – the use of public and philanthropic capital to mobilize private investment in sustainable development,” Joan Larrea of Convergence writes in a guest post on ImpactAlpha. “We should care about blended finance, because it is one of the only tools for channeling private capital to places that need it – a need that will only grow as aid declines.”
- Catalytic capital. The pullback in official development aid has created an even bigger opportunity, and need, for blended financing. “The market is proving it can grow with less – thanks in part to more strategic structuring and the presence of development finance institutions reducing the amount of ODA necessary to draw in private capital,” Larrea writes. Convergence’s new Scale Private Investment Mobilization Project highlights a dozen scalable models, including political risk insurance, first-loss guarantees and tiered funds that can “get more deals done efficiently.” For example, the Investment Mobilization Collaboration Arrangement, launched by Nordic donor countries, pools concessional funding to simplify and speed access for investment managers. “The clock is ticking,” Larrea said at last week’s US SIF conference (see Overheard, below). “No private equity fund is going to wait two years to get a deal done.”
- Bridge loans. Via its impact fund, Washington DC-based Open Road Impact has since 2020 loaned $54 million to 94 enterprises to keep nearly $550 million in committed funding on track through wars, pandemics and unexpected funding delays. The impact lender, now a nonprofit, has recently raised $35 million to continue the work. That includes this week’s $21 million first close on the nonprofit’s new evergreen vehicle, which will expand its bridge loans to cover working capital, nature-based solutions such as carbon credit projects, and reimbursable state and local government contracts. Family offices, including Ceniarth, A to Z Impact, and Stardust, backed the new initiative, and Blue Haven Initiative re-upped as a debt investor. The first-half fundraising haul also includes $14 million raised in March to extend zero-interest loans to USAID grant awardees that have already completed work and that the government is required to pay (see, “Open Road raises $14 million to bridge funding gaps for high-impact USAID projects”). Open Road got its first such loan repaid two weeks ago. More.
- Project pipeline. An “urgent and vetted list,” of defunded USAID projects can help funders identify opportunities that align with their missions and can have the most impact. The list, available at proimpact.tools, was developed by former USAID staffers at Project Resource Optimization, who analyzed thousands of USAID programs to identify the most cost-effective interventions at risk of shutting down. PRO has raised some $24 million to date to close the gap for 22 at-risk projects in 19 countries, PRO’s Sasha Gallant told ImpactAlpha. PRO, hosted at the Center for Global Development, operates a pooled fund for funders that don’t want to make individual grants. Funding has come mostly from family offices, philanthropic organizations and individual giving through donor-advised funds. The USAID shutdown, by the way, will cost the US an estimated $6 billion, according to a State Department memo reported by Bloomberg Government. More.
- Keep reading, “Blended finance at a crossroads: The fallout from shrinking aid and a shuttered USAID,” by Convergence’s Joan Larrea.
Dealflow: Sustainable Agriculture
Brazilian bio-based agricultural producer closes Series A round backed by Corteva. Brazilian startup Symbiomics makes biostimulants that boost agricultural productivity and crops’ resilience to pests and harsh environmental conditions. The startup closed its Series A round with an equity investment from Corteva Catalyst, the investment arm of DowDuPont spin-out Corteva Agriscience. Brazil-based Arar Capital, Cazanga, impact investment manager MOV Investimentos, and the Yield Lab Latam also invested in the round. Symbiomics is testing its products and plans to launch in the market within three years.
- Bio-based. Symbiomics uses gene editing and genome sequencing to produce microorganisms that can replace synthetic fertilizers. It is part of Brazil’s fast-growing bio-based agriculture sector, driven by the country’s push for sustainable farming and a spate of multimillion dollar deals. Israeli fertilizer and chemicals producer ICL acquired Brazil’s Nitro 1000 last year for $30 million. Belgian biotech firm Biobest acquired Biotro, a Brazilian producer of bio-based fertilizers and stress mitigation products, in a €532 million ($622 million) deal in 2023.
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Dealflow overflow. Investment news crossing our desks:
- Los Angeles-based Halogen Ventures raised $30 million to invest in female-founded childcare and youth services, edtech and family tech companies. (Halogen)
- Battery Smart snagged $21 million in Series B equity funding from Rising Tide Energy, ResponsAbility’s Asia Climate Fund, Acacia Inclusion and Ecosystem Integrity Fund, for its EV battery swapping service in India. (YourStory)
- Handspring, a New York-based company that offers virtual therapy for children, adolescents and young adults, clinched $12 million, backed by Cobalt Ventures, VamosVentures, Hyde Park Angels and other investors. (Handspring)
- Germany’s Climatiq scored €10 million ($12 million) in a Series A financing round, led by Munich-based venture fund Alstin Capital, for its decarbonization management software. (EU-Startups)
Overheard at the US SIF Forum
Defending the ‘freedom to invest’ in climate, equity and development. Sustainable investors had a lot to chew on at US SIF’s annual gathering in Washington, DC, last week, as senators took aim at some of their biggest priorities. Speakers at the gathering urged participants to protect decades of progress and double down on long-term solutions that center climate, inclusion and financial accountability (see the “Laying the groundwork for shared prosperity with spirited defense and small policy wins”). “We know that the current political climate has led some institutions to step back from conferences, from networks, from public engagement and commitments to sustainable investing,” said US SIF board chair Stephanie Cohn Rupp, who commended attendees for staying the course. “As investment professionals, we are stewards of capital. That now includes offering clients the freedom to invest not just in the world as it is, but in the world as it could be.”
- Proxy pressure. Republicans have gone after the proxy advisors like ISS and Glass Lewis that CalPERS and other large asset owners use to vote across thousands of holdings. On May 20, three GOP senators sent a letter to ISS and Glass Lewis raising concerns about their influence, which followed a House hearing, where Republicans pushed for stricter regulation on these firms. “I would characterize this as an all-out assault on proxy rights,” said Drew Hambly of CalPERS during a US SIF panel about the future of stewardship. The attacks have sparked a move on the part of asset managers like BlackRock to shift more proxy voting to shareholders, taking themselves off the hot seat. That extends to retail investors. Vanguard is piloting pass-through voting for retirement accounts. State Street is piloting a Proxy Voting Choice Program that allows investors to align their votes with specific values. Hundreds of investors and business leaders, state financial officers, labor unions and faith leaders have rallied around the Freedom to Invest campaign that defends the right of shareholders to consider material financial risks – from extreme weather to labor shortages – and opportunities, including the benefits of clean energy investments.
- Indigenous finance. Indigenous communities have long been overlooked by capital markets, despite their stewardship of most of the world’s biodiversity. US SIF’s new Sustainable Indigenous Finance Initiative offers tools and research to guide Indigenous-led investing. The initiative highlights effective investor engagement, analyzes legal and financial risks affecting Indigenous communities, and explores opportunities to integrate Indigenous knowledge into conservation strategies. “We’re outperforming everyone else by 400% with little to no resources,” said Fawn Sharp of the Quinault Indian Nations. “Imagine what indigenous peoples could do if we were fully resourced.”
- Keep reading, “Defending the ‘freedom to invest’ in climate, equity and development,” by Erik Stein. ImpactAlpha is a media partner of the US SIF Forum 2025.
Agents of Impact: Follow the Talent
Jitendra Balana, previously with Habitat for Humanity, joins the Asian Development Bank as a senior urban development specialist… Robert Smith, previously with accounting firm RSM US, joins Energy Impact Partners as finance manager… Boston Impact Initiative welcomes Meghan Burke as a marketing and development intern, Patricia Porekuu and Tsega Wondwossen as impact investing interns, and Rajat Kumar as an impact measurement and management intern.
Ownership Works adds Kaeli Rivera, a former credit strategies associate at KKR, as a senior associate of client advisory services… Pivotal Ventures is looking for a senior counsel in Seattle… The Rockefeller Foundation seeks a director of marketable investments in New York… Mission Driven Finance has an opening for an assistant vice president of external affairs… Packard Foundation is recruiting an investment analyst in Los Altos, Calif… FMO is hiring a blended finance legal counsel in The Hague.
New Majority Capital will host a webinar on entrepreneurship through business acquisition, Tuesday, July 8… Impact Capital Managers is surveying portfolio companies for an impact measurement and management research project. The deadline to participate is Tuesday, July 1.
👉 View (or post) impact investing jobs on ImpactAlpha’s Career Hub.
Thank you for your impact!
– June 30, 2025
