Catalytic Capital
Podcasts
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 …
Agents of Impact | July 16, 2020
Catalytic Capital: Diane Isenberg lays down a “1/10th Challenge” for wealthy families
ImpactAlpha, July 16,2020 –– If you’re rich, and you get your capital back with perhaps a little extra for inflation and expenses, you’ll …
Catalytic Capital | July 13, 2020
CDC’s Nick O’Donohoe on risk, liquidity and catalytic capital in emerging markets
When the coronavirus busted out as a global crisis in March, private equity funds, banks and other commercial investors largely pulled out of …
Catalytic Capital | March 15, 2018
Demystifying impact investing for newcomers — and the rest of us
There’s a lot of confusion around the term “impact investing.” A recent panel discussion in New York tried to clear it up. https://medium.com/media/0f35431af3ca58a000dfdb54bb1ea33d/href The …
Features
Catalytic Capital | July 21, 2021
Breakthrough Energy planning “blended finance” fund to marshal billions for next-gen climate tech
ImpactAlpha, July 21 – The billionaire-backed Breakthrough Energy is preparing a blended finance fund to catalyze billions of dollars of investment to scale …
The Rise Apartments, a 200-unit complex, and the Cycle Shop, a historic building, in The Edge, a neighborhood inside the Memphis Medical District.
Catalytic Capital | July 20, 2021
Guarantee from Kresge Foundation catalyzes $30 million for Memphis fund
Memphis’s medical district, with about 10,000 residents and more than 30,000 employees and students, has a high poverty rate and a shortage of …
photo: G20
Capitalism Reimagined | July 13, 2021
From COVID to climate, G20 countries look to catalyze capital for urgent action
ImpactAlpha, July 13 – The global effort on COVID vaccines does not bode well for the massive mobilization needed to avert climate catastrophe. …
Catalytic Capital | July 2, 2021
Ensuring equitable access to relief funds
ImpactAlpha, July 2 – The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 channels nearly $20 billion in economic relief to small, mostly rural towns. …
2030 Finance | June 24, 2021
What we know about Rockefeller Foundation’s grand ambitions for distributed energy
ImpactAlpha, June 24 – The Rockefeller and IKEA Foundations this week jointly announced a commitment of $1 billion for off-grid energy development in …
Patterson Park neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland | Photo credit: Jon Bilous
Catalytic Capital | June 15, 2021
With billions in fresh capital, community lenders step up to finance a more inclusive economy
ImpactAlpha, June 15 – The COVID-19 disruption made stark how badly traditional banks and lenders have underserved small businesses and real estate in Black, …
São Paulo, Brazil | Photo credit: BW Press
Catalytic Capital | June 10, 2021
Linchpin of Gates Foundation’s health strategies, ‘global access agreements’ fail their COVID-19 test
ImpactAlpha, June 10 – Legal agreements between the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and private biotechnology companies were supposed to be the great equalizer …
Call Recording | June 2, 2021
Call No. 28: For these wealthy families, deploying catalytic capital for impact is a privilege and responsibility
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 2 – The very rich are different, as F. Scott Fitzgerald once observed. One of those differences is the prerogative to put …
Circular economy startup Mr. Green Africa received a $50,000 bridge loan from Open Road Impact Fund
Catalytic Capital | May 27, 2021
Tallying the enterprises – and impact – that survived COVID with loans from Open Road Alliance
ImpactAlpha, May 25 – During her fundraising, Maya Winkelstein knew there would be strong demand for Open Road’s emergency bridge loans because, well, …
(left to right) Diane Isenberg, Regan Pritzker and Sheri Sobrato Brisson
Catalytic Capital | May 24, 2021
The Call: Committing family capital to reconstruction and regeneration
I’ve been scribbling a cheat sheet for myself in preparation for tomorrow’s Agent of Impact Call (we’re back!) and thought: Why not give …
Motorbike taxi in Kampala, Uganda | Photo credit: Emre Topdemir
Africa | May 13, 2021
How Lendable parses risks and returns to mobilize capital for inclusive fintech in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, May 13 – There’s little argument about the positive impact of making affordable loans to small- and medium-size enterprises in countries like Indonesia, …
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 …
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 | 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 …
A farmer drying coffee beans in the sun. Antigua, Guatemala | Photo credit: Odessa25
Capitalism Reimagined | 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 …
Agrifood Tech | February 4, 2021
Halving U.S. food waste is a $14 billion annual investment opportunity
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 4 – Investors have discovered food waste. Imperfect Foods last month raised $95 million to distribute foods deemed too ‘ugly’ for …
NAHUALA, GUATEMALA | Photo credit: Sarine Arslanian
Catalytic Capital | January 11, 2021
How to invest in an inclusive business recovery in Latin America
Small and growing businesses are significant actors in economic production, employment, and growth in Latin America and the Caribbean. According to the OECD, …
Bill Gates illustration | by Wahyu97
Catalytic Capital | December 23, 2020
Bill Gates says the world (sorta) came together to fight COVID-19. Next up: Climate
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 23 – “This is like a world war, except in this case, we’re all on the same side,” Gates wrote last spring, …
Catalytic Capital | December 15, 2020
Looking ahead: Catalytic investors sharpen their tools for deep impact in 2021
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 15 – Catalytic capital is always ‘impact on.’ That intention has rarely been more important than this year, when investors able …
Photo credit: Nacro
Catalytic Capital | December 14, 2020
MacArthur Foundation, Big Society anchor UK’s Women in Safe Homes fund
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 14 – Through a lease-to-own model, Women in Safe Homes fund, a residential property investment fund, will acquire properties and lease them …
Catalytic Capital | December 1, 2020
Refugee investments provide blueprints for Biden’s reset on immigration
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 1 – As the Trump administration was building walls and new restrictions, impact investors and innovative humanitarians were creating a marketplace of …
Photo credit: Cergios
Catalytic Capital | November 10, 2020
Gates Foundation’s role in Pfizer’s promising COVID vaccine is part of a strategy, not a conspiracy
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 10 – The Gates Foundation’s $55 million equity investment last fall into a German biotech company could have big payoff: an …
Catalytic Capital | October 28, 2020
How impact investors are using donor-advised funds to shift power to the people – and communities
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 28 – Impact investing, like most investing and even philanthropy, tends to vest power in the hands of those with the …
Catalytic Capital | October 8, 2020
Bridging the credit gap for India’s impact enterprises
ImpactAlpha, October 8 – More than two million social enterprises and impact companies in India are delivering healthcare, expanding electricity beyond the grid …
Africa | September 8, 2020
Smart subsidies for Africa’s high risk, low return smallholder finance market
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 8 – In well-functioning capital markets, expected returns on investment match the risk. In the fragmented agricultural markets of sub-Saharan Africa, risk …
Mariamu Mfuse is a 33 year old woman and a smallholder farmer from Mlevela village in Njombe. She is a mother of four children and depends on farming for her income. In the past Mariamu was planting both hybrid seed and local seed by mixing. But in 2016 she bought 10 kilograms of seed from One Acre Fund and planted on a one acre of land. In the past Mariamu harvested maize that could be enough for food but she never sold maize. She used to harvest 6 to 8 bags in her one acre. But now she can harvest up to 12 bags in the same field.
Catalytic Capital | August 20, 2020
One Acre Fund secures $20 million to catalyze institutional capital for African farmers
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 20 – Conventional investors see uncompensated risk. Investors of ‘catalytic capital’ see an opportunity for outsized impact. One Acre Fund has …
Catalytic Capital | August 17, 2020
Creative financing to unlock COVID aid in Alabama
ImpactAlpha, August 17 – The financial strains the COVID pandemic has caused in many cities and states can be seen in sharp relief …
Catalytic Capital | August 12, 2020
More than two dozen funds investing in tropical forests and communities
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 12 – More than two-dozen investment funds are making investments in tropical forests and communities. The funds have at least $2.6 …
Catalytic Capital | July 14, 2020
Impact investors catalyze $10 billion for India’s social venture market over 10 years
ImpactAlpha, July 14 – A decade ago, India’s first wave of impact investing collapsed under the weight of unregulated and unsustainable microfinance lending. …
Catalytic Capital | June 18, 2020
Scaling the ‘capillary banking system’ to expand access to capital
ImpactAlpha, June 18 – When the COVID crisis hit, Alphabet’s philanthropic arm, Google.org, zeroed in on boosting access to capital for women and …
Catalytic Capital | May 26, 2020
New York’s $100 million loan fund for small businesses is a model for a $1 billion national fund
ImpactAlpha, May 26 – New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo may have been listening in to ImpactAlpha’s Agents of Impact call last week. The …
Catalytic Capital | May 21, 2020
Innovative CDFIs scale up to help underserved communities move from relief to recovery
ImpactAlpha, May 21 – Community development financial institutions are an overnight sensation 30 years in the making. As the depth of the COVID …
Catalytic Capital | May 20, 2020
The outlook is bleak, and financing needs clear, for small businesses in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, May 20 – COVID is crushing small and growing businesses in emerging markets. Four in 10 companies supported by members of the …
Catalytic Capital | May 18, 2020
White House stands up an impact investing arm to finance COVID-response suppliers
ImpactAlpha, May 18 – The U.S. Development Finance Corp., which typically provides loans to companies in developing countries, has been tasked by President Trump …
Catalytic Capital | May 13, 2020
Overheard at the Mission Investors Exchange: Inclusive and catalytic capital
ImpactAlpha, May 12 – Decades of experience battling racial and economic disparities must be brought to bear on the COVID crisis, said presidents …
Catalytic Capital | May 5, 2020
Investors that demonstrate flexibility and patience prove catalytic in COVID crisis
ImpactAlpha, May 5 – Forgiveness and patience are rarely taught in business schools as crucial investment tools. But such flexibility has become essential as …
Catalytic Capital | April 28, 2020
ImpactAssets sets up donor-advised fund to channel flexible capital to COVID responses
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 28 – ImpactAssets has set up a COVID Response Fund to channel donor-advised funds to unmet needs. The fund will leverage …
Catalytic Capital | April 20, 2020
With zero-interest loans and deposits, wealthy families rush capital to rural lenders and impoverished communities
ImpactAlpha, April 20 – The single-family office Ceniarth is committing $3 million in zero-interest loans to help community development financial institutions, or CDFIs, …
Catalytic Capital | March 10, 2020
Impact investors offer four takeaways for the ‘new capitalism’ (video)
ImpactAlpha, March 10 – Suddenly, it seems, capitalism is being reimagined, reinvented or reset. For impact investing practitioners, however, the ‘new capitalism’ is …
2030 Finance | March 3, 2020
Realizing the Caribbean’s renewable energy potential
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 3 – For all their solar and wind, the Caribbean islands largely depend on high-cost fossil fuels and state-owned utility monopolies. …
Catalytic Capital | February 27, 2020
Prudential’s $1 billion portfolio of impact investments offers a blueprint for institutional investors
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 27 – Long before $1 billion became table stakes for impact investment funds, Lata Reddy went to the White House to announce …
Catalytic Capital | February 25, 2020
Emerging impact fund managers represent an emerging source of impact alpha
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 25 – In impact investing, smaller and newer may mean bigger and better returns. Smaller impact funds and first-time fund managers face …
Africa | February 4, 2020
Catalytic investment strategies to improve the lives of millions of small farmers in Africa
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 4 – When it comes to driving shared prosperity across a market, how capital is deployed is as important as what it …
Catalytic Capital | January 28, 2020
Funders pool $33 million in credit guarantees to catalyze community investments
Philanthropic commitments to cover loan losses could catalyze hundreds of millions in financing for affordable housing, small business and climate action at almost …
Catalytic Capital | January 22, 2020
IDH raises €100 million to catalyze smallholder farmer finance
ImpactAlpha, Jan. 22 – Some 270 million smallholder farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America produce over 70-80% of the world’s food. Yet …
Catalytic Capital | December 19, 2019
Catalytic capital: Reshaping risks and rewards to make markets work in 2020
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 19 – Attractive returns are in the eye of the beholder. For some investors, catalyzing capital for high-impact ventures – or better …
Catalytic Capital | November 14, 2019
These investors are mapping systems to catalyze structural change
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 14 – Say it louder for the people in the back: Impact investors can’t invest their way out of structural problems. More than …
Catalytic Capital | November 11, 2019
Digital and financial innovation is transforming small-farmer finance
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 11 – A wave of digital and financial innovation is changing perceptions around the profitability of lending to small farmers in emerging …
2030 Finance | October 21, 2019
Rockefeller’s $60 million impact fund manager leverages ‘catalytic capital’ for scale
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 21, 2019 – On the hunt for innovations able to mobilize at least $1 billion to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, …
Catalytic Capital | October 1, 2019
The supply of catalytic capital is bigger than expected. Demand is even bigger
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 2 – The MacArthur Foundation turned up a bumper crop of proposals with its call last spring for funds and other …
Catalytic Capital | September 25, 2019
Blended finance is mobilizing billions, not trillions, for the global goals
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 25 – Proponents of the use of philanthropic and public capital to mobilize private capital for public goods have touted blended finance as …
Catalytic Capital | September 19, 2019
New U.S. development finance agency expands toolkit for female fund managers
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 19 – When the U.S. Development Finance Corp. opens its doors on Oct. 1, it will be equipped with new investment tools …
Catalytic Capital | July 23, 2019
Blending finance to manage investment risk in the world’s poorest countries
ImpactAlpha, July 23 – One thing to know about economies in low-income countries like Angola, Senegal, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Zambia: They can grow fast. …
Catalytic Capital | July 16, 2019
Inside Darren Walker’s effort to transform philanthropy from the inside out
ImpactAlpha, July 16 – For Darren Walker, president of the $13 billion Ford Foundation, taking on inequality was always a contradiction. Philanthropy was born …
Catalytic Capital | July 15, 2019
Perceptions of profitability drive “fundamental shift” in small-farmer finance market
ImpactAlpha, July 15 – Just a few years ago commercial banks and even microfinance institutions mostly served large-scale farmers in commercialized valued chains. …
Catalytic Capital | June 20, 2019
Catalyzing capital for global health innovation
ImpactAlpha, June 20 — More innovation, and low-cost risk capital, is needed to meet global healthcare demand. Scaling up medicines, vaccines, bed nets, medical …
Catalytic Capital | June 17, 2019
Catalyzing capital to prevent plastic waste: A conversation with Circulate Capital’s Rob Kaplan and USAID’s J.P. Gibbons
ImpactAlpha, June 17 – Plastic waste is a global crisis. Investing to prevent plastic waste is an investment opportunity. Circulate Capital, spun off from …
Africa | June 11, 2019
Investors managing $2 billion call for smart subsidy to scale mini-grids
ImpactAlpha, June 11 – Rural electricity has often required subsidy. The self-sufficient electricity grids known as mini-grids are no different, say a dozen …
Catalytic Capital | May 16, 2019
What impact multiple of money will TPG Growth generate with global health fund?
ImpactAlpha, May 16 – Before it became an object lesson of private equity scandal, the $1 billion Abraaj Growth Markets Health Fund was …
2030 Finance | May 8, 2019
Philanthropic investors multiply their impact assets with Beyond Meat’s IPO
ImpactAlpha, May 8 – Impact investments from donor-advised funds helped seed the growth of Beyond Meat, the plant-based meat company that staged a successful …
Catalytic Capital | April 25, 2019
Early learning fund LearnStart receives $4 million in anchor capital
ImpactAlpha, April 25 – Bay Area-based education venture capital firm Learn Capital has launched a $25 million fund for tech startups focusing on early childhood …
Catalytic Capital | April 16, 2019
Cities and investors de-mystify the Opportunity Zone capital stack
ImpactAlpha, April 16 – Conversations around Opportunity Zones have matured from what to how as deadlines loom for claiming full tax benefits. The absence …
Catalytic Capital | March 12, 2019
Indispensable element in many impact investments: ‘catalytic capital’
ImpactAlpha, March 12 – Impact investors who seek to “do well by doing good” may want to spare a thought for a different …
Catalytic Capital | March 11, 2019
Northwest Health Foundation invests $1 million in fund for Oregon communities
ImpactAlpha, March 11 – The Northwest Health Foundation has invested $1 million in a RBC Global Asset Management fixed-income fund targeting Oregon communities. …
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Catalytic Capital | February 6, 2019
Prudential commits $100 million to narrow the racial wealth gap in Memphis, New Orleans and Atlanta
ImpactAlpha, February 5 – Place-based, blended finance through a racial lens. A $100 million commitment from Prudential Financial is a trifecta of impact …
Photo: Dylan Bouscher/Bay Area News Group
Catalytic Capital | January 28, 2019
The key to new $500 million affordable housing fund? A $40 million grant from Facebook’s founder.
Making the numbers work for building and preserving affordable housing has been tough in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the highest-cost …
Catalytic Capital | November 12, 2018
How to attract private capital to the poorest countries
Development finance unlocked some $81 billion in private capital for global development between 2012 and 2015. Only $5.5 billion, or less than 7% …
Catalytic Capital | November 6, 2018
The Russell Family Foundation moved most of its endowment to impact… and outperformed its benchmark
The Russell Family Foundation’s journey to align its $141 million endowment with its philanthropic mission began with a contradiction: Does an environmental foundation …
2030 Finance | May 22, 2018
Letter from Shenzhen: Can impact investors find a role in China’s impact initiatives?
Shenzhen, China, May 22 – China has something some other countries are missing: national policies for driving environmental and social impact. In renewable energy, …
Catalytic Capital | May 15, 2018
Talking system-change and impact investing at Mission Investors Exchange
ImpactAlpha, May 15 – “You guys are absolutely agreeing with each other,” moderator Tracy Palandjian pointed out midway through yesterday’s opening session of the Chicago …
2030 Finance | May 14, 2018
Catalytic Capital: Impact investors unlock off-grid energy financing with first-loss protections
ImpactAlpha, May 14 – It takes a village to light a village. Off-grid solar ventures last year provided improved energy access to an estimated …
Catalytic Capital | May 9, 2018
Mission Forward: Foundation leaders meet to talk place, race and impact
ImpactAlpha, May 9 – Place and race are at the top of the impact agenda at next week’s biennial conference of Mission Investors Exchange in …
2030 Finance | May 2, 2018
Impact holding companies: Breaking the chains of the 10-year fund is harder than it looks
ImpactAlpha, May 2 – Do impact investors really want long-term ownership? A few years ago, the impact investment community homed in on a problem …
2030 Finance | April 30, 2018
What we know about KKR’s $1 billion Global Impact Fund
ImpactAlpha, April 30 – KKR, the latest private-equity giant to move into impact investing, has launched fundraising for what it expects to be …
Photo credit: Pedro Lastra
2030 Finance | April 3, 2018
Smart subsidies can help make agricultural finance more inclusive
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 3, 2018 –– The ‘S’ word is still sensitive for many investors (see “Do impact investments need subsidies?”). But more than two …
Catalytic Capital | March 16, 2018
Donor-advised funds move to provide an onramp to impact for smaller investors
Donor-advised funds have long been seen as effective philanthropic vehicles administered by public charities. Here’s another way to look at these tax-preferred investment …
2030 Finance | March 14, 2018
With new pledge, another foundation moves to align endowment with mission
This is no time for business as usual, Sharon Alpert, president of the Nathan Cummings Foundation, made clear in a note last year, …
Canada | March 6, 2018
Canada doubles down on innovative finance for global development
By Christopher Clubb, Convergence The Government of Canada’s new budget announced this week is good news for those living in developing countries. The …
Catalytic Capital | February 24, 2018
The Brief’s Big Nine: Lessons from New Revivalists, Abraaj’s Naqvi steps back, financial…
Greetings, ImpactAlpha readers! Lessons in how building companies can create pathways to prosperity.When you meet and talk with dozens of leaders working to …
Catalytic Capital | February 22, 2018
The California Model, financing the missing middle, nonprofit working-capital loans, CalPERS: SDGs…
Greetings, ImpactAlpha readers! #Featured: Returns on Investment Podcast The California Model: Inclusivity and shared prosperity, or exclusivity and inequality? Take a look toward …
Catalytic Capital | February 8, 2018
View from Seattle: Nine ways to create a bigger tent for impact investing in 2018
Impact Voices SOCAP365 hits the road to dig up local insights from long-time impact investors Michael Brown of Seattle Foundation and Lindsay Smalling …
Catalytic Capital | February 2, 2018
Is the social impact bond market half-billion full or empty?
The more than 100 social impact bonds launched in the past eight years have mobilized more than $400 million in total and touched …
2030 Finance | January 19, 2018
Tata Trusts’ incubator gets $4.7 million for energy-startup lab
The objective of the Foundation for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship objective is to back high-risk startups that “no other investor will normally touch …
Catalytic Capital | November 30, 2017
Philanthropy’s saving graces, Nobel sustainability fund, talent-tech merger, day two at GES, future…
Greetings, ImpactAlpha readers! #Featured: Impact Voices Three saving graces that can help foundations dodge three deadly perils. Clara Miller, the outgoing president of the …
Catalytic Capital | November 29, 2017
Three saving graces to help foundations dodge three deadly perils
At the SOCAP conference last month, Emmet Carson, president of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the nation’s largest, described their impressive $500 million-plus …
Catalytic Capital | November 28, 2017
Dana Bezerra tapped to lead F.B. Heron Foundation
The foundation is known for directing 100% of its $250 million in assets toward its mission of helping people and communities help themselves …
Catalytic Capital | November 22, 2017
Take more risks, and four other venture-philanthropy takeaways
Investors, grant-makers, banks and business schools, met in Oslo earlier this month to boost capital flows and ecosystem support for social ventures taking …
Catalytic Capital | November 17, 2017
The Catalyst Fund’s gateway to financial services for the world’s next billions
Say you’re a huge asset manager looking for growth. You might want to keep tabs on the business models and innovations pulling the …
Catalytic Capital | November 16, 2017
The pocket guide to impact investing financial performance
Like you, we get a pile of white papers on impact investing. Unlike you (understandably), we try to read them! So we’re grateful to …
Catalytic Capital | November 16, 2017
Blending finance to crowd in private capital for climate action and the global agenda
By Joan Larrea, CEO of Convergence, and Chiara Trabacchi, climate finance specialist at IDB Invest There’s more than just the future of the climate …
Catalytic Capital | October 25, 2017
Venture philanthropy solutions to Europe’s challenges
Europe is being tested by rising inequality, refugee integration, disappearing jobs and shrinking civic space. A new crop of social enterprises and social-purpose organizations …
Catalytic Capital | September 22, 2017
Development impact bonds take aim at health challenges
Nearly 100 social impact bonds have been launched since the first SIB in 2010. Development impact bonds, or DIBs, on the other hand, haven’t …
Catalytic Capital | September 19, 2017
Here come the SDG-finance unicorns
By Dennis Price and David Bank To get to a trillion dollars, much less tens of trillions, you first have to get to $1 billion. …
2030 Finance | July 29, 2017
Chan-Zuckerberg’s portfolio, JPMorgan’s clean billions, Patamar’s livelihood thesis, care-bots…
Hello ImpactAlpha readers! #Featured: ImpactAlpha Original How Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg are investing their social-change billions. If and when the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative …
Blockchain/AI/IoT | July 29, 2017
How Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg are investing their social-change billions
By Dennis Price and David Bank If and when the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative becomes one of the biggest private social-change funders in history, these early …
Catalytic Capital | July 28, 2017
Foundation leaders commit to U.S. impact investing push
Policies and other measures to advance impact investing in the U.S. will get a push from a new alliance of foundation presidents and …
Catalytic Capital | July 28, 2017
Peterborough social impact bond becomes a proof point
By Dennis Price and David Bank Fewer prisoners are returning to prison in Peterborough, England. That represents a success for the city, the ex-offenders, …
Impact Voices
Catalytic Capital | July 22, 2021
Four ways investors can structure financing to incentivize positive impact
The Social Impact Bond made its debut in 2010 with the purpose of aligning initiatives and investors around social impact objectives. Since then, …
Capitalism Reimagined | July 14, 2021
There’s no building back better without investing in underserved communities
Between record levels of government stimulus, an unprecedented vaccination campaign and a buzzing economy, it’s easy to see reasons for optimism as America …
Photo by Lagos Techie on Unsplash
Catalytic Capital | June 29, 2021
Consider yourself a fiduciary? Then it’s time to invest in Africa
Africa was home to half of the world’s 10 fastest growing economies last year. Institutional investors must begin to seriously consider Africa as …
Africa | June 23, 2021
Securitizing future cash flows to advance the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa
ImpactAlpha, June 23 – In Nigeria, Primero Transport Services, a bus company with a concession from the Lagos government, securitized receivables from its bus …
Catalytic Capital | June 16, 2021
How one New York fund is getting impact-first capital off the sidelines
Program-related investments, or PRIs, should be the type of impact investing most attractive to foundations. However, 52 years after the enabling legislation was …
Catalytic Capital | June 14, 2021
A blended finance solution for sustainable fashion and impact businesses in Brazil
Trê – Investing with cause is a young organisation born in Brazil to foster a new economy, contributing to the healthy flow of …
Catalytic Capital | June 10, 2021
Alt-financing tools help early impact enterprises build a track record with investors
ImpactAlpha, June 10 – For many founders, getting access to traditional sources of debt to fuel their companies can feel like a chicken-and-egg scenario. …
10kw wind turbine at Argonne National Laboratory | Photo credit: Science in HD on Unsplash
Catalytic Capital | June 7, 2021
Yes, impact-first catalytic capital is still needed for early-stage climate solutions
Climate technologies have become better and more affordable. Renewable energy can compete on cost with power from coal and natural-gas plants. The improving …
Catalytic Capital | June 1, 2021
How investment facilitators can unlock dealflow in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, June 1 – Getting deals done in emerging markets costs more than in developed markets, both in absolute terms – due to peculiarities …
Protect savings. Concept of insurance and money protection. 3D Rendering
Catalytic Capital | May 27, 2021
Everything is ‘market-rate,’ but not everything is ‘impact-first’
To successfully address the global crises we face, we must close the distance between investment and impact. As the need to deploy more …
Photo credit: Wave Break Media
Catalytic Capital | May 21, 2021
Family office opportunities for impact-first investments in racial equity and justice
The COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating toll on communities of color and concurrent national protests against recurring police violence toward Black people have sparked a …
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 …
Africa | November 23, 2020
An ‘impact-first’ approach to investing for climate justice in rural communities
If you are an investor interested in learning more about how to invest in climate justice solutions, join us on December 3rd for …
Catalytic Capital | October 29, 2020
How a portfolio of inclusive businesses prioritized the poor through COVID
The spread of COVID-19 and the economic devastation in its wake have shown just how necessary for-profit approaches are to serving the poor …
Catalytic Capital | September 10, 2020
Trade finance provides ‘systemic liquidity’ to emerging-market businesses in COVID crisis
In a world where innovation is revered, it can be easy to forget the value of tried and tested tools. When Covid-19 revealed …
Catalytic Capital | August 25, 2020
How investors can blend finance for CDFIs to advance economic and racial justice
Community development finance institutions have long been “first responders” to small businesses in historically underinvested communities. The COVID-19 pandemic has in stark terms …
Catalytic Capital | July 30, 2020
Beyond gender-lens: CARE’s new impact fund opts for ‘gender justice’
As impact investors who have launched a new “gender-justice” impact investment fund, CARE wants to make it clear: we seek deep systems change. …
Catalytic Capital | July 27, 2020
MIT Solve rallies to provide bridge loans and revenue-based financing
ImpactAlpha, July 27 – Melissa Menke had to re-write the entire operational playbook of Access Afya in response to COVID-19. Menke founded Nairobi-based …
Catalytic Capital | June 25, 2020
Building a better post-COVID food system with investments in small businesses in developing economies
COVID-19 is – and will continue to have – a huge impact on global food and nutrition security. On the supply side, restrictions …
Catalytic Capital | June 25, 2020
‘Impact Rescue Facility’ targets $1 billion to support small enterprises in emerging markets
Many commentators posit that the COVID-19 pandemic could go down in history as this generation’s opportunity to do a course correction toward a …
Catalytic Capital | June 25, 2020
Five tips for attracting capital to blended finance vehicles
Blended finance has gained significant momentum in the past few years, and we increasingly see more early stage and late stage blended finance …
Capitalism Reimagined | June 18, 2020
Pricing for impact: How Agents of Impact can move from bluster to bold action
Can impact investing chip away at systemic dysfunction? Can deploying financial capital to achieve positive social, environmental and economic outcomes make a dent …
Catalytic Capital | June 2, 2020
Mobilizing with urgency: A call to the impact investing movement
The crises we see today — COVID-19, racial injustice and violence, and more — are far too familiar for far too many people, …
2030 Finance | March 2, 2020
Catalyzing capital to develop carbontech for gigaton-scale CO2 removal
The pace of international carbon dioxide emissions reduction is insufficient to limit global average temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius. Even with rapid …
2030 Finance | February 18, 2020
Listen to customers, not hypesters, about the impact of energy access
Few would dispute that for many of the 840 million people without access to electricity globally, off-grid solutions will be essential to improving …
Catalytic Capital | February 11, 2020
Three questions for JPMorgan’s new development finance institution
The announcement by JPMorgan Chase & Co. last month that it would be setting up a new development finance institution to expand its …
Asia | January 23, 2020
Asia-Pacific is the next frontier for blended finance
ImpactAlpha, Jan. 23 – The Asia-Pacific region has seen enormous economic growth in the last few decades, which has lifted hundreds of millions out …
Africa | January 23, 2020
Blending philanthropic, public and private capital to finance climate infrastructure in emerging economies
ImpactAlpha, Jan. 23 – The Climate Finance Partnership, announced this week at the World Economic Forum, showcases the catalytic power of philanthropic and public …
Catalytic Capital | December 19, 2019
For Ceniarth’s impact-first portfolio, ‘catalytic’ just means reasonable
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 19 – It has been 18 months since Diane Isenberg, Ceniarth’s founder, announced our intention to focus our capital on impact-first …
Catalytic Capital | October 30, 2019
Getting smart about subsidies to bridge the agricultural financing gap
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 30 – The latest data suggests that financial service providers are supplying about $70 billion to rural agricultural households around the …
Catalytic Capital | October 16, 2019
Philanthropy can do more to catalyze private capital for public good
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 16 – We’re on the brink of a significant shift in the global flow of capital. We have the opportunity to …
Catalytic Capital | September 30, 2019
An investor’s journey: How CDC Group is innovating with catalytic capital
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 30 – How can investors innovate for impact without sacrificing rigor? As institutions from Prudential Financial to family office Ceniarth LLC will testify, there are some …
2030 Finance | July 3, 2019
How do I convince my parents? Five guideposts for family offices shifting to impact
ImpactAlpha, July 3 – Once ‘Next Gens’ who want to shift more of their family assets into impact investing master the basics of …
Catalytic Capital | June 27, 2019
Three ways to get better outcomes from blended finance
ImpactAlpha, June 27 – Blended finance continues to gain traction, and for good reason. For investors, it can shift the balance between risk and …
Catalytic Capital | April 10, 2019
Key ingredient in the blended-finance blend: revenues
ImpactAlpha, April 10 – As the term “blended finance” increasingly becomes part of the global development vernacular, the phrase is popping up in …
Catalytic Capital | March 6, 2019
A catalytic loan fund helps arts and cultural organizations thrive in Chicago
ImpactAlpha, March 6 – Artists want to make art, not produce quarterly financial forecasting documents. But often they find themselves having to be …
Catalytic Capital | February 5, 2019
Private capital falls short in ‘blended finance’
ImpactAlpha, February 5 – In theory, blended finance should leverage limited public financing to “crowd in” many times that amount in private capital. …
Catalytic Capital | January 14, 2019
How Ceniarth is seeking higher impact on rural livelihoods – while preserving its own capital
ImpactAlpha, January 14 – Last summer, Diane Isenberg, founder of our family office Ceniarth, went public in ImpactAlpha with our firm’s pledge to …
Catalytic Capital | December 6, 2018
Changing climate means growing demand for ‘adaptation finance’
A mismatch between the growing climate crises and underinvestment in mitigation solutions such as renewable energy means more investment will be needed to …
Catalytic Capital | November 5, 2018
Five ways to boost the flow of donor-advised fund capital to impact investments
There is growing interest in better connecting donor-advised funds (DAFs) with deep, impact investing opportunities. While we have some promising examples, few are …
Catalytic Capital | October 17, 2018
A paean to the unsung intermediaries who put the pieces together for impact
Middlemen – and women – get a bad rap. So let’s get straight to the point: when it comes to putting impact deals …
Catalytic Capital | September 25, 2018
Four ways blended finance can help tackle extreme poverty in post-conflict countries
The good news: By 2030 the number of people living in extreme poverty will be reduced by half. The bad news: Those that …
2030 Finance | August 29, 2018
Foundations collaborate on catalytic financing to accelerate climate action
Climate change entrepreneurs and fund managers are developing innovative solutions to worldwide challenges. But too often, promising efforts languish on the drawing board …
Dealflow
Catalytic Capital | July 28, 2021
Catalytic Capital Consortium seeks best practices for flexible finance
ImpactAlpha, July 28 – The MacArthur Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and Omidyar Network formed the Catalytic Capital Consortium, or C3, to expand the use of …
Photo credit: National Geographic Society.
2030 Finance | July 27, 2021
Hartree Partners and Wildlife Works tap voluntary carbon markets to finance forest protection
ImpactAlpha, July 27 — The partnership is an example of how rising prices for carbon credits are making more conservation initiatives investable (see, …
Capitalism Reimagined | July 20, 2021
Community Equity Fund readies small checks for Black and Brown proprietors in North Carolina
ImpactAlpha, July 20 – More than 90% of Black-owned businesses in the U.S. are sole proprietorships that lack access to “friends and family” …
Photo credit: Media Frenzy.
Catalytic Capital | June 22, 2021
Google for Startups launches second $5 million Black Founders Fund
ImpactAlpha, June 22 — Google launched its inaugural $5 million Black Founders Fund last year as part of its $175 million initiative to …
Africa | June 21, 2021
Berkeley Energy raises €130 million for second Africa Renewable Energy Fund
ImpactAlpha, June 21 – Berkeley Energy is looking to build hydro, wind and solar projects, as well as battery storage facilities, to meet Africa’s …
Photo: Elena Seibert
Catalytic Capital | June 15, 2021
MacKenzie Scott backs ‘teams empowering voices the world needs to hear.’
ImpactAlpha, June 16 – Common Future, Social Finance, Kiva and Souls Grown Deep are among the 286 organizations that received a combined $2.7 …
Catalytic Capital | May 26, 2021
LISC closes $250 million Black Economic Development Fund to catalyze capital for racial equity
ImpactAlpha, May 26 — The vehicle’s objectives: Increasing access to capital for businesses that support economic growth in Black communities. Strengthening local Black …
Africa | May 12, 2021
Acre Impact Capital bridges a financing gap to catalyze capital for infrastructure in Africa
ImpactAlpha, May 12 – Financing for emerging-markets infrastructure projects that have become more critical because of the pandemic – think hospitals – has become …
Photo credit: Reuters/Jean Bizimana photo.
Africa | May 12, 2021
CDC Group provides $100 million to help ETG connect smallholder farmers in Africa
ImpactAlpha, May 12 — CDC Group has committed $100 million in debt funding to agricultural commodities supplier ETG to expand its logistics networks …
Photo credit: Washingtonian.
Catalytic Capital | May 11, 2021
Capital Impact Partners to manage Nourish DC to fund local food businesses
ImpactAlpha, May 11 — Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Browser is tapping Arlington, Va.-based community development financial institution Capital Impact Partners to receive $1 …
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 the Racial Justice Collaborative, a vehicle that aims to provide debt, equity and grant …
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 …
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 …
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, …
Ankur Capital team | Photo credit: Ankur Capital
Catalytic Capital | January 27, 2021
MacArthur Foundation backs Ankur Capital fund for tech impact in India
ImpactAlpha, Jan 27 – Commercial investors tend to steer clear of businesses targeting low-income customers, leaving billions in India without access to affordable and …
Photo credit: Shoegaro
Catalytic Capital | January 27, 2021
Upaya Social Ventures supports ‘good jobs’ in India with four investments
ImpactAlpha, January 27 – Seattle-based Upaya Social Ventures invests in small and growing businesses creating dignified jobs for underserved Indians. It closed four convertible …
Africa | January 27, 2021
DFC guarantees Cordaid to spur lending in Africa’s Sahel
ImpactAlpha, January 27 – The U.S. International Development Finance Corp. approved a $14.8 million loan portfolio guarantee for Cordaid Investment Management. The commitment is …
Photo credit: Medical Credit Fund
Africa | January 13, 2021
Medical Credit Fund blends $19.2 million to finance Africa’s frontline health clinics
ImpactAlpha, January 13 – Small, privately-run clinics are often the only providers of essential health services in remote and low-income parts of Africa. …
Asia | December 23, 2020
Northern Arc Capital scores debt financing to serve India’s underbanked
ImpactAlpha, December 23 — Northern Arc Capital, an East India-based non-banking finance company that provides access to debt for underbanked individual borrowers and …
Catalytic Capital | December 2, 2020
Texas foundations sets up fund for COVID-impacted health clinics
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 3 – Health facilities in many parts of the U.S., and particularly low-income and rural areas, are buckling under the weight of …
Africa | November 24, 2020
CrossBoundary Energy’s fund exit is a proof point for Africa’s commercial solar market – and catalytic capital
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 24 – An African solar energy fund that only five years ago appeared too risky even for impact investors has delivered, …
Catalytic Capital | October 28, 2020
LISC bets on Fearless Fund with $750,000 investment in first-time fund managers
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 27 – One of the best ways to get more capital to entrepreneurs of color is to have more venture funds …
Catalytic Capital | October 27, 2020
Impact America’s $55 million second fund is hunting for unicorns in the disruption of systemic racism
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 27 – Kesha Cash has raised $55 million to look for technologies that address one of the largest market inefficiencies of our …
Catalytic Capital | October 20, 2020
Pay-for-success funds in San Francisco and Colorado raise $10 million for nonprofits
ImpactAlpha, October 20 – Two new funds aim to streamline pay-for-success (sometimes called social impact bonds) and make it easier for nonprofits to …
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Africa | August 24, 2020
With ‘mezzanine capital,’ iungo seeks to fill a gap for East Africa’s small and growing family businesses
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 24 – AA Fisheries is the kind of enterprise impact investors talk about all the time. But too few turn talk …
Catalytic Capital | August 18, 2020
Catalytic capital helps Acumen’s ALIVE bridge financing gap for social ventures in Peru and Colombia
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 18 – Entrepreneurs in Latin America are weathering the pandemic to create sales channels for small farmers, online education for students and …
Africa | July 2, 2020
Societe Generale and CDC launch $100 million facility to spur lending by West African banks
The French bank and U.K. development finance institution want to encourage local banks to increase lending to local food and essential goods importers.
2030 Finance | June 16, 2020
Prime Impact Fund raises $52 million to jumpstart climate-tech pipeline
ImpactAlpha, June 16 – Climate innovations aren’t going to fund themselves. Prime Coalition, founded by Sarah Kearney (an ImpactAlpha Agent of Impact), set …
Catalytic Capital | May 26, 2020
Beneficial Returns raises emergency loan fund for social enterprises
ImpactAlpha, May 22 – The Truss Fund has raised $700,000 to backstop graduates of the GSBI Accelerator at the Miller Center at Santa …
Catalytic Capital | May 19, 2020
UNICEF’s guarantees would speed PPE procurement in low-income countries
ImpactAlpha, May 19 – UNICEF USA is tapping investors and donors for a $3 million vehicle to give low-income countries a boost in …
Africa | April 9, 2020
African Development Bank ratchets up COVID relief with $10 billion commitment
ImpactAlpha, April 9 – The severity of the coronavirus crisis in emerging markets hasn’t yet reached the levels of China, the U.S. or …
Catalytic Capital | April 8, 2020
Inter-American Development Bank issues $2 billion bond for COVID relief
ImpactAlpha, April 29 – The Inter-American Development Bank has issued a $2 billion, five-year bond as part of its $12 billion COVID relief …
Catalytic Capital | April 7, 2020
Visa Foundation to provide $210 million for COVID relief, with a gender lens
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 7 – Visa Foundation has committed $210 million for COVID relief. A $10 million initiative will offer immediate emergency relief to …
Catalytic Capital | April 6, 2020
Gates Foundation to invest in manufacturing facilities to accelerate COVID vaccine
ImpactAlpha, April 6 – The Gates Foundation announced in February that it was turning its attention to climate change and gender equity. That …
Catalytic Capital | March 4, 2020
UK’s Nesta raises £20 million impact fund for the creative arts and culture
ImpactAlpha, March 4 – The creative economy in the U.K. contributes more than $10 billion and generates some 364,000 jobs. Nesta’s new £20 million …
Catalytic Capital | February 24, 2020
Nonprofit Finance Fund’s $10 million fund to spur homeless housing in L.A.
ImpactAlpha, February 24 – Los Angeles’ homeless population is the rise. Nearly 60,000 people lack permanent housing in the Los Angeles metro area, …
Africa | February 4, 2020
CDC Group backs Africa’s banks to ratchet up small business finance
ImpactAlpha, February 4 – CDC Group, the U.K. development finance institution, has promised to spur global development by taking a more catalytic approach …
Catalytic Capital | January 28, 2020
Bamboo Capital scores first-loss funding for new SDG investing platform
ImpactAlpha, January 28 – There’s a $2.5 trillion annual funding gap for the Sustainable Development Goals and a $5 trillion funding gap for …
Catalytic Capital | October 23, 2019
Terra Silva has $90 million in ‘catalytic capital’ for carbon reduction in tropical forests
ImpactAlpha, October 23 – Forests are climate-negative technology at scale. So investments in tropical forests should be investment-ready, and fund managers able to tap …
Catalytic Capital | September 4, 2019
Accion Venture Lab closes $33 million to invest in inclusive fintech startups
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 4 – Accion was early to “fintech” when it launched its $10 million Venture Lab investing initiative in 2012. Since then, digital …
Catalytic Capital | July 31, 2019
Upaya uses recoverable grants to invest in two Indian agribusinesses
ImpactAlpha, July 31 – Seattle-based Upaya Social Ventures is using $1 million in recoverable grants from foundation partners to prove investment opportunities serving the …
Catalytic Capital | July 10, 2019
Bridges raises £35 million for second pay-for-success fund
ImpactAlpha, July 10 – Bridges Fund Management has raised £35 million ($44 million) to orchestrate and launch pay-for-success initiatives in partnership with government backers. The …
Catalytic Capital | May 22, 2019
Rockefeller Foundation seeds city-level support for Opportunity Zones
ImpactAlpha, May 22 – The goal of the $5.5 million in funding from New York foundation is to help cities attract and deploy impact-oriented …
Asia | April 30, 2019
Taking an ‘impact tranche,’ Packard Foundation pushes forest fund beyond business as usual
ImpactAlpha, April 30 – Different investors in the same deal have long taken different tranches of debt with specific risks, rewards and duration. …
Catalytic Capital | April 23, 2019
GoATL fund backs LIIF’s charter school finance program in Atlanta
ImpactAlpha, April 23 – The impact investment fund of Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta put $1 million into the Low Income Investment Fund …
Catalytic Capital | April 15, 2019
Luminate injects $4 million in anti-corruption organization Global Witness
ImpactAlpha, April 15 – U.S. and Europe-based Global Witness undertakes investigations in transnational corruption, covering abuses in everything from oil and mineral extraction to …
Catalytic Capital | November 20, 2018
OPIC commits $50 million for Global Partnerships’ base-of-the-pyramid fund
ImpactAlpha, November 19 – U.S. development finance institution OPIC has agreed to invest $50 million in impact investor Global Partnerships’ Impact-First Development Fund. …
Catalytic Capital | October 1, 2018
World Bank earmarks $1 billion for better batteries
ImpactAlpha, September 30 – The World Bank’s new billion dollar “Accelerating Battery Storage for Development” program aims to triple installed battery capacity in …
Catalytic Capital | September 26, 2018
Foundation investments inject $1.4 million into College Forward’s mentoring program
ImpactAlpha, September 26 – Austin-based College Forward offers mentoring programs to support students from underserved communities go to and get through college. The …
Catalytic Capital | September 24, 2018
Craigslist founder backs news site to cover Big Tech’s impact on society
ImpactAlpha, September 24 – Former ProPublica investigative journalists Julia Angwin and Jeff Larson are planning to launch a new news organization, called The …
Catalytic Capital | September 23, 2018
WaterEquity’s third fund reaches $33 million first close
ImpactAlpha, September 21 – WaterEquity, a subsidiary of Matt Damon’s Water.org, announced it has reached a $33 million first close for its WaterCredit Investment …
Catalytic Capital | September 10, 2018
Kellogg Foundation, DiCaprio Foundation support L.A. community wellness center
ImpactAlpha, September 9 – The Paul Robeson Community Wellness Center has opened with funding support from the Kellogg Foundation, Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, Whole …
2030 Finance | August 30, 2018
Off-Grid Energy Access Fund raises $58 million to expand local debt financing
The Off-Grid Energy Access Fund has reached a first close for its a mission to “catalyze capital markets support for innovative energy access …
2030 Finance | August 28, 2018
PRIME Coalition sets three climate-tech startups on path to commercial capital
ImpactAlpha, August 27 – Opus 12, Mallinda and Lilac Solutions are the latest tech startups to join PRIME Coalition’s portfolio, boosting PRIME’s portfolio …
Catalytic Capital | August 26, 2018
MacArthur Foundation backs Self-Help credit union and ‘community-led solutions’ for Chicago
ImpactAlpha, August 25 – The Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation is lending North Carolina-based Self-Help Ventures Fund $15 million to support the integration and expansion …
Billionaires | July 20, 2018
Bill Gates funds biotech accelerator for Alzheimer’s
Gates is backing a $30 million venture philanthropy accelerator that will support early stage biotech companies working on Alzheimer’s research, detection and diagnosis. …
Catalytic Capital | June 20, 2018
Kellogg Foundation backs loan fund for Battle Creek
A $1 million program-related investment from the Battle Creek, Mich.-headquartered Kellogg Foundation established the Battle Creek Small Business Loan Fund to provide capital and technical …
Catalytic Capital | June 18, 2018
Jessie Ball duPont Fund makes $3 million affordable housing loan to LISC
Impact investors are driving more capital to America’s affordable housing shortage. The latest example is Florida-based Jessie Ball duPont Fund, which has made a …
Catalytic Capital | June 18, 2018
Gates Foundation and Horizons Ventures invest in Evolve’s infant probiotic
California-based Evolve BioSystems is making a probiotic nutritional supplement for infants to fight child malnutrition. Evolve’s basis for the product, called Evivo, is research …
2030 Finance | May 21, 2018
CDC and Standard Chartered share risks in $100 million fund for post-Mugabe Zimbabwe
ImpactAlpha, May 21 – Zimbabwe has been coaxing back private investors since the end of Robert Mugabe’s 37-year-rule last November. The new $100 million …
2030 Finance | May 17, 2018
Proparco backs Tunisian and Ugandan enterprises
ImpactAlpha, May 17 – Proparco, the French development finance institution, backed Tunisian microlender Enda Tamweel and Ugandan sugar maker SCOUL. Enda Tamweel offers microloans …
2030 Finance | May 14, 2018
LITA.CO raises €2.2 million for impact equity crowdfunding
ImpactAlpha, May 14 – LITA.CO, a Paris-based startup, has developed a platform to help European social impact startups crowdfund equity investments. LITA.CO chooses companies …
2030 Finance | May 10, 2018
Client demand: Swedish pension fund commits $100 million to BlackRock’s emerging markets impact fund
ImpactAlpha, May 10 – European pension funds, including Sweden’s state funds, have been at the forefront of the institutional drive toward sustainable investing, and …
Catalytic Capital | April 17, 2018
Redaptive raises $20 million for building energy efficiency-as-a-service
ImpactAlpha, April 17 – Redaptive, a San Francisco startup, handles upfront cost of energy saving upgrades and recoups costs from customers’ energy savings. Redaptive …
Asia | April 5, 2018
Olam’s $500 million club loan shows bankers will back sustainable agriculture
ImpactAlpha, April 5 – Of the many forms of “impact alpha,” lower-cost capital is among the most useful. Olam, the Singapore-based food giant, …
Catalytic Capital | March 22, 2018
ECMC Foundation rolls out education PRI fund, backing two funds
ECMC Foundation has rolled out an education PRI fund and backed two funds. The fund, called Education Innovation Ventures, invests in startups that …
Catalytic Capital | March 16, 2018
Gates Foundation to commit $170 million to women and girls by 2022
The foundation’s gender equality initiative will target women and girls to help cut poverty. “No society can achieve its potential with half of its …
Catalytic Capital | February 23, 2018
Open Road Alliance expands working-capital loan fund for social-sector organizations
Open Road Ventures, the expanded fund from the Open Road Alliance, is designed to fill a very specific need faced by social organizations: …
Catalytic Capital | February 10, 2018
Bush Foundation standing up social business seed fund
The St. Paul, Minnesota-based foundation with $950 million in assets is seeking proposals to set up and operate a new fund that invests …
Catalytic Capital | February 9, 2018
Oregon Community Foundation makes three investments from impact fund
The Portland-based foundation invested (paywall) $3.75 million in housing lender Network for Oregon Affordable Housing, small business lender Micro Enterprise Service of Oregon, …
Catalytic Capital | January 30, 2018
Climate Trust Capital invests in dairy biogas project
Climate Finance The new investment marks the halfway investment point for the $5.5 million fund PC: Munchies — Vice The carbon-focused conservation fund invested $1.1 million …
Catalytic Capital | January 19, 2018
Bezos donates $33 million to DACA scholarship fund
The Amazon CEO and his wife MacKenzie committed the funds to TheDream. US, a scholarship program for undocumented immigrants in the Deferred Action …
Catalytic Capital | January 19, 2018
ParentPowered raises $2.7 million for parenting app
The company’s Ready4K app sends texts with learning tips to parents of young kids. The Belmont, Calif. company aims to create “an on-demand library …
africa | January 6, 2018
AgDevCo re-ups with Zambian farming venture
Katito Farming Enterprises aims to increase local agricultural production and processing in northern Zambia and to connect smallholder farmers to regional export markets. AgDevCo, …
Asia | December 22, 2017
South Korea’s SK Group introduces social enterprise fund
South Korea lags behind global and regional peers in raising and allocating impact capital. But several initiatives are bubbling. The large conglomerate SK …
Catalytic Capital | December 16, 2017
Nonprofit Finance Fund introduces loan fund for California nonprofits
The $13 million Aim Healthy Fund provides a new source of financing for the state’s community health organizations, including those focused on behavioral …
Catalytic Capital | December 14, 2017
Gary Community Investments leads affordable-housing initiative in Colorado
More than 250 community land trusts in the U.S. help low- and low-middle income families buy homes through use of a land-lease, in …
2030 Finance | December 13, 2017
Greenlight Planet closes $60 million for off-grid solar expansion
The company is one of the largest pay-as-you-go solar providers, selling its Sun King line of solar products to five million off-grid households …
Catalytic Capital | December 5, 2017
Twin Cities foundations invest in affordable housing
The F.R. Bigelow Foundation and the St. Paul Foundation are committing $1 million each to two organizations — CommonBond Communities and Habitat for Humanity — as program-related …
Catalytic Capital | November 22, 2017
Kauffman Foundation puts up $1.2 million for microlending to underserved entrepreneurs
The U.S. economy could add a million businesses and 9.5 million jobs if minorities started and owned companies at the same rate as …
Catalytic Capital | November 16, 2017
NOAH Impact Fund makes first investment in Minnesota affordable housing
The $25 million equity fund, part of the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, aims to preserve naturally occurring affordable housing (or NOAH) by connecting …
Catalytic Capital | November 10, 2017
Panorama Education raises $16 million to promote “socio-emotional learning.”
Boston-based Panorama provides software to help public K-12 systems understand how self-esteem, family engagement and other factors affect student achievement. Panorama’s goal: “helping …
Catalytic Capital | November 9, 2017
Shell Foundation, FMO and DFID partner on fund targeting the UN Global Goals
The foundation and the Dutch and U.K. development institutions said the planned fund will invest in startups tackling global access to finance and energy. …
Catalytic Capital | November 3, 2017
Rhode Island Foundation earmarks 5% of endowment for impact investing
The Providence, R.I.-based community foundation is the latest to venture into impact investing to boost its strategic objectives — educational success, healthy lives and economic …
Agrifood Tech | October 30, 2017
RSF Social Finance lends $1.6 million to organic sauerkraut producer
Pickled cabbage is the newest– make that oldest– superfood. RSF made the loan to Whitethorne, a subsidiary of the nonprofit Hawthorne Valley Association, …
Catalytic Capital | October 19, 2017
George Soros’ $18 billion gift to Open Society Foundations could boost impact investments
The hedge-fund billionaire and a global advocate has transferred $18 billion in assets to his long-time philanthropy. With the gift, to be distributed …
Catalytic Capital | September 27, 2017
Ford Foundation backs Detroit housing development
The Platform is a private developer that creates neighborhood-development plans focusing on market-rate and affordable housing in parts of the city outside of …
Catalytic Capital | September 16, 2017
Emerson Collective to incubate innovation in immigration advocacy
With the fate of DACA uncertain, Laurene Powell Jobs’s Emerson Collective is setting up an Immigration Innovation Incubator to support services, advocacy and …
Catalytic Capital | August 31, 2017
InFaith Foundation commits $10 million to investment portfolio fighting domestic violence
The Minneapolis-based foundation is seeding the WomenInvest InFaith portfolio and opening it to donor-advised funds. The portfolio, three-quarters of which will be in …
Catalytic Capital | August 4, 2017
Rockefeller Foundation seeds ETFs created by non-profits
Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, are bundles of stocks that trade in the public markets. Most track a specific stock market index. Rockefeller Foundation is …
Catalytic Capital | August 1, 2017
Self Help gets an $8 million deposit to boost low-income lending
Even cash deposits can have positive social impact. The Silicon Valley Community Foundation is depositing $8 million in Self Help Federal Credit Union, enough …
2030 Finance | July 22, 2017
Prime Coalition and Closed Loop back Rebound Technologies to cut energy in food storage
Impact investors are getting together to start to fill the gap in early-stage climate solutions. The PRIME Coalition, Closed Loop Ventures, and members …
Catalytic Capital | July 5, 2017
Social crowdfunding platform JustGiving exits to Blackbaud
The U.K.-based fundraising site is being acquired, mostly for cash, by non-profit software provider Blackbaud for £95 million ($124 million). JustGiving, launched in …
2030 Finance | June 28, 2017
Bloomberg launches “American Cities Initiative” to galvanize local leadership
The $200 million philanthropic initiative launched at the annual U.S. Conference of Mayors follows city and state backlash against the Trump Administration’s decision …
Catalytic Capital | June 27, 2017
Dolphin Living raises charity bond for affordable housing after London fire
Dolphin Living has raised a bond for affordable housing in the wake of the Grenfell fire. The housing charity raised £25 million ($31.8 million) …
Billionaires | June 26, 2017
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative invests in affordable housing for teachers
Mark Zuckerberg believes in “personalized learning” and wants kids to teach themselves (through software Facebook is helping develop). But teachers will have a …
Calls
Call Recording | June 2, 2021
Call No. 28: For these wealthy families, deploying catalytic capital for impact is a privilege and responsibility
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 2 – The very rich are different, as F. Scott Fitzgerald once observed. One of those differences is the prerogative to put …
Agents of Impact
Bold leaders. Taking action. Driving impact.