Impact Alpha
Podcasts | May 10, 2024
David’s dispatch from MIE and Milken
Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: The divergent vibes at Mission Investors Exchange and …
Return on Inclusion | May 10, 2024
Ava DuVernay: Changing the narrative in Hollywood and beyond
“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 Brief | May 10, 2024
The Week in impact investing: Asset Ownership
TGIF, Agents of Impact! 🔌 Get Plugged In: Better, cheaper and faster climate impact. On the next Plugged In, climate investor Stonly Blue …
careers | May 10, 2024
The Week’s Jobs: May 10, 2024
Foundations, private equity investors and fund managers are on the hunt for impact talent around the world. This week: US Jobs In New …
Dealflow | May 10, 2024
The Week’s Dealflow: May 10, 2024
ImpactAlpha’s deal news coverage for the week: Agrifood tech. Kenya’s iProcure, used by a million farmers, may be the next African funding crunch …
Low-carbon transition | May 10, 2024
Deal Spotlight: Carbon removal technology takes shape
To keep global warming in check, some 10 gigatons of carbon dioxide will need to be removed from the atmosphere by 2050. The …
Impact Investing | May 10, 2024
Deal Spotlight: Caron removal technology takes shape
To keep global warming in check, some 10 gigatons of carbon dioxide will need to be removed from the atmosphere by 2050. The …
The Brief | May 9, 2024
The Brief: Tough truths about impact investing
Greetings Agents of Impact! 🔌 On the next Plugged In: Better, cheaper and faster climate impact with Third Sphere’s Stonly Blue. In the …
Place-Based Investing | May 9, 2024
With collaborations and catalytic capital, place-based pioneers look to expand their impact
Impact investors are building a deeper toolkit for strategic placed-based collaboration. If place-based investing 1.0 was pioneering new models with local partners, then …
Creative Economy | May 9, 2024
The talk outpaces the walk: Three tough truths about impact investing
U.S. impact investors, we have a problem. In truth, there are several, and they all center around just how challenging it is to …
Dealflow | May 9, 2024
Chilean startup Reuse raises $4.5 million to expand its refurbished electronics marketplace in Mexico
It’s hard to imagine life without a smartphone or laptop. It may be harder to imagine just how many of these devices are …
Impact Investing | May 9, 2024
Kenya’s Co-op Bank gets $25 million EU-guaranteed loan to support female entrepreneurs
Co-operative Bank of Kenya was founded nearly six decades ago to cater to Kenya’s cooperative movement. It has serviced a broader range of …
Return on Inclusion | May 8, 2024
McKnight Foundation’s Tonya Allen: Philanthropy has the right and responsibility to counter attacks on DEI (Q&A)
Tonya Allen won’t take the bait. The president of Minnesota-based McKnight Foundation isn’t retreating in the face of right-wing attacks on diversity, equity …
The Brief | May 8, 2024
The Brief: McKnight Foundation’s Tonya Allen on countering the attacks on DEI
Greetings Agents of Impact! In today’s Brief: Featured: Returns on Inclusion McKnight Foundation’s Tonya Allen: Philanthropy has the right and responsibility to counter …
Agrifood Tech | May 8, 2024
Kenya’s iProcure, used by a million farmers, is the latest African funding crunch casualty
The Agtech startup iProcure launched a decade ago to untangle supply-chain logistics for Africa’s hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers. Now the company …
Climate and Clean Tech | May 8, 2024
TPG Rise Climate acquires renewable fuels storage and delivery company Olympus Terminals
California-based Olympus (formerly Chemoil), transports and stores renewable fuels, such as renewable diesel. The fuel, made from fats and oils, such as soybean …
Impact Voices | May 8, 2024
ESG will be key to supplying ‘green’ metals needed for the energy transition
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 …
Clean Energy | May 7, 2024
Zanskar snags $30 million for AI-based geothermal energy exploration
Geothermal energy, which taps into the Earth’s heat for energy, is gaining adoption across the globe for industrial and residential use. Salt Lake …
The Liist | May 7, 2024
The Liist, May 2024: $500 million impact funds for climate resilience in Asia, regenerative farmland, and green infrastructure
Amid protracted wave of extreme heat in Southeast Asia, responsAbility’s new $500 million Asia-focused climate fund is right on time. The Zurich-based impact …
The Brief | May 7, 2024
The Brief: Half-billion dollar climate resilience funds
Greetings Agents of Impact! In today’s Brief: Featured: The Liist Trio of $500 million impact funds tackle climate resilience in Asia, regenerative farmland …
ImpactAlpha Open | May 7, 2024
ImpactAlpha Open: Big Tech carbon-market strategies + Puerto Rican’s inclusive revival
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Welcome to the latest ImpactAlpha Open, our free weekly newsletter. 👋 Did you know that professionals from J.P. Morgan Chase …
Financial Inclusion | May 7, 2024
MAA General Assurance Philippines enlists backers to strengthen microinsurance
The weeks-long heatwave broiling the Philippines (and Southeast Asia broadly) underscores the archipelago’s vulnerability to weather extremes, which disproportionately affect low-income populations. “Access …
Climate Finance | May 7, 2024
UN kicks off $100 million fund to protect displaced communities from climate shocks
There are more than 110 million displaced people worldwide – an all time high, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. More …
Catalytic Capital | May 6, 2024
Foundation Playbook: Leading endowments seek to model seek diversity, equity and mission alignment
“There has never been a more crucial moment to bring together the leading impact investors into one city and one room,” Matt Onek …
The Brief | May 6, 2024
The Brief: Leadership moment for philanthropic endowments
Greetings Agents of Impact! We’re looking forward to seeing many of you out and about this week. Zuleyma Bebell and I are in …
Dealflow | May 6, 2024
Invest Appalachia closes $35.5 million for place-based impact in Central Appalachia
ImpactAlpha, May 6 — The MacArthur Foundation has led a new batch of limited partners to help the Invest Appalachia fund reach a …
Agrifood Tech | May 6, 2024
S2G Ventures and At One Ventures back Miraterra to help farmers monitor soil health
ImpactAlpha, May 6 — Healthy soils are critical for food security, farming profitability and carbon sequestration. Vancouver-based Miraterra launched in 2022 to provide …
Catalytic Capital | May 6, 2024
Pension funds help catalyze gender-lens investments in Asia
In the dynamic economic environment of the Asia-Pacific region, a significant investment opportunity is emerging: institutional investors’ capacity to champion gender equality through …
Catalytic Capital | May 3, 2024
Inspiring impact at Mission Investors Exchange 2024 national conference
This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in impact investing. …
The Brief | May 3, 2024
The Week in Impact Investing: Market Making
TGIF, Agents of Impact! 🗣 Investing with intentionality. Agents of Impact move markets. Fed up with the pace of Puerto Rico’s disaster recovery, Eduardo Carrera of …
Dealflow | May 3, 2024
The Week’s Dealflow: May 3, 2024
ImpactAlpha’s deal news coverage for the week: Agrifood investing. AgDevCo acquired a minority equity stake in Agris, a Kenyan sustainable producer and distributor of fruits …
careers | May 3, 2024
The Week’s Jobs: May 3, 2024
Foundations, private equity investors and fund managers are on the hunt for impact talent around the world. This week: In New York The Pop Culture …
Podcasts | May 2, 2024
The state of blended finance, restoring forests and carbon market credibility, and investing endowments for DEI
Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: The rebound in blended finance; how Big Tech …
Impact Investing | May 2, 2024
How Big Tech can restore forests – and credibility in voluntary carbon markets
In the state of Michoacan in western Mexico, indigenous communities have secured Forest Stewardship Council certification for their sustainably managed biodiverse temperate forests. …
The Brief | May 2, 2024
The Brief: Can Apple, Microsoft and other tech companies revive forest carbon credits?
Greetings Agents of Impact! And a special shoutout to those of you in Philadelphia for ImpactPHL’s Total Impact Summit. Say hi to ImpactAlpha’s …
Deploy! | May 2, 2024
10,000 Communities: With partners, Milken Institute is building a market to drive investment in community infrastructure
The recent announcement of 60 winners under the $7 billion Solar for All program capped the Environmental Protection Agency’s rollout of the Greenhouse …
Clean Energy | May 2, 2024
India lists a yen-denominated green bond for renewable projects
About 70% of India’s electricity comes from dirty fuels, especially coal. The government is aiming to generate 50% of its power from renewable …
Climate and Clean Tech | May 2, 2024
The Frontier tech alliance inks offtake agreement with Vaulted Deep
Houston-based Vaulted Deep takes carbon-rich waste from landfills, feedlots, paper mills and other industrial facilities and converts it to biomass to be buried …
The Brief | May 1, 2024
The Brief: Foundation investments in health equity through a diversity lens
Greetings Agents of Impact! In today’s Brief: Featured: Inclusive Communities Foundations are putting racial equity at the center of impact investments in health. …
Inclusive Economy | May 1, 2024
Changing how capital flows through communities to improve health
This series of guest posts is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange to present new ideas and perspectives in …
Latin America | May 1, 2024
BTG Pactual’s Timberland Investment Group secures $1.2 billion for timberland in Latin America
Timberland Investment Group, a division of Brazilian bank BTG Pactual, closed its inaugural Latin America timberland fund with $860 million in 2015. The …
Impact Voices | May 1, 2024
Investment manager diversity matters when investing for health equity
Editor’s note: This article is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) to present new ideas and perspectives in …
Agrifood Tech | May 1, 2024
Renew Capital invests in Farm to Feed to curb food waste in Kenya
“Imperfect produce” startups that salvage fresh foods destined for the landfill can be found throughout the US and Europe. Nairobi-based Farm to Feed …
Catalytic Capital | May 1, 2024
Catalyzing local investment and liquidity models to meet Africa’s sustainable finance needs
This past month’s extreme flooding in Kenya, heatwave in West Africa and drought in Southern Africa reveal a continent on the frontlines of …
Latin America | April 30, 2024
In Puerto Rico, mobilizing billions for economic mobility with capital from across the spectrum
Puerto Rico has a window in which to turn disaster recovery into economic revival. “We didn’t choose it, but this is our time,” …