Inclusive Economy
Dealflow | March 18, 2024
Westbound raises $100 million to back tech ventures built by, for or with underrepresented people of color
Westbound Equity Partners launched in 2019 as Concrete Rose Capital to close the racial wealth gap by providing financial and social resources to …
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 …
Plugged In | March 15, 2024
Up- and re-skilling Black talent for tech’s next wave (video)
The gold rush of 2020 gave way to the pink slips of 2023. Nearly a quarter-million tech workers were laid off last year …
Clean Energy | March 13, 2024
The path to universal energy access is local, inclusive and women-led
In Zimbabwe, Agriput Solar leverages a network of local women to sell solar home products in rural communities. Women-led Grean World in Ethiopia …
Africa | March 13, 2024
IFC extends $20 million to Burundi bank to bolster small business lending
The International Finance Corp. and a group of institutional investors have extended a $20 million loan to Banque de Crédit de Bujumbura to …
Financial Inclusion | March 13, 2024
IFC extends $20 million to Burundian bank to bolster small business lending
The International Finance Corp. and a group of institutional investors have extended a $20 million loan to Banque de Crédit de Bujumbura to …
Frontier and Growth Markets | March 12, 2024
XSML raises nearly $100 million to invest in African small and mid-sized businesses
Amsterdam-based XSML invests in growing African businesses providing basic consumer goods and services in less-invested markets like Uganda and the Democratic Republic of …
Inclusive Economy | March 11, 2024
Facing raids and trials, Muhammed Yunus struggles to preserve Grameen’s anti-poverty network in Bangladesh
ImpactAlpha, March 11 – The decade-long vendetta against Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus by the prime minister of Bangladesh is escalating toward a …
Latin America | March 8, 2024
Atta impact-first venture fund targets “missing middle” social enterprise in Mesoamerica region
ImpactAlpha, March 8 — New funds are emerging out of Latin America and the Caribbean as the region’s impact ecosystem comes together and …
Inclusive Economy | March 8, 2024
Five women who invest for social justice
Everyone in the impact investing ecosystem has an impact origin story, a moment that helped point them toward business and finance as tools …
Impact Investing | March 8, 2024
Rachel Robasciotti, Adasina Social Capital: Climate justice is social justice
Editor’s Note: On this International Women’s Day, we’re pleased to share important moments in the lives and careers of five women in impact …
Impact Voices | March 8, 2024
Sonya Dreizler, CHOIR: Build a bigger table
Editor’s Note: On this International Women’s Day, we’re pleased to share important moments in the lives and careers of five women in impact …
Impact Voices | March 8, 2024
Lakota Vogel, Four Bands Community Fund: Rewriting the rules
Editor’s Note: On this International Women’s Day, we’re pleased to share important moments in the lives and careers of five women in impact …
exclude from paywall | March 8, 2024
Beth Bafford, Calvert Impact Capital: Everyone deserves a chance to fly
Editor’s Note: On this International Women’s Day, we’re pleased to share important moments in the lives and careers of five women in impact …
Inclusive Economy | March 8, 2024
Tanay Tatum-Edwards, FreeCap Financial: We Can’t Change What We Don’t Measure
Editor’s Note: On this International Women’s Day, we’re pleased to share important moments in the lives and careers of five women in impact …
Financial Inclusion | March 6, 2024
Wagely inks $23 million to help Asia’s workers with cash stability and financial health
ImpactAlpha, March 6 – Indonesia and Bangladesh have nearly 200 million wage workers. Unexpected expenses force many to resort to expensive payday loans. …
Impact Voices | March 5, 2024
Wrestling with the greedy, predatory, wealth-hoarding history of the financial system
The financial history of extraction, enslavement, and predatory greed have been heavy on our minds when designing the new investment strategy for the …
Dealflow | March 5, 2024
Adenia Capital acquires South Africa last-mile delivery platform The Courier Guy
ImpactAlpha, March 5 — E-commerce in South Africa is growing at an annual rate of 15%. The Courier Guy, through its network of …
Inclusive Economy | March 4, 2024
Overheard at Sankalp: Public equity for African small businesses, accelerating circular enterprises, financing women-led ventures
ImpactAlpha, March 4 – The theme of the Sankalp Africa Summit in Nairobi was “igniting Africa’s potential for a just transition.” As always, financing …
Return on Inclusion | February 29, 2024
Sorenson Impact backs Redemption’s purchase of Holladay Bank to create a new Black-owned bank
ImpactAlpha, February 29 — The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., impact investor. In King’s last public address before he was assassinated, he …
Inclusive Economy | February 28, 2024
Addressing the social determinants of wealth at Neighborhood Economics
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 28 – The zip code in which a person grows up in America is more a determinant of their health than their …
Dealflow | February 28, 2024
Kachuwa Impact Fund scores $3.2 million to bring cooperatives to impact investing
ImpactAlpha, February 28 — Blake Jones, a “cooperative geek,” launched Kachuwa Impact Fund to bring the principles of cooperative ownership and governance to …
Latin America | February 26, 2024
Blue like an Orange provides $18 million in financing to Mexican lender Fuentebuena
ImpactAlpha, February 26 — Monterrey-based Fuentebuena works with more than 150 municipalities in Mexico to provide payroll loans to unbanked and underbanked city …
Inclusive Economy | February 25, 2024
Can commercial corridors + broad ownership build community wealth without displacement?
ImpactAlpha, February 22 — The West Side of San Antonio is looking forward to a thriving corridor of successful small businesses, restored buildings …
Blockchain/AI/IoT | February 20, 2024
These VCs are betting on AI to upskill workers and expand pathways to good jobs
The advent of generative artificial intelligence isn’t all doom and gloom for employees. Played right, AI could open pathways to higher-skilled jobs for …
Gender Smart | February 20, 2024
WIC Capital invests in a local snack food company in Senegal
ImpactAlpha, February 20 – Most African markets are heavily dependent on imported food products, despite the fact that most Africans depend on agriculture …
real estate impact | February 14, 2024
SDS Capital deploys private equity to finance permanent housing for homeless Californians
ImpactAlpha, February 14 — California has the largest homeless population in the US with over 180,000 people living in shelters, tents, cars, under …
Return on Inclusion | February 14, 2024
Beta Boom scores $14.5 million to back ‘under-the-radar’ founders
ImpactAlpha, February 14 — Since 2018, Beta Boom has backed two-dozen founders developing software solutions for critical issues underserved communities face. The majority …
Ownership Economy | February 13, 2024
This sustainable investment firm is now governed by a perpetual purpose trust
As one of the earliest registered investment advisors exclusively dedicated to socially responsible, sustainable and impact investments since 1985, our financial advisor-owners of …
Financial Inclusion | February 12, 2024
First Circle backs Egypt’s Balad for cross-border payments
ImpactAlpha, February 12 – Egyptians living abroad send more than $30 billion a year to friends and family back home. Most of the …
Return on Inclusion | February 11, 2024
How Kataly Foundation is divesting from Wall Street to reinvest in communities
Is it possible to fully divest from Wall Street and invest in community with hundreds of millions of dollars? When I started my …
Good Jobs | February 9, 2024
CHART: Support for workers is universal – and drives business outperformance
ImpactAlpha, Feb 9 – Worker issues, including wages, training and safety, consistently rank as the public’s top priorities for business behavior, according to Just …
Gender Smart | February 8, 2024
Village Capital partners with Standard Chartered to catalyze capital to African women in tech
ImpactAlpha, February 8 – Female founders receive just 2% of venture capital in Africa (and about the same globally). Standard Chartered bank launched …
Climate + Gender | February 7, 2024
In the Asia-Pacific region, girls just want to have funds!
In the bustling financial hub of Singapore, Rhea See, an early-stage fund manager at She Loves Tech Asia Emerging Outliers Fund, leads an …
Return on Inclusion | February 6, 2024
Blk Grvty secures $1 million from Surdna Foundation to back underrepresented fund managers
ImpactAlpha, February 6 — Blk Grvty has received a $1 million commitment from Surdna Foundation for its Equipped initiative, which is looking to …
Inclusive Economy | February 5, 2024
Confronting real bias in asset management to set the record straight on DEI
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 5 – The gloves are coming off. Attempts to roll back initiatives promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, have opened the …
Inclusive Economy | February 5, 2024
Impaqto Capital backs Sinba’s recycling services in Peru
ImpactAlpha, February 5 – Sinba provides recycling services for 1,500 residential customers and 70 companies, including Starbucks, Nestle and Coca-Cola. Its services help …
Plugged In | February 2, 2024
Plugged In: Building an inclusive AI with ‘BlackGPT’ (video)
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 2 – Pressure has been building on Meta, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI to address bias in large language models and get right …
Good Jobs | February 1, 2024
Upskilling Africa’s workforce for green jobs in renewable energy and resilient agriculture
ImpactAlpha, February 1 – National commitments to decarbonize economies and mitigate climate change are spurring a global green jobs boom, as countries race …
Inclusive Economy | February 1, 2024
Preparing Africa’s workforce for a green future
Africa is poised to play a pivotal role in the global fight against climate change. Its untapped renewable energy potential, abundant land, natural …
Agents of Impact | January 26, 2024
Ines Schiller, Vyld: Reengineering the tampon – and the ethos of biotech
ImpactAlpha, January 26 – Ines Schiller got the idea for seaweed tampons while training in South Africa to be a marine environment guide. …
Inclusive Economy | January 26, 2024
Deal Spotlight: ‘Missing middle’ lending to social enterprises in Latin America (video).
ImpactAlpha, January 26 — In Peru, Shanantina works with Indigenous communities to cultivate sacha inchi, a nut native to the Amazon. Cedros Cafe, …
Community Finance | January 24, 2024
LISC’s Michael Pugh on navigating legal challenges to community development finance (Q&A)
ImpactAlpha, January 24 — After 100 days at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Michael Pugh is getting down to business. At the top …
Dealflow | January 23, 2024
Alt-capital and alt-ownership models for circular hygiene startup Vyld
ImpactAlpha, January 23 – Ines Schiller and Melanie Schichan had a vision to strengthen the circular economy with sustainable hygiene and care products. …
Ownership Economy | January 22, 2024
Alternative ownership enterprises challenge conventional models for companies and funds
“We need economies and enterprises that are distributive by design, sharing value, power, and opportunity far more equitably with all involved—throughout their supply …