Beats
Catalytic Capital | September 22, 2023
Rockefeller’s Zero Gap Fund is fully deployed, yet gaps remain
ImpactAlpha, September 22 – The Rockefeller Foundation launched the $30 million Zero Gap Fund with the MacArthur Foundation four years ago to supply …
Climate Finance | September 21, 2023
In the Climate Week mix: Policy tailwinds, green banks, talent pipeline
ImpactAlpha, September 21 — Hard choices have to be made… about which of the hundreds of Climate Week NYC events to attend. As …
Photo credit: Aerones
Climate and Clean Tech | September 21, 2023
European Investment Fund plugs €40 million into Blume Equity
ImpactAlpha, September 21 – Blume Equity is one of a small number of climate tech venture funds with all female founders. The firm …
Impact Management | September 21, 2023
Messiness, Mutuality and Methodology: Three tips for measuring impact
Note: This is an abridged version for ImpactAlpha. For all 10 tips, please visit this article on Medium.com. At the end of 2022, …
Impact Management | September 20, 2023
The $100 billion opportunity in climate-finance accountability
ImpactAlpha, September 20 – Developed nations have pledged (but not delivered) $100 billion annually to help low and middle-income countries adapt to climate …
Climate Finance | September 20, 2023
Climate Week NYC: Write it down
ImpactAlpha, September 20 – Oil may be nearing $100 a barrel again, but long term prospects for fossil fuels are less rosy. Coal …
Frontier and Growth Markets | September 20, 2023
Incofin sells its stake in Unguka Bank in Rwanda
ImpactAlpha, September 20 – Belgian impact investor Incofin sold its 28% equity stake in Rwanda’s Unguka Bank to Sri Lanka’s LOLC Holdings. LOLC’s …
Mangrove forest restoration on Pate Island, Kenya | Photo credit: Thomson Reuters Foundation / Dominic Kirui
Climate Finance | September 19, 2023
Nature-based solutions may be the key to meeting Paris climate goals
As world leaders gather in New York City this week for the UN General Assembly and New York Climate Week, investors and funders …
Climate and Clean Tech | September 19, 2023
Chris Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital raises $550 million for two climate tech funds
ImpactAlpha, September 19 — Lowercarbon Capital has raised a combined $550 million for a pair of climate funds. One fund will focus on …
Image credit: Mottu
Inclusive Economy | September 19, 2023
Mottu raises $50 million for motorcycle rentals for Latin American gig workers
ImpactAlpha, September 19 — São Paulo-based Mottu launched in 2020 to train, finance and insure motorbikes for gig delivery workers. Last year, it …
Climate Finance | September 18, 2023
From scientific to doomsday, the five climate change narratives shaping discourse and decisions
ImpactAlpha, September 18 — The climate discourse by individuals and groups typically involves five narratives about the import and response to climate change. Some …
Photo credit: UH Manoa
Dealflow | September 18, 2023
$171 million bond for affordable student housing in Hawaii
Editor’s note: ImpactAlpha has partnered with HIP Investor to highlight upcoming bond issues with social and/or environmental significance. Disclaimer: Nothing in this post or on …
Galvanize Climate Solutions' Tom Steyer.
Gender + Climate | September 18, 2023
Galvanize Climate Solutions closes Innovation+Expansion fund with more than $1 billion
ImpactAlpha, September 18 — Galvanize Climate Solutions has raised over $1 billion for its inaugural Innovation+Expansion Fund. The San Francisco-based growth equity fund, …
Photo credit: Steve Shook
Policy Corner | September 18, 2023
With laws and lawsuits, California takes on Big Oil
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 18 – Will he or won’t he? Gavin Newsom put to rest questions about the fate of two landmark bills passed by …
Photo credit: Florrent
Climate and Clean Tech | September 15, 2023
Deal spotlight: Florrent leans into the social impact of green materials
ImpactAlpha, September 15 – Investments in battery storage technologies are on pace to reach $40 billion, double last year’s level. Alternative storage solutions, …
Photo: Dllu (Wikicommons)
Climate Finance | September 14, 2023
Protesters and private investors to pressure global leaders at Climate Week NYC
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 14 – When world leaders jet into New York for the annual UN General Assembly this weekend, it will be hard …
Photo by Blk Grvty.
Return on Inclusion | September 14, 2023
Disruptive Discourse: Standing up to legal challenges to fund managers and business owners of color
ImpactAlpha, September 14 — Women leaders of color are stepping up ecosystem-building efforts to counter the recent legal attacks against minority-owned and led …
Image credit: UBQ Materials
Impact Tech | September 14, 2023
UBQ Materials scores backing from TPG’s impact funds for its plastic alternative
ImpactAlpha, September 14 – UBQ Materials converts banana peels, chicken bones, pizza boxes, baby diapers and other household waste into pellets that can …
Al Gore, former US Vice President and cofounder of Generation Management
Impact Investing | September 13, 2023
Al Gore’s climate investment firm ‘calls a moment’ in the sustainability revolution
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 13 – Climate has moved from the margins to the center of global politics. “We’re calling a moment here,” says Justin Gillis …
Africa | September 13, 2023
How Africa’s pension funds are financing the continent’s infrastructure gap
African countries have huge infrastructure needs, and governments need private investment to help meet them, particularly considering increasing climate impacts and green development …
Impact Investing | September 13, 2023
Lyten snags $200 million to commercialize “supermaterial” batteries and composites
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 13 – The energy transition depends upon declining cost curves and better performance of low carbon alternatives. Lyten is looking to …
Green Infrastructure | September 13, 2023
Financing power transmission—not just generation—to meet Africa’s climate goals
Renewable energy generation and storage opportunities were a key focus at last week’s Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, culminating in $26 billion in new …
Impact Voices | September 12, 2023
How foundations can use impact investments to leverage their grant capital
Impact investing offers the promise of greater impact per dollar as funds are returned and recycled into new investments that generate new impact. …
Photo by Heliene.
Clean Energy | September 12, 2023
Canada’s Heliene raises $170 million in equity and debt for US solar plants
ImpactAlpha, September 12 — Demand is surging for solar cells that are manufactured closer to home to reduce shipping costs, speed delivery, and …
Europe | September 12, 2023
World Fund adds €50 million to European climate tech venture fund
ImpactAlpha, September 12 – World Fund secured €50 million from KfW Capital, the German development bank’s venture arm, and Lithuanian utility Ignitis Group. …
Inclusive Economy | September 12, 2023
Florrent raises $2.1 million to engage farmers of color in energy storage
ImpactAlpha, September 12 – How can farmers help “electrify everything”? By growing more hemp. Massachusetts-based Florrent is developing ultracapacitors, a form of large-volume …
Impact Investing | September 11, 2023
How some US companies are preparing for mandatory impact reporting (Q&A)
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 11 – Markets around the globe are likely to require corporations to report on their social and environmental impact before the end …
Muni Impact | September 11, 2023
Michigan issues $1.2 billion in bonds to rebuild roads and bridges
Editor’s note: ImpactAlpha has partnered with HIP Investor to highlight upcoming bond issues with social and/or environmental significance. Disclaimer: Nothing in this post or on …
Financial Inclusion | September 11, 2023
myZoi clinches $14 million to support migrant workers in Gulf states
ImpactAlpha, September 11 – Abu Dhabi-based fintech venture myZoi has found a significant need in the oil-rich Gulf: financial inclusion for the region’s …
Photo: Eman Mohammed, Survival Media Agency
Impact Investing | September 10, 2023
Climate protestors step up their game as climate action falters
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 11 – Tomato soup on Van Gogh’s sunflowers. A blockade of Burning Man. This weekend, climate protestors staged their latest stunt …
Impact Investing | September 8, 2023
H2’s $1.6 billion raise signals growing investor and customer demand for green steel
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 8 – In one of the largest climate tech deals of the year, Sweden’s H2 Green Steel pulled in €1.5 billion …
Climate Finance | September 7, 2023
Hit hard by climate change, African nations lean into opportunities in the green transition
ImpactAlpha, September 7 – African countries top the list of the world’s most climate-vulnerable places, despite having contributed little to the greenhouse gas …
Photo by Bezos Earth Fund.
Conservation | September 7, 2023
Bezos Earth Fund deploys $22.8 million for locally-led landscape restoration in Africa
ImpactAlpha, September 7 — Bezos Earth Fund will deploy $22.8 million to fund the restoration of roughly 1.5 million acres of degraded land …
Photo by yasin hemmati on Unsplash
Dealflow | September 7, 2023
Boston Metal hauls in $262 million for green steel and metals
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 7 – Boston Metal’s electro-chemical process turns iron ore into liquid metal, streamlining zero-emission steel production without the use of coal. …
Raising Profits
Ownership Economy | September 6, 2023
Challenging wealth supremacy to realize the dream of systemic change
This essay is adapted from Marjorie Kelly’s forthcoming book, “Wealth Supremacy: How the Extractive Economy and the Biased Rules of Capitalism Drive Today’s …
Photo by Lydian.
Climate and Clean Tech | September 6, 2023
Lydian secures $15 million to produce zero-carbon aviation fuel
ImpactAlpha, September 6 — Cambridge, Mass.-based Lydian runs captured carbon dioxide and water through a high-temperature electric reactor. The process produces cheaper and …
From left to right: Maxime Bayen, Maelis Carraro and Karen Serem Waithaka | Photo by Catalyst Fund.
Climate Finance | September 6, 2023
Catalyst Fund raises $8.6 million for climate adaptation in Africa
ImpactAlpha, September 6 — Nairobi-based Catalyst Fund has raised $8.6 million towards a target $40 million fund to back high-impact tech startups working …
Photo credit: Barrix
Frontier and Growth Markets | September 6, 2023
Omnivore sells its stake in Barrix to Sumitomo to notch another exit
ImpactAlpha, September 6 – Omnivore, one of the first dedicated agtech investors in India, co-led Barrix Agro’s first institutional investment round in 2013. …
The Liist | September 5, 2023
The Liist, September 2023: Impact funds scale up their ability to absorb and deploy capital
ImpactAlpha, September 5 — It’s just as hard to raise $10 million as it is to raise $100 million, or perhaps even harder. …
Climate Finance | September 5, 2023
CH4 Global raises $29 million to reduce livestock methane emissions
ImpactAlpha, September 5 — The roughly 1.5 billion cows on the planet burp and fart more than 150 million tons of methane per …
Dealflow | September 5, 2023
Finland’s Paptic scores €23 million for sustainable packaging materials
ImpactAlpha, September 5 — European Circular Bioeconomy Fund, a German venture capital impact fund, and global sustainability investor Ecolab are joining the $25 …
Photo credit: Redwood Materials
Dealflow | September 1, 2023
Deal spotlight: Catalytic lending from the US Department of Energy
ImpactAlpha, September 1 – To grab the lead in climate innovation – and regain control of key technology supply chains – the Biden …
Podcasts | September 1, 2023
Democratizing gender lens investing in Latin America
Pro Mujer’s Carmen Correa joins host Monique Aiken to share how the pioneering Latin American microfinance institution’s bonds are democratizing gender lens investing …
Impact Management | August 31, 2023
Is Europe’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation delivering on its promise?
The European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, known as SFDR, is making waves in the investment industry. The legislative measure, introduced in 2019, …
Refiberd's founders Tushita Gupta and Sarika Bajaj. Phoro by Refiberd.
Dealflow | August 31, 2023
Refiberd raises $3.4 million for AI-driven textile waste sorting for recyclers
ImpactAlpha, August 31 — Cupertino, Calif.-based Refiberd is looking to bring “true textile circularity” to the fashion industry. Refiberd’s AI-based imaging, which detects …