The Week’s Big 6
1. The Reconstruction: Making the case for justice. Social scientist Tiffany Manuel is thinking hard about what it takes to “get people to lean forward on the hard stuff.” On the latest episode of The Reconstruction podcast series on ImpactAlpha, Manuel speaks with host Monique Aiken about “strategic case-making” for system change, and countering division and backlash (also watch Manuel talk about system change and impact data with Ecotone Analytics and SVT Group). Imagining the world of our children’s children helps establish a new narrative, Manuel says. “Paint the picture of what it looks like and say, ‘That future is totally possible, completely 1,000% possible.’” Think big.
The Week’s Agents of Impact
Students of impact. Women make up eight of nine graduate students on the winning teams at last week’s Turner MIINT competition and Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge (they are: UCLA’s Christy Tsui, Emily Dinino, Katie Quilligan, Lucy Maybank and Morgan Owens, and, pictured above, Oxford’s Noah Law, Dawn Musil, Emilé Radyté and Annabella Wainer). The demographic disruption is a sign of how the new generation of impact investing talent is changing the face of finance (see, “Next-gen talent is the winner at MIINT competition and Sustainable Investing Challenge”). Students also are crowding impact investing courses and impact investing clubs and launching student-led funds. They're even collaborating across campuses to apply their biz-school education to “the impact we want to make on the world,” says Dinino, a student at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. “Not only extracurricular, but making it part of our careers.”
The Week’s Dealflow
Agrifood tech. Ÿnsect acquires Protifarm to produce mealworms for human consumption… Hazel Technologies raises $70 million for packaging that curbs food spoilage… PeakBridge and EIT Food are launching a €30 million agrifood tech fund to seed European startups… Lever VC closes $46 million to invest in alternative protein ventures worldwide… Investors commit $25 million to expand lab-grown foods… AppHarvest acquires agricultural robotics maker Root AI… Icelandic private equity firm Freyja takes a 15% stake in Arctic char aquaculture venture Matorka
The Week’s Talent
Gary Gensler, former investment banker and head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is confirmed as chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission… ThomasLloyd hires Alan Burnett, ex- of Manulife Asset Management, as a director overseeing wholesale clients in the U.K. and Ireland… Ingrid Holmes, ex- of Federated Hermes, is the new executive director of the UK’s Green Finance Institute… Karen Karniol-Tambour and Carsten Stendevad will serve as co-chief investment officers for hedge fund giant Bridgewater Associates’ new sustainable investing venture.
The Week’s Jobs
LACI seeks a senior director of investment relations… Genius Guild is hiring an analyst for its Greenhouse Fund… Adjuvant Capital is looking for an investment analyst in San Francisco… Marin Agricultural Land Trust is recruiting a director of people and community… Justice Funders seeks a U.S.-based co-director of leadership programs… The Urban Innovation Fund has an opening for an associate in San Francisco… New Ventures is hiring a venture capital analyst to support its Colombia-based program.
Editor's Picks
Podcasts | April 16, 2021
Impact Briefing: Week of April 16
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 16 – In this week’s podcast, host Brian Walsh takes stock of two of the premier showcases for student talent in impact …
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 …
Ivy Jack, NorthStar Asset Management
Personal Finance | April 15, 2021
Ivy Jack: This moment demands more than investing money
As a child growing up in Baptist churches in Louisiana, I would hear older folks say “Prayer changes things.” Throughout tough periods over …
Top Stories
Banks up their green finance ambitions
Clean Energy | April 16, 2021
Grounding investors in history to ensure this Reconstruction delivers on its promise
Impact Voices | April 15, 2021
Ivy Jack: This moment demands more than investing money
Personal Finance | April 15, 2021
Universe of sustainable money market fund options continues to expand
Sustainable Snapshot | April 15, 2021
Hazel Technologies raises $70 million for packaging that curbs food spoilage
Agrifood Tech | April 15, 2021
Uganda’s Numida secures $2.3 million to fill gaps in microfinance lending
Africa | April 15, 2021
Cascade of climate-tech funds take aim at $10 trillion energy transition opportunity
Clean Energy | April 14, 2021
South Africa’s Quro Medical raises $1.1 million for tech-enabled home healthcare
Africa | April 14, 2021
IFC backs FHipo to help Mexican families secure financing for affordable housing
affordable-housing | April 13, 2021
Founders First’s Kitty Fund makes micro-investments in “mompreneurs”
Community Finance | April 13, 2021
21st Century Investing: Moving from tic-tac-toe to the 3D chess of systems-level change
Impact Management | April 13, 2021
Singapore’s Temasek and BlackRock team up as Decarbonization Partners
Clean Energy | April 13, 2021
The Reconstruction
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 …
ChargerHelp's Evette Ellis and Kameale Terry
Agents of Impact | April 2, 2021
Evette Ellis and Kameale Terry, ChargerHelp
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 2 – The co-founders of South Los Angeles-based electric-vehicle charging repair startup ChargerHelp could be on a poster for the Biden administration’s …
Dealflow | April 1, 2021
Harlem Capital closes $134 million second fund to back diverse entrepreneurs
ImpactAlpha, April 1 — New York-based venture firm Harlem Capital aims to invest in 1,000 companies led by women and minority founders over …
Image by Claudio Schwarz / Pulled from Community Credit Lab website
Community Finance | April 1, 2021
Sacrificing returns? These community investors ask if they’re sacrificing impact.
The time is now for the impact investing sector to reflect on how it does business, how it frames success, and begin to …
ChargerHelp's Evette Ellis and Kameale Terry | Photo: ChargerHelp
Clean Energy | March 31, 2021
ChargerHelp raises $2.8 million to repair EV chargers with good green jobs
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 31 – The U.S. will need to add roughly 20 million electric-vehicle charging stations by 2030, per McKinsey. The South Central L.A.-based …
Past VC Include event | Photo: Oluwaseye Olusa
Return on Inclusion | March 30, 2021
How women and VCs of color are finding impact alpha with first-time funds
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 30 – Shayna Harris and Noramay Cadena of Chicago and L.A.-based Supply Change Capital are backing women and entrepreneurs of color who …
Community Finance | March 30, 2021
Five ways that lenders can interrupt racism and provide restorative-justice capital in our communities
Can community development financial institutions be anti-racist? Don’t answer too quickly. For those familiar with the history of CDFIs, specifically created to align …
Climate and Clean Tech | March 30, 2021
MaC Venture Capital raises $110 million for culture-change startups
ImpactAlpha, March 30 — LA-based early-stage venture firm MaC Venture Capital aims to see women and people of color represented in society, business …
Daryn Dodson, Illumen Capital
Podcasts | March 29, 2021
The Reconstruction: Overcoming racial bias to optimize asset management for returns – and impact
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 29 – Money managers at the world’s sovereign wealth and pension funds and university and foundation endowments seek to optimize portfolios to …
Corporate Venture Capital | March 29, 2021
Greenwood scores $40 million from top financial institutions to bank Black and Latino Americans
ImpactAlpha, March 29 — Greenwood, Black-led neobank founded by former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young, rapper Michael ‘Killer Mike’ Render, and Bounce TV’s Ryan …
Climate Finance
Figs on the tree
Clean Energy | April 16, 2021
Banks up their green finance ambitions
ImpactAlpha, April 16 – JPMorgan Chase and Citi – the biggest bankrollers of fossil fuels – unveiled new trillion-plus targets for sustainable financing …
Photo credit: Tom Whitfield
Clean Energy | April 14, 2021
Cascade of climate-tech funds take aim at $10 trillion energy transition opportunity
ImpactAlpha. April 14 – Sign of the times: A clean energy venture firm launching in the heart of Texas’ oil patch. Houston-based Energy …
Clean Energy | April 13, 2021
Singapore’s Temasek and BlackRock team up as Decarbonization Partners
ImpactAlpha, April 13 – The two powerhouse asset managers are teaming up to invest in late-stage venture capital and early growth-stage private equity …
Solar panels against a blue sky with a picture of the flag of Brazil
Clean Energy | April 12, 2021
Changing the climate for climate investments in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, April 12 – Energy-transition investment surged by 24% in developed nations last year. In emerging markets strained by the COVID pandemic, it …
Clean Energy | April 9, 2021
BlackRock Real Assets closes $4.8 billion green energy fund
ImpactAlpha, April 9 – With backing from 100 global institutional investors, Global Renewable Power Fund III will take advantage of what BlackRock sees …
PC: SciTechDaily.
Clean Energy | April 8, 2021
Two battery tech startups secure seed funding from Clean Energy Ventures
ImpactAlpha, April 8 — Boston-based Clean Energy Ventures invests in clean energy technologies that can eventually displace 100 million tons of CO2 emissions …
Pierre Etienne Franc. PC: FCH.
Clean Energy | April 6, 2021
FiveT’s Hydrogen Fund rakes in €260 million to finance green hydrogen infrastructure projects
ImpactAlpha, April 6 — Green hydrogen, produced with renewable energy through a chemical process called electrolysis, could provide a source of clean fuel …
Clean Energy | April 5, 2021
ZeroAvia aims to decarbonize air travel with hydrogen-powered engines
ImpactAlpha, April 5 — Before the COVID-related declines in air travel, aviation was on pace to be one of the biggest remaining carbon …
Climate Finance | April 1, 2021
Stewardship challenge: How to press fundamental change at ExxonMobil?
ImpactAlpha, April 1 – Some climate-focused investors say they have dumped shares of ExxonMobil as they purge fossil fuel companies from their portfolios. …
Africa | April 1, 2021
Root Capital secures $35 million from DFC to expand lending to rural agribusinesses
ImpactAlpha, April 1 — The U.S. International Development Corporation, formerly known as OPIC, is investing $35 million in the Cambridge, Mass.-based social lender …
Edisun Microgrids | Photo: Business Wire
Green Infrastructure | March 31, 2021
Transformation of electricity grids shows this isn’t your grandparents’ infrastructure upgrade
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 31 – The giant infrastructure investment plan to be unveiled by U.S. President Joe Biden today is expected to include as …
ChargerHelp's Evette Ellis and Kameale Terry | Photo: ChargerHelp
Clean Energy | March 31, 2021
ChargerHelp raises $2.8 million to repair EV chargers with good green jobs
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 31 – The U.S. will need to add roughly 20 million electric-vehicle charging stations by 2030, per McKinsey. The South Central L.A.-based …
Catalytic Capital
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 …
Catalytic Capital | March 1, 2021
Joint SDG Fund allocates $41 million to catalyze strategic financing for the SDGs
ImpactAlpha, March 1 — The United Nations’ Joint SDG Fund is aiming to bring together Wall Street and the growing focus on ESG, …
Surdna Foundation's Don Chen | Photo credit: Surdna Foundation
Catalytic Capital | February 25, 2021
Surdna Foundation’s Don Chen on mobilizing resources and redefining risk
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 25 – Philanthropic foundations tend to be cautious and slow-moving beasts. One signal of the urgency of the current moment: the billion-dollar …
Catalytic Capital | February 24, 2021
ImpactAssets 50 showcases an increasingly diverse impact ecosystem
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 24 – Worker ownership. Small business relief. Impact real estate. Climate solutions. This year’s Impact Assets 50 showcases a diversity of …
Catalytic Capital | February 17, 2021
‘Pay for success’ can help the Biden administration build back better
With Democrats now in control of both the House and Senate, the Biden Administration has a once in a generation opportunity to “build …
A farmer drying coffee beans in the sun. Antigua, Guatemala | Photo credit: Odessa25
Catalytic Capital | February 11, 2021
A little incentive goes a long way to change lending for small farmers in Latin America
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 11 – Change the incentives, change the results. Those results are dramatic for the $11.5 million in loans that agricultural lender Root …
Agents of Impact
Bold leaders. Taking action. Driving impact.