Featured: ImpactAlpha Original
Helping communities acquire assets and rebuild small businesses in Minnesota. The conviction of former officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd sent a signal to residents of Minneapolis that their voices were heard and that Black lives matter. Two new real estate and small business funds aim to do the same – by strengthening the role of community development financial institutions. CDFIs are a key channel for deploying capital to Black and Brown-owned businesses, as well as to affordable housing and other social infrastructure in low-income neighborhoods. “Capital in the system is outstripping the capacity to spend it in strategic, quick and effective ways,” say Bruce Katz and Colin Higgins of Nowak Metro Finance Lab, who have advocated for such local funds. “Local leaders must focus on building strong and capable intermediaries with community standing that can have positive impact in the near-term and persist after the immediate recovery period to drive equitable growth for years to come.”
Dealflow: Follow the Money
EnCap Investments raises $1.2 billion energy transition fund. The Houston-based oil and gas private equity firm has raised 22 institutional investment funds totaling roughly $38 billion over three decades. Its first fund dedicated to clean energy production brought in $1.2 billion for wind, solar and energy storage enterprises. The fund has backed five companies in the battery storage, distributed power, and utility-scale solar and wind sectors, including Broad Reach Power, Catalyze, Jupiter Power, Solar Proponent and Triple Oak Power. “Their early progress is exceeding our expectations,” said EnCap’s Jim Hughes.
Signals: Ahead of the Curve
Conservation of mangrove forests could get a boost from carbon credits. Farmers in Iowa and Illinois are getting $20 per ton for sequestering soil carbon. Tropical forests can collect $10 per ton for storing forest carbon. Communities on the northern coast of Colombia this week will test the market for mangrove carbon under a new standard for verifying carbon stored both above and below the water. “Verified carbon units” for an 11,000-hectare mangrove forest in Cispatá are coming to market, via Verra, after a two-year effort by Conservation International and local partners, funded by Apple, that included scientists wading into knee-deep mud to collect samples for analysis. Mangroves store up to 10 times the carbon of terrestrial forests and provide local communities with food, livelihoods and protection from storms. “Mangrove ecosystems are the Protective Mother for communities,” Doña Ignacia, a community leader, said in a statement.
Agents of Impact: Follow the Talent
Marcin Lewczuk, ex- of Mobius Capital Partners, joins GIB Asset Management as emerging market equity portfolio manager… Andreas Nilsson and Nina Freudenberg, co-founders of Sonanz Capital, join Golding Capital Partners as head of impact and director respectively… Accion appoints Nazanine Scheuer, ex- of Save the Children’s Social Enterprise and Impact Ventures, as chief development and partnerships officer… Tulaine Montgomery becomes co-CEO of New Profit alongside founder and current CEO Vanessa Kirsch… Former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter joins Ride To Work as an advisory board member.
Editor's Picks
Podcasts | April 30, 2021
Impact Briefing: Week of April 30th
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 30 – On this week’s podcast, host Brian Walsh welcomes back Imogen Rose-Smith and David Bank to discuss truth in advertising around …
Kelli Saulny of Camelback Ventures
The Reconstruction | May 3, 2021
The Reconstruction: Accelerating Black entrepreneurship to build wealth across generations
ImpactAlpha, May 3, 2021 – Inheritance is not only about the wealth we pass down from grandparents to parents to children. It is …
Impact Voices | May 3, 2021
Letting go: How investors are giving up control to democratize finance
The idea of democratizing investment has a long intellectual history, but it wasn’t until after the Great Recession that it started to enter …
Top Stories
Helping communities acquire assets and rebuild small businesses in Minnesota
Catalytic Capital | May 6, 2021
RSF Social Finance deploys capital from the Racial Justice Collaborative
Catalytic Capital | May 6, 2021
Conservation of mangrove forests could get a boost from carbon credits
2030 Finance | May 6, 2021
MIT’s Solve Innovation Future fund makes four early-stage investments
Agrifood Tech | May 6, 2021
EnCap Investments raises $1.2 billion energy transition fund
Climate and Clean Tech | May 5, 2021
Three ways to invest in the upskilling of workers for the post-COVID economy
Good Jobs | May 5, 2021
Mexico’s Graviti raises $2.5 million to help unbanked Latin Americans pay for appliances
Dealflow | May 5, 2021
Boston’s Ujima Fund demonstrates the (investment) power of neighborhood democracy
Community Finance | May 5, 2021
Agents of Impact see transformation – and trouble – in Biden’s first 100 days
Policy Corner | May 4, 2021
Outsiders get the bulk of venture capital in Africa. Peer-selection can change the game.
Impact Voices | May 4, 2021
Solid Power secures $130 million to scale EV battery production
Clean Energy | May 4, 2021
The Reconstruction
Lake Street in Minneapolis, MN | Photo credit: Sam Wagner
Catalytic Capital | May 6, 2021
Helping communities acquire assets and rebuild small businesses in Minnesota
ImpactAlpha, May 6 – The conviction of former officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd sent a signal to residents of Minneapolis …
Carmen Rojas of The Marguerite Casey Foundation | Photo credit: The Nonprofit Times
Impact Voices | May 4, 2021
100 Days of President Biden: Progress and peril on the road to a just economy
As the Biden administration completes its first 100 days, I am both surprised by the ambition of this administration and disappointed by its …
Kelli Saulny of Camelback Ventures
The Reconstruction | May 3, 2021
The Reconstruction: Accelerating Black entrepreneurship to build wealth across generations
ImpactAlpha, May 3, 2021 – Inheritance is not only about the wealth we pass down from grandparents to parents to children. It is …
The Collective's Sandra Dungee Glenn, Steven Sanders and Tayyib Smith
The Reconstruction | April 27, 2021
How a collective of Black developers is raising equity for inclusive real estate in Philadelphia
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 27 – Decades of failed policies and extractive investments have left Black neighborhoods in Philadelphia with undervalued housing, underfunded services and a …
Photo credit: ExecOnline
Dealflow | April 22, 2021
ExecOnline raises $45 million to diversify corporate leadership
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 22 – Less than 1% of Fortune 500 CEOs are Black. Less than 10% are women. ExecOnline partners with business schools to …
Boston Ujima Project | Photo credit: Boston Ujima Project
Impact Voices | April 20, 2021
Centering community voices and power in investment processes
The increased investor attention to racism and the inequality laid bare by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has intersected, at long last, with the …
Photo credit: AdvancedAg, an Indigenous-owned water and agtech company in Alberta
Canada | April 20, 2021
Indigenous Growth Fund raises $150 million to back Native lenders in Canada
ImpactAlpha, April 20 – A new fund in Canada is aiming to impact marginalized Indigenous communities by channelling capital to Indigenous-owned financial institutions. The …
Community Finance | April 20, 2021
Reviving a Black cultural corridor in West Oakland – as a community-led cooperative
In another era, Esther’s Orbit Room helped make West Oakland the “Harlem of the West,” hosting the likes of B.B. King, James Brown …
Rey Ramsey of The Nathan Cummings Foundation | Photo credit: The Org
Podcasts | April 19, 2021
The Reconstruction: Rey Ramsey on deploying 100% of foundation assets toward positive impact and racial equity
ImpactAlpha, April 19 — The case for breaking down philanthropy’s historical divide between the investment side of the house and a foundation’s mission …
National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Montgomery, AL | Photo credit: DiAnna Paulk
Impact Voices | April 15, 2021
Grounding investors in history to ensure this Reconstruction delivers on its promise
For us at Illumen Capital, the echoes of history are never far from the work at hand. We know we can only begin …
Tiffany Manuel of TheCaseMade | Photo: Tiffany Manuel
Podcasts | April 12, 2021
The Reconstruction: Seeing the world of our children’s children to help make the case for justice
ImpactAlpha, April 12 – Tiffany Manuel’s handbooks for social change warn about messaging “backfires.” These days, she’s wielding such tools to overcome backlash. …
Kathryn Finney of Genius Guild | Photo credit: kathrynfinney.com
Agents of Impact | April 9, 2021
Kathryn Finney, Genius Guild
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 9 – The entrepreneur and investor’s answer to systemic economic exclusion of Black, Indigenous and other people of color: Build an ecosystem …
Climate Finance
2030 Finance | May 6, 2021
Conservation of mangrove forests could get a boost from carbon credits
ImpactAlpha, May 6 – Farmers in Iowa and Illinois are getting $20 a ton for sequestering soil carbon. Tropical forests can collect $10 a …
Climate and Clean Tech | May 5, 2021
EnCap Investments raises $1.2 billion energy transition fund
ImpactAlpha, May 5 – Houston-based oil and gas private equity firm EnCap Investments has raised 22 institutional investment funds totaling roughly $38 billion …
Photo credit: Solidia Technologies.
Clean Energy | May 4, 2021
Breakthrough Energy Ventures backs three climate-tech startups
ImpactAlpha, May 4 — Breakthrough Energy Ventures collected another $1 billion at the start of this year to invest in up to 50 …
Photo credit: Solid Power
Clean Energy | May 4, 2021
Solid Power secures $130 million to scale EV battery production
ImpactAlpha, May 4 — Louisville, Colorado-based Solid Power develops solid-state batteries for electric vehicles that it says are cheaper, more efficient and safer …
2030 Finance | April 29, 2021
Paris-based Tikehau Capital launches private equity decarbonization fund for North America
ImpactAlpha, April 29 – Tikehau Capital has raised $300 million for its first North America-focused fund to invest in businesses supporting the transition to …
Photo credit: PosiGen
Clean Energy | April 29, 2021
PosiGen scores $27 million to bring low-cost solar energy to American households
ImpactAlpha, April 29 — New Orleans-based PosiGen is aiming to make solar energy accessible through low-cost rooftop solar panel leasing and energy efficiency …
Increase in global CO2 emissions
Climate Finance | April 28, 2021
That feeling when investors realize carbon is going to $100 a ton sooner than they expected
ImpactAlpha, April 28 – Carbon hasn’t attracted as much attention as GameStop or Bitcoin, but the price of a ton of CO2 topped …
Conservation | April 28, 2021
Who’s going to pay? Due diligence in conservation finance starts with the offtake agreement
Venture capitalists in many sectors have developed robust due-diligence practices. The conservation finance community and its catalytic investors are still learning what works. …
Africa | April 28, 2021
Off-Grid Market Development Fund offers results-based financing for solar access in Madagascar
Off-Grid Market Development Fund is providing subsidies to a dozen companies to deliver solar power in Madagascar. Only 14% of Madagascar’s 25.7 million …
Clean Energy | April 27, 2021
Bloomberg and Goldman Sachs to seed clean energy investments in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, April 27 – An “innovation fund,” backed by both Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, will help emerging-market project developers identify financing “from …
Clean Energy | April 27, 2021
Shared solar generates savings and jobs for New York City Housing Authority residents
ImpactAlpha, April 27 — Sunwealth Power, a Cambridge, Mass.-based impact investor that finances small-scale solar projects, is helping develop a 1.8-megawatt solar array …
Conservation | April 26, 2021
LEAF Coalition will pay for success in protecting tropical forests
ImpactAlpha, April, 26 – A global coalition of governments and corporations will pool funds to keep tropical forests intact. The Lowering Emissions by …
Catalytic Capital
Lake Street in Minneapolis, MN | Photo credit: Sam Wagner
Catalytic Capital | May 6, 2021
Helping communities acquire assets and rebuild small businesses in Minnesota
ImpactAlpha, May 6 – The conviction of former officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd sent a signal to residents of Minneapolis …
Source: Higher Purpose Co.
Catalytic Capital | May 6, 2021
RSF Social Finance deploys capital from the Racial Justice Collaborative
ImpactAlpha, May 6 — RSF Social Finance has launched Racial Justice Collaborative, a vehicle that aims to provide debt, equity and grant funding, …
Photo credit: Algramo
Agrifood Tech | May 6, 2021
MIT’s Solve Innovation Future fund makes four early-stage investments
ImpactAlpha, May 6 – Solve Innovation Future, the investment arm of MIT Solve, has committed $1 million to eight companies that were finalists in …
Mason Music, a community-based music program at the newly renovated Woodlawn Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama | Photo credit: Mason Music
Catalytic Capital | April 29, 2021
Opportunity Alabama is combining community and capital to fulfill the potential of Opportunity Zones
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 29 – A senior-care facility in Heflin, Alabama, population 5,000. A restored hotel in Selma. Workforce housing and an historic theatre in …
Africa | April 28, 2021
Off-Grid Market Development Fund offers results-based financing for solar access in Madagascar
Off-Grid Market Development Fund is providing subsidies to a dozen companies to deliver solar power in Madagascar. Only 14% of Madagascar’s 25.7 million …
PC: Transport Topics.
Catalytic Capital | April 12, 2021
Social Finance raises $36 million for ‘career impact bonds’ and backs American Diesel Training
ImpactAlpha, April 12 — Career impact bonds are bringing income-share agreements, which dozens of universities are using to provide help to low-income students …
Catalytic Capital | April 6, 2021
How these wealthy families are driving outperformance on impact
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 6 – Investors willing and able to prioritize impact over financial returns were behind some of today’s highest-impact innovations. Catalytic investment strategies, …
Catalytic Capital | March 23, 2021
Rethinking economic development for an inclusive recovery
ImpactAlpha, March 23 – Policy makers are embracing bottom up strategies to address interlocking challenges if COVID-19, inequality and racial justice. The $1.9 …
Catalytic Capital | March 9, 2021
Impact investors turn to revenue-based financing to bridge capital gaps for founders of color
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 9 – As Kim Folsom likes to say, Founders First is majoring in the minors. Rather than produce a few tech unicorns …
Photo credit: SunFunder
Africa | March 8, 2021
SunFunder reaches $70 million close for Solar Energy Transformation Fund
ImpactAlpha, March 8 – SunFunder’s Solar Energy Transformation Fund backs solar companies improving energy access across Africa and Asia. The off-grid solar finance company’s …
Jigar Shah | Photo credit: Miljøstiftelsen ZERO/Flickr
Catalytic Capital | March 4, 2021
Generate’s Jigar Shah tapped to rev up the Department of Energy’s loan office
ImpactAlpha, March 4 – The lending program, mostly moribund for the past four years, “is back in business,” declared Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. …
Catalytic Capital | March 4, 2021
Greening sovereign debt to tackle converging crises
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 4 – A majority of low-income countries may need to restructure their loans or seek fresh ones in a brewing sovereign …
Agents of Impact
Bold leaders. Taking action. Driving impact.