Geographies
Financial Inclusion | April 25, 2024
Indian home lender Altum Credo’s $40 million round gives investors a partial exit
Pune, India-based Altum Credo provides mortgages for first-time homebuyers underserved by other financial institutions. Its digital underwriting and loan disbursement process offers five …
Latin America | April 25, 2024
IDB Lab backs small businesses in Paraguay and health access in Ecuador
The Inter-American Development Bank’s experimental venture funding group IDB Lab provided a $3 million anchor investment for iThink VC, an investment firm that …
Inclusive Economy | April 24, 2024
Deal spotlight: Connect Humanity blends finance to bring broadband to remote communities
The lack of high-speed Internet service in rural and mountainous regions of the US exacts a socio-economic toll, limiting access to jobs, education, …
Dealflow | April 23, 2024
Upstart Co-Lab raises $15 million to invest in an inclusive creative economy
Upstart Co-Lab raised $15 million in a mix of mission and program-related investments and recoverable grants from 14 investors. Investors include the Andy …
Inclusive Economy | April 23, 2024
Tangent secures early funding to democratize referrals for UK tech workers
Less than 10% of the UK’s tech talent comes from lower-income backgrounds compared to nearly 30% in finance and 23% in law. An …
Africa | April 22, 2024
IFC writes a $300 million check to Standard Bank for low-income housing and renewable energy in South Africa
South Africa is in the midst of a critical, years-long power crisis. The country also needs nearly four million new units of low-income …
Muni Impact | April 22, 2024
Michigan raises $53 million to green its healthcare services
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 …
Emerging and Growth Markets | April 19, 2024
Deal spotlight: African banks help Acre Impact Capital bridge gaps in infrastructure finance
It’s taken three years for Mauritius-based Acre Impact Capital to reach a first close for its first infrastructure finance fund. The firm is …
Dealflow | April 18, 2024
Medulance scores $3 million to bring medical emergency response services to India’s smaller cities
Indian healthtech investor Alkemi Growth Capital led a $3 million Series A investment in Medulance, a company founded in 2017 to make emergency …
Clean Energy | April 17, 2024
Quilt raises $33 million to launch its sleek heat pump
Heat pump sales in the US are expected to ramp up, as states implement generous financial incentives in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. …
Climate Finance | April 17, 2024
Astarte Capital and Silvipar raise $325 million for sustainable forestry in Paraguay
Paraguay is one of the poorest countries in South America. It also has one of the highest rates of tropical deforestation in the …
Investing in Health | April 16, 2024
SEAF provides impact-linked capital to Dawa Mkononi for pharmaceutical access in Tanzania
Impact investment firm SEAF (for Small Enterprise Assistance Funds) launched its Daraja Impact initiative with support from AlphaMundi Foundation and the Swiss Agency …
Climate Finance | April 16, 2024
Pula lands $20 million to offer livestock insurance to smallholder farmers
Insurance tech startup Pula launched in 2015 to provide crop insurance to small scale farmers, 80% of whom lack access to products that …
Impact Voices | April 15, 2024
How Mati Carbon is using the carbon markets to address farmers’ adaptation finance gap and boost their incomes
Ashish Kumar is a long-time climate investor and a market / ecosystem builder. He is a strategic advisor to Mati Carbon. This month, …
Smallholder Agriculture | April 11, 2024
SunCulture raises $27.5 million to expand solar irrigation for smallholder farmers
Nairobi-based SunCulture has been making affordable irrigation systems for smallholder farmers in Africa since 2013. A decade ago, farmers had difficulty finding affordable …
Financial Inclusion | April 10, 2024
Africa50 and Oikocredit lead $14 million round for Zeepay’s cross-border payments
Remittance inflows to Africa are expected to top $55 billion this year. But Africa is the most costly region in the world for …
Catalytic Capital | April 9, 2024
The impact investing opportunity in Puerto Rico’s economic comeback
In one of Puerto Rico’s poorest neighborhoods, you can find what economists might call a “green shoot.” The plan for Oasis, a six-acre, …
Climate and Clean Tech | April 9, 2024
Vietnam’s Alterno raises $1.5 million to store renewable energy in sand batteries
More than 80% of Vietnam’s power is generated from fossil fuels, mostly coal. The country’s coal dependence will affect Vietnam’s ability to trade …
Latin America | April 8, 2024
Sustainable tourism in the Galapagos Islands gets a boost with Quasar Expeditions’ $14 million loan
Tourism, a key source of livelihoods in communities in the Galapagos, also poses a major threat to the ecosystem’s stunning biodiversity. Quasar Expeditions …
Emerging and Growth Markets | April 5, 2024
African pension funds back Adenia Capital’s fifth impact private equity fund
Mauritius-based impact private equity firm Adenia Capital raised $470 million to invest in African businesses delivering essential goods and services. Adenia tracks an …
Emerging and Growth Markets | April 4, 2024
Aavsihakaar backs Midland Bank to boost ESG in Bangladesh’s textile industry
Textiles account for 20% of Bangladesh’s GDP and 80% of its exports. Poor working conditions, human rights abuses, and water and land pollution …
Financial Inclusion | April 3, 2024
Gawa Capital and OikoCredit invest in Sindhuja Microcredit for rural lending in India
Sindhuja Microcredit launched in 2018 in India’s mostly rural state of Uttar Pradesh to provide access to capital to traders, shopkeepers and farmers …
Agrifood Tech | April 3, 2024
Seso inks $26 million to address US farm labor shortages
Difficulty finding and hiring farm workers, particularly migrant workers, is hurting production on American farms. Seso, based in San Francisco and Monterrey, Mexico, …
Dealflow | April 1, 2024
Uganda’s Credify raises early funding to address Africa’s trade finance gap
Small businesses that source products from overseas pay for the goods well before they sell them. In Africa, where small businesses already face …
Low-carbon transition | March 29, 2024
Deal spotlight: Trickle of financing to phase out coal
Predictions of peak coal have come and gone as global efforts to phase out the dirty fossil fuel founder in regions reliant on …
Dealflow | March 28, 2024
Capria Ventures backs fintechs in Nigeria and Bangladesh to expand financial services
Capria Ventures, a Seattle-based venture investor in emerging markets, continues to deploy capital from its Global South Fund II, which achieved a first …
Latin America | March 27, 2024
The path to growth in Brazil runs through the impact economy (videos)
Sign up for ImpactAlpha Latin America to follow the people and money powering Latin America and the Caribbean’s impact economy. In May, thousands of visitors …
ImpactAlpha Latin America | March 27, 2024
ImpactAlpha Latin America: Investing in Brazil’s impact economy
Sign up for ImpactAlpha Latin America to follow the people and money powering Latin America and the Caribbean’s impact economy. Saludos, Agents of Impact! 👋 …
Impact Voices | March 27, 2024
Investing in life vs. tech: Lifting up nature-based solutions for ecosystems and communities
“We need to invest in life, rather than expensive infrastructure investments,” Anne van Leeuwen, a founding farmer from the European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture, pleaded …
Latin America | March 27, 2024
Mexico’s Savia Ventures backs Chilean alt-protein startup Done Properly (video)
Santiago-based biotech company Done Properly uses fermentation to produce healthy and sustainable food alternatives, including meat and additives. Mexico City-based climate tech VC …
Climate Finance | March 27, 2024
New Global Innovation Lab cohort dives into regional climate finance solutions
Climate Policy Initiative’s decade-old Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance has mobilized $4 billion to urgent climate efforts in the Global South. To …
Impact Voices | March 26, 2024
Why Beta Impacto combined venture capital and an NGO to scale impact in Latin America
Over the past 15 years, my personal journey has been dedicated to making the world a better place, navigating through various stages of …
Financial Inclusion | March 26, 2024
Nsave secures $4 million to democratize Swiss offshore accounts
Amer Baroudi from Syria and Abdallah AbuHashem from Gaza launched inclusive fintech venture Nsave to give people from countries with high inflation, political …
Financial Inclusion | March 25, 2024
Optimo Loans secures $10 million to offer credit to rural India’s micro businesses
Just one-quarter of India’s micro and small businesses have access to formal financial services; an estimated 53 million businesses are unbanked. Bangalore-based Optimo …
Climate and Clean Tech | March 25, 2024
World Fund raises €300 million venture fund for European climate tech
World Fund invests in Europe’s early and growth-stage climate startups. The three-year-old, Berlin-based VC firm crossed the €300 million mark for its first …
Water | March 22, 2024
Deal spotlight: Turning on the capital tap to finance water and sanitation in Africa
As climate change makes water supplies and management more critical than ever, public budget allocations for water access and treatment in Africa are …
Climate Finance | March 21, 2024
Leveraging the carbon markets for clean cooking, climate justice and social impact
Nairobi’s slums are dotted with little aqua blue signs alerting residents to top-up points for cooking fuel. Many households don’t have electric stoves …
Inclusive Economy | March 21, 2024
Beneficial Returns re-ups with Indonesian nut producer Kawanasi
Jakarta-based Kawanasi Sehat Dasacatur buys and processes wild-harvested kenari nuts, a type of tree nut, from the Indigenous Kayoa people in eastern Indonesia. …
Dealflow | March 20, 2024
Nigeria’s Moove raises $100 million for revenue-based vehicle financing
Since it launched out of Lagos in 2020, Moove has provided revenue-based vehicle financing for over 20,000 ride-hailing and delivery drivers in Nigeria, …
Water | March 20, 2024
Tanzania turns to green bond market to improve urban water infrastructure
The East African country is new to the global green bond market but has quickly become one of Africa’s most active issuers. The …
Africa | March 19, 2024
African venture capital rebounds as global LPs re-up in Partech Africa
ImpactAlpha, March 19 — Africa was not spared from last year’s venture capital funding slowdown. But nearly all of the limited partners in …
Climate Finance | March 18, 2024
HeavyFinance raises €20 million to help farmers regenerate Europe’s agriculture
HeavyFinance offers credit to help farmers and small agri-businesses adopt regenerative practices to improve soil health and sequester carbon. The Lithuania-based crowdfunding platform, …
Deploy! | March 15, 2024
Tribal community gets Energy Department loan guarantee for solar + storage
The future of energy access runs through locally-led and inclusive businesses. Indigenous-owned renewable energy developers in the US are getting their first cut …
Agrifood Tech | March 14, 2024
KAS snags $3 million for low-cost production of aquaculture ingredient
Astaxanthin is used in aquaculture feed to enhance the health and pigmentation of farmed fish and shrimp. Synthetic astaxanthin is cheaper than natural …
Climate Finance | March 14, 2024
Green Climate Fund invests in India’s climate resilience via the Avaana Sustainability Fund
The Small Industries Development Bank of India is the main financing body for tens of millions of India’s small businesses. The bank manages …