Impact Tech
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Policy Corner | October 3, 2022
U.S. Treasury channels $8 billion to help CDFIs and MDIs boost small-business lending
ImpactAlpha, October 3 — Community development financial institutions, or CDFIs, and minority depository institutions, or MDIs, played a vital role getting aid to …
Photo by Northwell Health.
Investing in Health | October 3, 2022
Town Hall Ventures raises a $350 million fund to improve how health care is delivered to underserved communities
ImpactAlpha, October 3 — Disparity in health outcomes, life expectancy and deaths are becoming a mounting crisis in the U.S., particularly in underserved …
Photo by The Money Engineer.
Dealflow | September 30, 2022
ImpactAlpha Deal Spotlight: Small business lending in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, September 30 — Small and medium-sized enterprises create seven out of every 10 jobs and contribute up to 40% of annual GDP …
SunColombia
Impact Management | September 29, 2022
To understand the impact of electrifying schools in Colombia, ALIVE Ventures listens to parents and teachers
At Acumen Latam Impact Ventures (or ALIVE Ventures), one of our solar energy investments has reached over 100,000 beneficiaries with their solar installations …
Photo by Moxion Power.
Clean Energy | September 29, 2022
Moxion Power secures $100 million to decarbonize mobile power
ImpactAlpha, September 29 — Construction sites, outdoor events, film productions and disaster response teams need temporary power generation. “There’s enormous demand for cleaner …
Photo by Numida.
Inclusive Economy | September 29, 2022
Numida raises $12.3 million to provide loans to small businesses in Uganda
ImpactAlpha, September 29 — Kampala-based Numida provides unsecured working capital loans, ranging from $100 to $5,000, to micro and small enterprises in as …
Kakuma Refugee Camp | Photo credit: Dominic Chavez / International Finance Corp.
Refugee Lens Investing | September 28, 2022
Displaced East Africans remake camps into testbeds for refugee-lens investing
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 28 – A settlement camp in a remote area of northwest Kenya is abuzz with economic activity – and a signal of the …
Impact Voices | September 28, 2022
Move over New York: Clean energy action shifts to industrial Pittsburgh
The spotlight may have been on Climate Week NYC last week, but 370 miles away, Pittsburgh was the site of additional high-level climate …
Impact Investing | September 27, 2022
A dozen charts that map the uneven but hopeful path to a carbon-free economy
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 27 – Transitions are rarely a straight line. That is especially true of the massive global shift underway to a low-carbon economy. …
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Clean Energy | September 27, 2022
Mirova raises $1.5 billion for fifth energy transition infrastructure fund
ImpactAlpha, September 27 — Paris-based Mirova is the $27 billion impact unit of French asset management firm Natixis Investment Managers. The B Corp …
Climate Week NYC. Photo: Luiz C. Ribeiro for the Climate Group
Climate Finance | September 23, 2022
Trillions are the talk of Climate Week, as opportunities drive climate action.
ImpactAlpha, Sept.23 – The energy transition is moving from talk to action. Those not moving fast enough are finding themselves on the hot …
Photo by Jingming Pan on Unsplash
Climate Finance | September 22, 2022
A safe, low-carbon way to store your gold: Leave it in the ground
What’s the most eco-friendly way to mine gold? Not to mine it. Nature’s Vault, a blockchain-based finance company headquartered in Singapore, is buying …
Photo by Pie Insurance.
Inclusive Economy | September 22, 2022
Pie Insurance raises $315 million to provide workers’ comp coverage for small businesses
ImpactAlpha, September 22 — Most U.S. businesses are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance, which covers medical expenses, lost wages and rehabilitation costs …
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Low-carbon transition | September 22, 2022
Future scores $5.3 million to reward consumers for reducing their carbon footprint
ImpactAlpha, September 22 — More U.S. consumers are looking to make climate-friendly purchases to reduce their carbon emissions. “There’s a common misconception that …
Photo credit: Hero Future Energies
Clean Energy | September 21, 2022
KKR leads India’s Hero Future Energies’ $450 million raise to expand into battery storage and green hydrogen
ImpactAlpha, September 21 — New Delhi-based independent power producer Hero Future Energies was launched a decade ago by industrial equipment giant Hero Group. …
Image credit: Westend61 / Getty Images
Impact Investing | September 20, 2022
Will a new EPA fund serve low- and moderate-income people? Five principles to promote success
On August 16, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, federal legislation that invests nearly $400 billion over 10 years in renewable energy …
CNote co-founder and CEO Cat Berman | Photo by CNote.
Corporate Impact | September 20, 2022
CNote raises nearly $7.3 million to tap corporate cash for community development
ImpactAlpha, September 20 — CNote has raised $7.3 million to expand its network of more than 2,000 CDFIs, low-income designated credit unions and …
Photo by The Sauce.
Inclusive Economy | September 20, 2022
PowerToFly raises $30 million to upskill and connect underrepresented talent with jobs
ImpactAlpha, September 20 — New York-based PowerToFly has raised $30 million to upskill and connect underrepresented talent with jobs. Millions of professionals use …
Climate Finance | September 19, 2022
New momentum and stubborn challenges as Climate Week kicks off (Call No. 44)
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 19 – Investors, entrepreneurs, corporate executives and world leaders have descended on New York for Climate Week, the annual gathering alongside the …
Climate Finance | September 15, 2022
Overheard at India’s ‘Impact 2022’: Climate investment tipping point
ImpactAlpha, September 15 – India is experiencing a surge of interest in climate investment and innovation, thanks to the country’s bold commitments at COP26 …
a crypto mining "rig"
Blockchain/AI/IoT | September 15, 2022
Ethereum transition points the way to a carbon-free blockchain
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 15 – By the time you read this, energy consumption equivalent to that used annually by Chile and the carbon footprint of Hong …
Photo by Sahyadri Farms.
Smallholder Agriculture | September 15, 2022
Sahyadri Farms raises nearly $40 million to digitalize India’s smallholder farmers
ImpactAlpha, September 15 — Sahyadri Farms is a farmer-led fruit and vegetable processing and export business that works with more than 18,000 farmers …
Photo by Jonathan Hung.
ESG | September 15, 2022
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan-backed Ethic raises $50 million growth investment
ImpactAlpha, September 15 — New York-based Ethic has raised $50 million to expand into new markets and products. The tech-driven asset management platform …
Climate Finance | September 15, 2022
Investors in India are betting on climate tech’s financial opportunity
ImpactAlpha, September 15 – Climate finance in India surged in 2021, reaching about $20 billion in equity, green bonds and other types of capital. …
Photo by Terawatt Infrastructure.
Green Infrastructure | September 14, 2022
TeraWatt Infrastructure rakes in more than $1 billion for EV charging for commercial fleets
ImpactAlpha, September 14 — A lack of charging infrastructure for commercial vehicles is slowing the deployment of electric trucks. San Francisco-based TeraWatt Infrastructure …
Photo by Shutterstock.
Clean Energy | September 14, 2022
Energy Impact Partners raises €390 million for its first European fund
ImpactAlpha, September 14 — Europe leads the clean energy transition and is a key market for the low-carbon transition, says Hans Kobler of …
Impact Investing | September 13, 2022
Bringing the energy transition to every building and neighborhood, with public and private capital
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 13 – Green jobs in South Los Angeles. Low-carbon retrofits and cost savings in New York public housing. Electric vehicle and battery …
Impact Management | September 13, 2022
Seven ways organizations can foster personal, organizational, and social well-being
We recently engaged a consultant to help us examine and ultimately overhaul our internal governance and decision making systems. One of the exercises …
Photo by Bond Pet Foods.
Agrifood Tech | September 13, 2022
Bond Pet Foods raises $17.5 million to make lab-grown meat for pets
ImpactAlpha, September 13 — Animal byproducts used in pet food are less carbon-intensive than other types of meat, but they are still derived …
Catalytic Capital | September 12, 2022
The Climate Finance Tracker’s data-driven map for catalytic climate investors (Q&A)
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 12 – Where is capital most impactful in combating climate change? What kind of capital is needed where? And who is …
Photo by AdobeStock.
Oceans | September 12, 2022
Ocean 14 Capital raises €100 million to advance the blue economy
ImpactAlpha, September 12 — Investing in sustainable and regenerative oceans is a multi-trillion-dollar global opportunity that could create 40 million jobs by 2030, …
Women Rising | September 12, 2022
Janngo Capital secures €34 million for its African gender-lens fund
ImpactAlpha, September 12 — Fatoumata Ba launched Janngo Capital at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2020 to help bridge the capital …
Photo by DOW.
Dealflow | September 9, 2022
Deal Spotlight: Clean energy financing for low- and middle-income countries
ImpactAlpha, September 9 Emerging economies are helping lead the clean energy transition by attracting private investment to larger-scale renewable energy projects, the World …
Solar water pump in Kenya
Catalytic Capital | September 8, 2022
Measuring and valuing climate adaptation to mobilize capital for low-carbon development
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 8 – Solar irrigation to increase crop yields. Clean cookstoves to improve indoor air quality. Cold storage to raise farmers’ incomes. Water …
Dealflow | September 8, 2022
Misfits Market acquires Imperfect Foods to consolidate the food-waste reduction market
ImpactAlpha, September 8 — Even amid the downturn in venture funding this year, significant raises for companies in food waste management and upcycling …
Credit: PesaChoice
Frontier and Growth Markets | September 8, 2022
CcHUB backs nine fintech startups in Rwanda
ImpactAlpha, September 8 – Nigeria and Kenya-based startup accelerator and angel investor network CcHUB is supporting a cohort of early-stage fintech startups in …
Photo by Shutterstock.
Clean Energy | September 7, 2022
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners raises €3 billion for energy transition fund
ImpactAlpha, September 7 — The Danish fund received commitments from 65 institutional investors, including global pension and sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, asset …
Photo credit: PEG Africa
Frontier and Growth Markets | September 7, 2022
Bboxx expands in West Africa with acquisition of off-grid solar peer PEG Africa
ImpactAlpha, September 7 – PEG Africa launched its pay-as-you-go solar business in Ghana in 2013 and has since expanded to Senegal, Ivory Coast and …
Agrifood Tech | September 5, 2022
Silver linings in an uncertain fundraising market for food waste innovation
We have entered a strange and challenging funding environment brought about by inflation and economic uncertainty – the two, of course, are inevitably …
Dealflow | September 2, 2022
Deal spotlight: Impact upgrades
ImpactAlpha, September 2 – When the pandemic hit, concerns about single-use waste went out the window as people stocked up on disposable face masks, …
Photo by Blue World Technologies.
Clean Energy | September 1, 2022
Blue World raises €37 million for methanol fuel for decarbonized shipping
ImpactAlpha, September 1 — Starting in January, most global shipping companies will be required to have their vessels’ exhaust tested and graded on …
Photo by MEDU.
Investing in Health | September 1, 2022
Mexico’s MEDU scores $4 million for reusable medical protective gear
ImpactAlpha, September 1 — Hospitals generate more than five million tons of waste yearly, according to Greenhealth, including gowns, gloves, syringes and more. …
Impact Voices | August 31, 2022
Education financiers aim to flip the odds in favor of students in the Global South
As our children head back to school this Fall, there are still hundreds of millions of students in low- and middle-income countries suffering …
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Green Infrastructure | August 31, 2022
Temasek and HSBC commit $150 million for green infrastructure in Southeast Asia
ImpactAlpha, August 31 — Innovative financing mechanisms could help catalyze the more than $3 trillion gap in sustainable infrastructure financing in Southeast Asia …
EarlySalary's founders. Photo by Inc42.
Financial Inclusion | August 31, 2022
EarlySalary raises $110 million for instant-cash loans to India’s young earners
ImpactAlpha, August 31 — The Pune-based fintech company aims to provide access to credit for underserved consumers in India’s Tier 3 and 4 …