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Global Fund for Coral Reefs blends opportunity and urgency to finance ocean resilience (Q&A). Reefs are investable. As the value of the world’s disappearing coral reefs becomes abundantly clear, so too does the value of techniques and initiatives that show promise in regenerating the precious ecosystems. Can private equity deliver? “The blue economy is a huge market and there are investment opportunities,” says Dale Galvin, who manages the Global Fund for Coral Reefs for Connecticut-based Pegasus Capital Advisors. The fund is building a portfolio of 15 to 20 investments in wild-caught fisheries, aquaculture, hospitality and the “circular economy” to protect vulnerable coral reefs and coastal communities, particularly in the Global South. Galvin was an early investor in the ocean economy with the Meloy Fund, a sustainable fisheries fund he launched in 2017. “We need to change the trajectory of how companies and businesses and communities and governments interact with the oceans in a much more sustainable way,” Galvin says in an interview with ImpactAlpha.
Liberty Notes let retail investors invest in Connecticut’s green transition. The Connecticut Green Bank, the first green bank in the US, has enabled $2.4 billion in investments for the green transition since 2011. It’s now in the market with a one-year note that allows anyone with as little as $100 to invest to support, and make a return, on Connecticut’s green energy initiatives. The “Liberty Notes” will help the state’s small businesses secure no-interest loans to conduct energy audits and make lighting, heating and cooling, and other upgrades. The notes offer interest of 5.25%, or 5.5% for recurring investors. The Connecticut Green Bank’s notes will be open for investment on Raise Green through May 16. They’re being featured as part of ImpactAlpha’s collaboration with HIP Investor to highlight municipal bonds with environmental or social significance.
A guide to investing in better livelihoods and expanded access for low-income people. Low-income, emerging market households collectively spend trillions of dollars per year on essential goods and services. What they spend on is often a function of what’s available, rather than what best serves them. The International Finance Corp., British International Investment and FMO have developed the “Inclusive Business Investing Guide” to help investors identify and allocate capital to businesses generating positive outcomes for underserved households. “Inclusive business investing offers a way to improve livelihoods for low-income people and expand access to essential, affordable goods and services on a scalable, commercially-viable basis,” the authors write in a guest post on ImpactAlpha.
The next frontier of private equity value creation: Better jobs for frontline workers. Truck drivers. Care givers. Sales teams. Workers on the frontlines of business interactions are key drivers of value and profitability. Improving the quality of their jobs can reduce turnover, boost engagement, and decrease burnout. By delivering better jobs down the organizational chart, some private equity firms are unlocking superior returns, says Ellen Frank-Miller of the Workforce and Organizational Research Center, or WORC. In “Thinking beyond the C-suite pays off,” the center examines the role of human capital management in value creation at private equity firms with more than $5 billion in assets. Too often firms don’t have the time, money or energy to focus on quality jobs for frontline workers, Frank-Miller says. Instead, they focus on CEO recruitment and perhaps hold leadership accountable for workers’ satisfaction. “There's so much untapped value being left on the table,” Frank-Miller tells ImpactAlpha.
🔌 On tomorrow’s Plugged In: Better, cheaper and faster climate impact. Climate volatility is here. Stonly Blue of Third Sphere looks for investments that foster climate resilience alongside the deployment of hardware-based climate solutions. Blue joins Plugged In host Sherrell Dorsey to share where he is finding deals and opportunities for climate impact, live on LinkedIn, tomorrow, May 15, at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm London. RSVP.
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: 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 …
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 29 – “Net zero is not going to get us anywhere,” Ariane Mahler of Veridien Global Investors told David Bank of ImpactAlpha …
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 …
This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in impact investing. …
This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in impact investing. …
“We’re a narrative-change studio in a town that is in a time of flux,” director Ava DuVernay told Ford Foundation’s Roy Swan at …
The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is seeding green projects in primarily low-income communities by sending $27 billion through a network of nonprofit lenders. …
The winner of a contest to sharpen the impact lens of students through deal sourcing and diligence was a team from London Business …
ImpactAlpha, January 26 – Ines Schiller got the idea for seaweed tampons while training in South Africa to be a marine environment guide. …
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 23 – Bold leaders. Taking action. Driving impact. That’s the tagline we’ve used for the dozens of Agents of Impact we profiled …
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. It is republished …
Sustainable development? “More of the same.” Forest carbon credits? “Outside-imposed extraction.” Impact investing? “Are we really going far enough? Or are we just …
ImpactAlpha, September 8 — In 15 years in impact investing, Christopher Bentley noticed “a lot of for-profit companies focused on the criminal justice …
ImpactAlpha, August 18 – Monica Brand Engel’s advice to impact investors is this: Imperfect execution is ok. “Authentic impact is about accepting imperfection …
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 11 – Samuel Yeboah isn’t discouraged by the economic storm battering his home country of Ghana and many other emerging economies. “As …
Many investors look at promising new climate solutions and say, ‘Great, come back to me when you have traction.’ Azolla Ventures is more …
ImpactAlpha, June 30 – The first thing that Katherine Stodulka does when you meet her is suggest you meet someone else. Then she’ll …
Global Fund for Coral Reefs blends opportunity and urgency to finance ocean resilience (Q&A). Reefs are investable. As the value of the world’s disappearing coral reefs becomes abundantly clear, so too does the value of techniques and initiatives that show promise in regenerating the precious ecosystems. Can private equity deliver? “The blue economy is a huge market and there are investment opportunities,” says Dale Galvin, who manages the Global Fund for Coral Reefs for Connecticut-based Pegasus Capital Advisors. The fund is building a portfolio of 15 to 20 investments in wild-caught fisheries, aquaculture, hospitality and the “circular economy” to protect vulnerable coral reefs and coastal communities, particularly in the Global South. Galvin was an early investor in the ocean economy with the Meloy Fund, a sustainable fisheries fund he launched in 2017. “We need to change the trajectory of how companies and businesses and communities and governments interact with the oceans in a much more sustainable way,” Galvin says in an interview with ImpactAlpha.
Liberty Notes let retail investors invest in Connecticut’s green transition. The Connecticut Green Bank, the first green bank in the US, has enabled $2.4 billion in investments for the green transition since 2011. It’s now in the market with a one-year note that allows anyone with as little as $100 to invest to support, and make a return, on Connecticut’s green energy initiatives. The “Liberty Notes” will help the state’s small businesses secure no-interest loans to conduct energy audits and make lighting, heating and cooling, and other upgrades. The notes offer interest of 5.25%, or 5.5% for recurring investors. The Connecticut Green Bank’s notes will be open for investment on Raise Green through May 16. They’re being featured as part of ImpactAlpha’s collaboration with HIP Investor to highlight municipal bonds with environmental or social significance.
A guide to investing in better livelihoods and expanded access for low-income people. Low-income, emerging market households collectively spend trillions of dollars per year on essential goods and services. What they spend on is often a function of what’s available, rather than what best serves them. The International Finance Corp., British International Investment and FMO have developed the “Inclusive Business Investing Guide” to help investors identify and allocate capital to businesses generating positive outcomes for underserved households. “Inclusive business investing offers a way to improve livelihoods for low-income people and expand access to essential, affordable goods and services on a scalable, commercially-viable basis,” the authors write in a guest post on ImpactAlpha.
The next frontier of private equity value creation: Better jobs for frontline workers. Truck drivers. Care givers. Sales teams. Workers on the frontlines of business interactions are key drivers of value and profitability. Improving the quality of their jobs can reduce turnover, boost engagement, and decrease burnout. By delivering better jobs down the organizational chart, some private equity firms are unlocking superior returns, says Ellen Frank-Miller of the Workforce and Organizational Research Center, or WORC. In “Thinking beyond the C-suite pays off,” the center examines the role of human capital management in value creation at private equity firms with more than $5 billion in assets. Too often firms don’t have the time, money or energy to focus on quality jobs for frontline workers, Frank-Miller says. Instead, they focus on CEO recruitment and perhaps hold leadership accountable for workers’ satisfaction. “There's so much untapped value being left on the table,” Frank-Miller tells ImpactAlpha.
🔌 On tomorrow’s Plugged In: Better, cheaper and faster climate impact. Climate volatility is here. Stonly Blue of Third Sphere looks for investments that foster climate resilience alongside the deployment of hardware-based climate solutions. Blue joins Plugged In host Sherrell Dorsey to share where he is finding deals and opportunities for climate impact, live on LinkedIn, tomorrow, May 15, at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm London. RSVP.
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: 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 …
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 29 – “Net zero is not going to get us anywhere,” Ariane Mahler of Veridien Global Investors told David Bank of ImpactAlpha …
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 …
This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in impact investing. …
This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in impact investing. …
“We’re a narrative-change studio in a town that is in a time of flux,” director Ava DuVernay told Ford Foundation’s Roy Swan at …
The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is seeding green projects in primarily low-income communities by sending $27 billion through a network of nonprofit lenders. …
The winner of a contest to sharpen the impact lens of students through deal sourcing and diligence was a team from London Business …
ImpactAlpha, January 26 – Ines Schiller got the idea for seaweed tampons while training in South Africa to be a marine environment guide. …
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 23 – Bold leaders. Taking action. Driving impact. That’s the tagline we’ve used for the dozens of Agents of Impact we profiled …
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. It is republished …
Sustainable development? “More of the same.” Forest carbon credits? “Outside-imposed extraction.” Impact investing? “Are we really going far enough? Or are we just …
ImpactAlpha, September 8 — In 15 years in impact investing, Christopher Bentley noticed “a lot of for-profit companies focused on the criminal justice …
ImpactAlpha, August 18 – Monica Brand Engel’s advice to impact investors is this: Imperfect execution is ok. “Authentic impact is about accepting imperfection …
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 11 – Samuel Yeboah isn’t discouraged by the economic storm battering his home country of Ghana and many other emerging economies. “As …
Many investors look at promising new climate solutions and say, ‘Great, come back to me when you have traction.’ Azolla Ventures is more …
ImpactAlpha, June 30 – The first thing that Katherine Stodulka does when you meet her is suggest you meet someone else. Then she’ll …
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