Svasti Microfinance raises $4.8 million to extend financial services to low-income Indians
ImpactAlpha Editor
Dennis Price
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Billions of low and middle-income consumers represent trillions in impact investment opportunities. Off-grid solar companies were once dependent on grants and highly-concessional capital to prove that low-income and energy-disconnected households make good and reliable business customers. Now, early movers like Sun King, Zola and d.light are securitizing customer payments – and banks and institutional investors are clamoring to invest. “We see a lot of appetite from investors for these kinds of assets,” says Borja Garcia Fernandez of Citi Social Finance, who will join tomorrow’s Agents of Impact Call to help investors seize such opportunities (see, “A cheat sheet to ‘inclusive business’ investing”). Citi last year structured a $130 million securitized loan for Sun King, with backing from British International Investment and Stanbic Bank Kenya. Opportunities to invest in the global mass market are indeed massive, Garcia Fernandez says, in energy services, financial services, education, healthcare, housing, agriculture, logistics and other sectors.
KETOS clinches $10 million for ‘water data as a service.’ Aging global water infrastructure threatens water quality. San Francisco-based KETOS makes AI-powered water testing and monitoring systems to provide utilities and other water providers real-time intelligence on water quality and usage. Sensors monitor water for lead, alkalinity, mercury and more than two dozen other parameters. Dan Levine of venture capital investor Tenfore Holdings, which led KETOS’ $10 million equity financing, touted the company’s “efficient turnkey solutions.” KETOS monitors over 45 billion gallons of water, and is conducting research to address PFAS, cancer-linked “forever chemicals” that the US Environmental Protection Agency will begin regulating next month.
Impact products aim to shift portfolio allocations in bonds, private credit and cash. Short duration green bonds. Private credit for regenerative agriculture. Cash management that can accelerate lending for climate-smart community infrastructure. Financial service providers are rolling out investment products for impact investors in asset classes far afield from venture capital and private equity, which have typically been limited to high-net worth individuals and institutional investors. What new impact products are you seeing? Drop us a note.
Pacific Community Ventures names Aisha Benson of Nonprofit Finance Fund, Brian Vo of Connect Humanity, and Leslie Lindo of Candide Group to its board of directors… Shareholder Rights Group is looking for a project director... The Sorenson Impact Institute is recruiting a venture capital and impact investing director in Salt Lake City.
In New Orleans, the city’s housing finance agency has become a “green bank” to underwrite community solar, water treatment projects, and resilience hubs. …
Private equity fund managers looking for value-creation opportunities are increasingly finding their way to impact themes like climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture, employee engagement …
ImpactAlpha, January 19 – Impact investors have for years debated the need for embedded structures to incentivize impact outcomes for impact fund managers. …
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 15 – The $4 trillion muni market is so big that small movements in the pricing of bonds can mean shifts of …
ImpactAlpha, November 17 – That women are more adversely affected by climate change is well established (in impact and development circles at any …
This week’s Agents of Impact Call continued a tradition started nearly a decade ago by Fran Seegull of the US Impact Investing Alliance …
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 29 – It’s the age-old struggle: labor vs capital, workers vs. owners. But what happens when employees get a stake in the …
ImpactAlpha, August 25 – A growing ecosystem of Native-led entrepreneurs, lenders, financial intermediaries and nonprofits are driving Indian Country’s emerging economy. “It’s kind …
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 22 – Even as some politicians ramp up anti-ESG rhetoric, asset owners and allocators are signaling an appetite for investment strategies …
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 31 – The search for a universal metric to guide investments in racial justice and equitable wealth-building was…aspirational. “We are still a …
ImpactAlpha. Feb. 24 – “A labor market where workers have more opportunities and have more power and have more leverage is a good …
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 9 – The fatal beating by police of Tyre Nichols in Memphis last month exposed risks to the city’s finances that have …
Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: Biden’s new Chinese tariffs and how they impact …
Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: The divergent vibes at Mission Investors Exchange and …
Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: The rebound in blended finance; how Big Tech …
When one door closes, another one opens. For Zarû Systems’ Loren Taylor, that second door may open onto a self-contained modular vertical farm …
🎧 This Week in Impact. Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: federal funds to …
The era of cake-ism (as in having it and eating it, too) has come to an inglorious end. “I think we’re in an …
Host Brian Walsh dives into ImpactAlpha’s top stories, with commentary from editor David Bank. Up this week: Tracking the players building the US’s …
ImpactAlpha podcasts are back! We’re pleased to share our revamped interview show, Agents of Impact, hosted by David Bank and Sherrell Dorsey, founder …
Impact(ed) is part of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network, a set of shows hosted and produced by leading voices in impact and sustainable investing, …
On This Week in Impact, Brian Walsh dives into some of ImpactAlpha’s top stories, with commentary from editor David Bank. This week: the …
Venture capital invested nearly $500 billion in 2022. By investing into startups seeking transformational scale, successful venture-backed companies have the potential to change …
Around the world, as many as 214 million workers live in poverty, unable to meet their families’ basic needs because their wages fall …
The fight against climate change relies on global supply chains. Clean energy technologies are exceptionally materials-intensive, the supply of which relies on the …
The global challenges of poverty and income inequality can often seem insurmountable. But investors and companies can help to tackle these critical issues, …
Like the 1.5°C goal for climate, responsible tech needs a clear North Star to guide investments and innovations. To build an ecosystem of …
U.S. impact investors, we have a problem. In truth, there are several, and they all center around just how challenging it is to …
Achieving net-zero emissions requires transitioning from a fossil-fueled economy to one energized through metals and materials. Nearly $2 trillion in investment in mining …
In the dynamic economic environment of the Asia-Pacific region, a significant investment opportunity is emerging: institutional investors’ capacity to champion gender equality through …
This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in impact investing. …
This series of guest posts is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange to present new ideas and perspectives in …
Editor’s note: This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in …
Latin America is witnessing a transformative trend in family office philanthropy: the shift towards impact investing. Traditionally, philanthropy in the region has been …
Rural economic development is a complex issue, including in Colombia. Rural regions are often culturally diverse areas, but have limited access to quality …
Billions of low and middle-income consumers represent trillions in impact investment opportunities. Off-grid solar companies were once dependent on grants and highly-concessional capital to prove that low-income and energy-disconnected households make good and reliable business customers. Now, early movers like Sun King, Zola and d.light are securitizing customer payments – and banks and institutional investors are clamoring to invest. “We see a lot of appetite from investors for these kinds of assets,” says Borja Garcia Fernandez of Citi Social Finance, who will join tomorrow’s Agents of Impact Call to help investors seize such opportunities (see, “A cheat sheet to ‘inclusive business’ investing”). Citi last year structured a $130 million securitized loan for Sun King, with backing from British International Investment and Stanbic Bank Kenya. Opportunities to invest in the global mass market are indeed massive, Garcia Fernandez says, in energy services, financial services, education, healthcare, housing, agriculture, logistics and other sectors.
KETOS clinches $10 million for ‘water data as a service.’ Aging global water infrastructure threatens water quality. San Francisco-based KETOS makes AI-powered water testing and monitoring systems to provide utilities and other water providers real-time intelligence on water quality and usage. Sensors monitor water for lead, alkalinity, mercury and more than two dozen other parameters. Dan Levine of venture capital investor Tenfore Holdings, which led KETOS’ $10 million equity financing, touted the company’s “efficient turnkey solutions.” KETOS monitors over 45 billion gallons of water, and is conducting research to address PFAS, cancer-linked “forever chemicals” that the US Environmental Protection Agency will begin regulating next month.
Impact products aim to shift portfolio allocations in bonds, private credit and cash. Short duration green bonds. Private credit for regenerative agriculture. Cash management that can accelerate lending for climate-smart community infrastructure. Financial service providers are rolling out investment products for impact investors in asset classes far afield from venture capital and private equity, which have typically been limited to high-net worth individuals and institutional investors. What new impact products are you seeing? Drop us a note.
Pacific Community Ventures names Aisha Benson of Nonprofit Finance Fund, Brian Vo of Connect Humanity, and Leslie Lindo of Candide Group to its board of directors… Shareholder Rights Group is looking for a project director... The Sorenson Impact Institute is recruiting a venture capital and impact investing director in Salt Lake City.
In New Orleans, the city’s housing finance agency has become a “green bank” to underwrite community solar, water treatment projects, and resilience hubs. …
Private equity fund managers looking for value-creation opportunities are increasingly finding their way to impact themes like climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture, employee engagement …
ImpactAlpha, January 19 – Impact investors have for years debated the need for embedded structures to incentivize impact outcomes for impact fund managers. …
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 15 – The $4 trillion muni market is so big that small movements in the pricing of bonds can mean shifts of …
ImpactAlpha, November 17 – That women are more adversely affected by climate change is well established (in impact and development circles at any …
This week’s Agents of Impact Call continued a tradition started nearly a decade ago by Fran Seegull of the US Impact Investing Alliance …
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 29 – It’s the age-old struggle: labor vs capital, workers vs. owners. But what happens when employees get a stake in the …
ImpactAlpha, August 25 – A growing ecosystem of Native-led entrepreneurs, lenders, financial intermediaries and nonprofits are driving Indian Country’s emerging economy. “It’s kind …
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 22 – Even as some politicians ramp up anti-ESG rhetoric, asset owners and allocators are signaling an appetite for investment strategies …
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 31 – The search for a universal metric to guide investments in racial justice and equitable wealth-building was…aspirational. “We are still a …
ImpactAlpha. Feb. 24 – “A labor market where workers have more opportunities and have more power and have more leverage is a good …
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 9 – The fatal beating by police of Tyre Nichols in Memphis last month exposed risks to the city’s finances that have …
Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: Biden’s new Chinese tariffs and how they impact …
Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: The divergent vibes at Mission Investors Exchange and …
Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: The rebound in blended finance; how Big Tech …
When one door closes, another one opens. For Zarû Systems’ Loren Taylor, that second door may open onto a self-contained modular vertical farm …
🎧 This Week in Impact. Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: federal funds to …
The era of cake-ism (as in having it and eating it, too) has come to an inglorious end. “I think we’re in an …
Host Brian Walsh dives into ImpactAlpha’s top stories, with commentary from editor David Bank. Up this week: Tracking the players building the US’s …
ImpactAlpha podcasts are back! We’re pleased to share our revamped interview show, Agents of Impact, hosted by David Bank and Sherrell Dorsey, founder …
Impact(ed) is part of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network, a set of shows hosted and produced by leading voices in impact and sustainable investing, …
On This Week in Impact, Brian Walsh dives into some of ImpactAlpha’s top stories, with commentary from editor David Bank. This week: the …
Venture capital invested nearly $500 billion in 2022. By investing into startups seeking transformational scale, successful venture-backed companies have the potential to change …
Around the world, as many as 214 million workers live in poverty, unable to meet their families’ basic needs because their wages fall …
The fight against climate change relies on global supply chains. Clean energy technologies are exceptionally materials-intensive, the supply of which relies on the …
The global challenges of poverty and income inequality can often seem insurmountable. But investors and companies can help to tackle these critical issues, …
Like the 1.5°C goal for climate, responsible tech needs a clear North Star to guide investments and innovations. To build an ecosystem of …
U.S. impact investors, we have a problem. In truth, there are several, and they all center around just how challenging it is to …
Achieving net-zero emissions requires transitioning from a fossil-fueled economy to one energized through metals and materials. Nearly $2 trillion in investment in mining …
In the dynamic economic environment of the Asia-Pacific region, a significant investment opportunity is emerging: institutional investors’ capacity to champion gender equality through …
This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in impact investing. …
This series of guest posts is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange to present new ideas and perspectives in …
Editor’s note: This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in …
Latin America is witnessing a transformative trend in family office philanthropy: the shift towards impact investing. Traditionally, philanthropy in the region has been …
Rural economic development is a complex issue, including in Colombia. Rural regions are often culturally diverse areas, but have limited access to quality …
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