Geographies
Dealflow | June 1, 2023
Boeing inks deal to buy green hydrogen from Equatic
ImpactAlpha, June 1 – Los Angeles-based Equatic’s novel technology packs a one-two punch. It produces hydrogen from seawater via renewable-powered electrolysis. At the …
Photo credit: Sun King
Clean Energy | May 31, 2023
Sun King raises $130 million through securitization of off-grid solar payments
ImpactAlpha, May 31 – Public agencies and private companies from California to Cote d’Ivoire are leveraging cash flows to finance climate adaptation and …
United States | May 31, 2023
Opportunity Zone investors bet $5 million on a Pennsylvania factory supporting the green building transition
ImpactAlpha, May 31 – In a previous career, John Wolfington redeveloped defunct factories and brownfield sites for residential and commercial use. Now, he’s …
Climate Finance | May 30, 2023
Packard and Ford foundations back Nusantara Fund to bolster climate resilience for Indonesia’s Indigenous communities
ImpactAlpha, May 30 – Indonesia is among the world’s small number of “mega bio-diverse” countries – and has one of the world’s highest …
Photo credit: Kofa
Dealflow | May 30, 2023
Ghana’s Kofa raises seed round for multi-purpose EV batteries
ImpactAlpha, May 30 – The action in Africa’s electric vehicle market is in electric motorbikes. Much of the early activity is concentrated in East …
Image credit: Quilt
Climate and Clean Tech | May 24, 2023
Lowercarbon Capital and MCJ Collective back Quilt’s heat pump designs
ImpactAlpha, May 24 – Sales of heat pumps in the US last year outpaced gas furnaces. Many systems come with installation challenges, however, …
Photo credit: Wyss Institute, Harvard University
Dealflow | May 23, 2023
Collaborative Fund offers up $15 million to ignite sustainable materials development at Harvard
ImpactAlpha, May 23 – Collaborative’s network of investment fund managers has directed $1 billion into impact entrepreneurship. Another $200 million is going toward …
Inclusive Economy | May 23, 2023
Funders commit $10 million to combat California’s housing crisis with community ownership
ImpactAlpha, May 23 – Nearly 30% of America’s homeless live in California. Among the state’s extremely low-income households who are housed, nearly 80% …
Photo credit: Odyssey
Dealflow | May 19, 2023
Odyssey raises $15 million to cut obstacles to renewables in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, May 19 – Commercial and industrial solar for business facilities, factories and shopping centers is growing in markets without reliable grid connections. …
Climate and Clean Tech | May 18, 2023
Tangible raises $3 million to help building developers measure and reduce climate impact
ImpactAlpha, May 18 – Real estate companies seeking to reduce their carbon footprints largely focus on operational carbon—how much a building emits once …
Photo by Kensa.
Climate and Clean Tech | May 17, 2023
Kensa Group secures £70 million to accelerate adoption of ground-source heat pumps in the UK
ImpactAlpha, May 17 — The UK government wants to install 600,000 heat pumps each year as a low-carbon alternative to gas boilers. Ground-source, …
Return on Inclusion | May 16, 2023
Illumen Capital raises $168 million second fund to fight bias in asset management
ImpactAlpha, May 16 – Recent economic volatility has pushed the share of global assets managed by women and people of color below an …
Photo credit: M-KOPA
Frontier and Growth Markets | May 16, 2023
M-KOPA lands $255 million in equity and impact-linked debt for financial and gender inclusion
ImpactAlpha, May 16 – M-KOPA helped build Africa’s off-grid, pay-as-you-go solar market. Now the The Nairobi-based company brands itself as a fintech company, …
Photo credit: Switch
Green Infrastructure | May 15, 2023
CAI backs Switch as part of a $300 million initiative to green the digital economy
ImpactAlpha, May 15 – Computers, data centers and other assets supporting the world’s growing digital appetite consume 10% of electricity worldwide. Sustainable investment …
Photo credit: Helion Energy
Dealflow | May 15, 2023
Microsoft’s off-take agreement with Helion signals fusion energy is within reach
ImpactAlpha, May 15 – The timeline for commercially-viable fusion energy took a leap forward with a commitment by Helion Energy to deliver fusion …
Education Tech | May 11, 2023
BeeReaders raises $3.5 million to close the literacy gap for Spanish-speaking students
ImpactAlpha, May 11 — Austin-based edtech venture BeeReaders provides customized and culturally-relevant Spanish reading and writing content to 500 schools and 250,000 K-12 …
Photo credit: Pivot Energy
Climate and Clean Tech | May 10, 2023
Silicon Valley Bank keeps green project finance rolling under new ownership
ImpactAlpha, May 11 – When a bank run took down Silicon Valley Bank in March, the US government stepped in to ensure depositors …
Impact Voices | May 10, 2023
How carbon credits are driving down the costs of climate-friendly goods in Africa
Despite the valid criticisms that have surfaced about the voluntary carbon market, carbon finance is playing a critical role in catalyzing a just …
Climate and Clean Tech | May 10, 2023
UK-based Actis launches $500 million Japan-focused clean energy arm
ImpactAlpha, May 10 – London-based global sustainable infrastructure investor Actis launched a Japan-focused clean energy unit out of its fifth energy infrastructure fund, …
Photo credit: NicNax, an SME.NG portfolio company
Catalytic Capital | May 10, 2023
Visa provides catalytic ‘working capital’ grant to three women-led funds in Africa
ImpactAlpha, May 10 – Female fund managers control just a sliver of private equity and venture capital assets globally, much less in Africa. …
Dealflow | May 9, 2023
El Salvador’s Cubo raises $3.5 million to digitize payments for small businesses
ImpactAlpha, May 9 — El Salvador’s Cubo launched in 2021 with an easy-to-use digital solution for micro and small enterprises in Central America …
Photo credit: Novulis
Investing in Health | May 8, 2023
How impact incentives brought a dental care startup back to its roots in rural Ecuador
ImpactAlpha, May 8 – Dental care is often an afterthought in global health. But as anyone who’s had a toothache knows, it can …
Photo by Nithio.
Clean Energy | May 8, 2023
Schmidt Family Foundation backs Nithio for clean energy access in sub-Saharan Africa
ImpactAlpha, May 8 — A $3 million investment by the former Google executive’s foundation will support off-grid solar lending to borrowers in “the …
Photo by R2.
Financial Inclusion | May 8, 2023
Mexican embedded finance venture R2 secures $100 million line of credit from Community Investment Management
ImpactAlpha, May 8 — R2 has secured a $100 million from San Francisco-based impact investor Community Investment Management. The Mexico City-based venture provides …
Community Finance | May 4, 2023
Healthy Neighborhoods Equity Fund closes $42 million for inclusive real estate in New England
ImpactAlpha, May 4 – Boston-based environmental advocacy organization Conservation Law Foundation and Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp., a community development finance institution, raised $42 …
Dealflow | May 4, 2023
Encourage Capital invests in Svakarma Finance to promote clean energy access for India’s small businesses
ImpactAlpha, May 4 – Mumbai-based Svakarma Finance is using an on-the-ground lending network with fintech to provide credit and other financial services to …
Photo credit: CoolIT
Return on Inclusion | May 4, 2023
KKR acquires CoolIT to advance both climate impact and worker ownership
ImpactAlpha, May 4 – The world’s growing uses for data are creating an environmental problem: data centers consume a lot of energy. Preventing …
Gender Smart | May 3, 2023
Anthemis scores backing from Visa and BMO for women-focused fintech fund
ImpactAlpha, May 3 – Despite growing recognition of gender-based investing, the needle on how much women-led startups raise hasn’t moved in years. In …
Dealflow | May 2, 2023
Cross-border processor Rev acquires online payments company Netspend to reach underbanked customers
ImpactAlpha, May 2 – Roy and Bertrand Sosa founded Netspend during the dot-com boom. Their innovation: prepaid debit cards. “We thought, how are …
Dealflow | May 2, 2023
Calvert Impact crosses the $1 billion mark in retail sales of Community Investment Notes
ImpactAlpha, May 2 – It was no small feat in 1995 when Calvert Impact (then Calvert Foundation) launched an impact note available to …
Photo credit: Divert
Muni Impact | May 1, 2023
Green muni bond in California provides $63 million to waste-to-fuel provider Divert
ImpactAlpha, May 1 – Massachusetts-based Divert culls food waste from US-based food retailers and converts it to natural gas through anaerobic digestion. A …
Photo credit: Elisur Organic
Frontier and Growth Markets | May 1, 2023
Beneficial Returns backs Elisur Organic to help Peru’s coffee farmers diversify their crops
ImpactAlpha, May 1 – The world’s coffee supply—and the farmers that grow it—is threatened by climate change. Some coffee specialists are trying to …
Frontier and Growth Markets | April 27, 2023
Brazil’s Arado raises $12 million to give smallholder farmers a tech edge
ImpactAlpha, April 27 – In one of Latin America’s most industrialized agriculture markets, Arado is doubling down on its support for small producers. …
Agrifood Tech | April 20, 2023
Aqua-Spark invests in sustainable aquaculture startups in Vietnam and Finland
ImpactAlpha, April 20 – Aqua-Spark was one of the earliest investors in the “blue economy,” focusing on an agrifood niche at a time …
Dealflow | April 20, 2023
Wire Group closes out first fund’s investments and launches second fund
ImpactAlpha, April 20 – Dutch impact advisor Wire Group launched its first fund in 2019, after 10 years helping European family offices develop …
Smallholder Agriculture | April 20, 2023
AgDevCo invests $8 million in avocado farming venture in Kenya
ImpactAlpha, April 20 – Africa-focused agriculture investment group Agris is teaming up with a major Israeli avocado producer, Granot, to build a nearly …
Photo credit: Amp Robotics, a Congruent portfolio company
Climate Finance | April 19, 2023
Climate tech investor Congruent raises $300 million to help portfolio co’s scale
ImpactAlpha, April 19 – Congruent Ventures has cut pre-seed, seed and Series A checks for more than 60 companies since launching in 2017. …
Photo credit: Flash Forest
Canada | April 18, 2023
Canada’s Flash Forest secures $11.4 million to speed forest replanting after wildfires
ImpactAlpha, April 18 – Wildfire intensity and damage is intensifying due to climate change. Flash Forest in Ontario is using drones to jumpstart …
China | April 17, 2023
Can China’s impact investing ecosystem expand beyond green energy and ESG?
ImpactAlpha, April 17 – China manufactures more batteries than the rest of the world combined, by far. The country’s spending of $546 billion …
Africa | April 17, 2023
Secha Capital’s investment in South Africa’s FarmTrace will support growth and employee ownership
ImpactAlpha, April 17 – Private equity firm Secha Capital made its name as an early investor in South Africa’s bread and butter businesses. …
Return on Inclusion | April 17, 2023
MassMutual invests $100 million in second Catalyst Fund for diverse founders
ImpactAlpha, April 17 – MassMutual launched its first Catalyst Fund in 2021 with $50 million to invest in diverse-led and rurally-based startups in …
Photo credit: Community Design Agency
Climate Finance | April 12, 2023
India’s urban slums have become a testbed for climate solutions. Investors are welcome to take a look
ImpactAlpha, April 12 – The Sanjaynagar slum in Ahmednagar, about 150 miles from Mumbai, was a desolate piece of marshland about the size …
Photo credit: Native Women Lead
Return on Inclusion | April 6, 2023
Native Women Lead secures backing from Comcast to finance Indigenous women-owned businesses
ImpactAlpha, April 6 – Indigenous women-owned businesses employed more than 61,000 people and generated $11 billion in revenues last year. Women are the …
Photo credit: Wazi Vision
Africa | April 5, 2023
Renew Capital expands in Uganda with investments in Xente and Wazi Vision
ImpactAlpha, April 5 – Ethiopia-based Renew Capital has invested in two companies in Uganda, underscoring the investment firm’s growing pan-African investment strategy. The …
Photo credit: HeatTransformers
Dealflow | April 5, 2023
Investors target home energy efficiency in Europe
ImpactAlpha, April 5 – European climate tech investing is defying the lull in venture capital dealmaking. The latest: Energy Impact Partners, Fair Capital …