Inclusive Economy
Photo by Chancen International.
Inclusive Economy | June 23, 2022
Ceniarth backs Future of Work Fund for income share agreement financing in Rwanda
ImpactAlpha, June 23 — Income share agreements, or ISAs, allow students to pay for school with little to no upfront tuition in exchange …
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Return on Inclusion | June 23, 2022
Ebiara secures $10 million to help Black and Brown developers scale in Detroit
ImpactAlpha, June 23 — Ebiara, a partnership between nonprofit lender Invest Detroit and URGE Imprint, has received a $10 million program-related investment from …
Photo by Carnegie Mellon University.
Locavesting | June 22, 2022
Langdon Park pays $63.2 million for affordable apartments for Black and Latino D.C. residents
ImpactAlpha, June 22 — Former NFL wide receiver Malcolm Johnson left his job at JPMorgan last year to launch Langdon Park Capital, named …
Brussels
Refugee Lens Investing | June 21, 2022
Tracking corporate action to address the climate-driven refugee crisis
Every three seconds another person is forced out of the rhythms of normal life and into crossing a border to find safety. From …
Gender Smart | June 21, 2022
Delivering higher returns and stronger impact with ‘The XX Edge’
At a breakfast meeting in Singapore a few years ago, Patience Marime-Ball and Ruth Shaber were speaking to asset owners and entrepreneurs about …
The Reconstruction | June 17, 2022
The growth of diverse entrepreneurs is a movement, not a moment
Diversity, equity, and inclusion overall has drawn interest from impact investors in recent years, driven in part by the pandemic’s ravaging effect on …
Photo by Breno Assis/Unsplash.
Return on Inclusion | June 17, 2022
ImpactAlpha Deal Spotlight: Impact in real estate
ImpactAlpha, June 17 — New real estate funds with impact and inclusive strategies are attracting allocations. This week, SoLa Impact’s Black Impact Fund secured …
Terra.do's founder Anshuman Bapna | Photo by Terra.do.
Climate and Clean Tech | June 16, 2022
Terra.do scores $5 million to connect global professionals with careers in climate tech
ImpactAlpha, June 16 — Investors and executives in climate tech are seeing an upswell of talent (for context, see “In Silicon Valley, talent …
Martin Muoto | Photo by SoLa Impact.
Return on Inclusion | June 15, 2022
SoLa Impact affordable housing fund secures $15 million from Equitable
ImpactAlpha, June 15 — Financial services giant Equitable is investing $15 million in L.A.-based SoLa Impact’s Black Impact Fund, which invests in affordable …
Photo by Crawley.
Inclusive Economy | June 14, 2022
Nava Benefits raises $40 million to help small businesses lower the costs for employee benefits
ImpactAlpha, June 14 — Larger companies have the capital and resources to offer more and higher-quality benefits. Smaller businesses are burdened by excessive …
Frontier and Growth Markets | June 13, 2022
Nyala Venture aims to catalyze local fund managers to unlock capital for small businesses in Africa
ImpactAlpha, June 13 – Who knows best the needs of a community but members of the community itself? First-time fund managers who understand the …
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Inclusive Economy | June 10, 2022
ImpactAlpha Deal Spotlight: Upskilling workers
ImpactAlpha, June 10 — Half of the global workforce will need new skills by 2025. From healthcare to financial services, tech firms are …
Original image generated by DALL-E, Open AI's neural network that creates images from text captions.
Gender Smart | June 9, 2022
Merger of GenderSmart and 2X Collaborative aims to mainstream integration of gender in finance
Two of the leading organizations in the development of “gender lens investing” are joining forces. The 2X Collaborative, led by Jessica Espinoza, builds …
Photo by Guild Education.
Inclusive Economy | June 9, 2022
Guild Education raises $175 million to help employers unlock career mobility for their employees
ImpactAlpha, June 9 — Denver-based Guild Education has raised $175 million to help employers create career development opportunities for their employees. The company …
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Investing in Health | June 9, 2022
CareAcademy secures $20 million to upskill home health caregivers
ImpactAlpha, June 9 — Boston-based CareAcademy has secured $20 million in a financing round led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management. The investment “positions …
Return on Inclusion | June 8, 2022
LGBTQ+ focused venture capital firm comes out for Pride month
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 8 – Years ago, Megan Kashner had to come out twice to the CFO of the Chicago nonprofit where she worked at …
Photo by Allerin.
Frontier and Growth Markets | June 7, 2022
Zimbabwe’s FlexID Technologies secures early funding for blockchain-based digital IDs
ImpactAlpha, June 7 – Many people in Africa lack formal identity papers, particularly in remote areas, making it harder to get agricultural support, financial …
Inclusive Economy | June 7, 2022
One Percent for America: How simple, low-cost loans can clear a barrier to citizenship
Those newly naturalized Americans in the stirring pictures of immigrants from all over the world taking the Oath of Citizenship – every one of …
Dealflow | June 6, 2022
Apis & Heritage helps businesses in Denver and El Paso become employee-owned
ImpactAlpha, June 6 – Apis & Heritage last year launched a buyout fund to help small and mid-sized businesses with large Black and Brown …
Return on Inclusion | June 2, 2022
Catalyzing capital and sizing solutions to homelessness: A blueprint for Los Angeles
(Editor’s note: This story is being co-published with The Giving List.) ImpactAlpha, June 2 – As a parting challenge to his successor, outgoing …
Photo credit: Alicia Powell.
Podcasts | May 27, 2022
Live-ish from Davos: Taking on the world with BlocPower and friends
ImpactAlpha, May 26 — Donnell Baird arrived at Davos this week with his partners from Brooklyn and Ithaca, where BlocPower is greening thousands …
Photo credit: Moves.
Inclusive Economy | May 26, 2022
Moves raises $5 million to help gig economy workers become owners
ImpactAlpha, May 26 — Roughly 57 million U.S. workers work in the gig economy, and that workforce is expected to grow to 86 …
Washington, D.C. | Photo credit: Drew Petrimoulx
Institutional Impact | May 24, 2022
Tracing a line from the lack of diversity in asset management to the undoing of Roe v. Wade
Editor’s note: ImpactAlpha contributing editor Imogen Rose-Smith, a longtime senior writer for Institutional Investor, contributes a bi-weekly column on the policies, practices and strategies of …
Photo credit: Amos House
Catalytic Capital | May 24, 2022
MacArthur Foundation commits $20 million for housing for justice-involved people
ImpactAlpha, May 24 – Roughly one in four people experienced homelessness in the year before their incarceration. Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation hopes a mix of …
Photo credit: IFC.
Dealflow | May 24, 2022
IFC invests $30 million with Partners for Growth to deploy private credit in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, May 24 — San Francisco-based Partners for Growth, which specializes in private lending for growth-stage companies in emerging markets, will invest $30 …
Photo credit: Aera.
Climate and Clean Tech | May 24, 2022
India’s M Auto raises $20 million for electric mobility-as-a-service in Africa
ImpactAlpha, May 24 — Investing in the low-carbon transition of Africa requires solutions to alleviate poverty and uplift local economies as well. Chennai-based …
Illustration by Cayaba Care.
Investing in Health | May 23, 2022
Black-led Cayaba Care raises $12 million to reduce maternal morbidity
ImpactAlpha, May 23 — Maternal morbidity describes short- or long-term health issues during and after pregnancy, labor and delivery. In the U.S., more …
photo: Chris Kendig
Impact Investing | May 19, 2022
Overheard at Total Impact: Diversify decision-making and shift power to communities
ImpactAlpha, May 19 – Agents of Impact convened upon the City of Brotherly Love, even as some unbrotherly events unfolded across the country …
Photo credit: Yilun Cheng/MEDILL
Opportunity Zones | May 19, 2022
How Opportunity Zones can accelerate American Rescue Plan projects
American Rescue Plan, meet Opportunity Zones. Last year’s American Rescue Plan sent $350 billion in direct, flexible funding to state and local governments. …
Photo credit: C.H.I. Overhead Doors
Inclusive Economy | May 17, 2022
Ownership economy gets a payday as factory workers share in KKR’s exit
ImpactAlpha, May 17 – How to get rich in America? Own. Equity, not salaries, accounts for the majority of income among the country’s wealthiest …
Impact Investing | May 13, 2022
Call No. 42: Business financing beyond venture capital to fuel the boom in entrepreneurship (video)
ImpactAlpha, May 13 – One defining outcome of the pandemic: a boom in entrepreneurship. A record five million businesses were started in the …
Photo credit: BlackRock
Return on Inclusion | May 12, 2022
BlackRock raises an $800 million impact fund to invest in communities of color
ImpactAlpha, May 12 — BlackRock’s $330 billion alternatives investment group aims to raise $1 billion to invest in housing, financial services, education and …
Photo credit: Greenwood.
racial-equity | May 12, 2022
Greenwood acquires The Gathering Spot to build a community for minority professionals
ImpactAlpha, May 12 — Atlanta-based neobank Greenwood has raised $43 million on the promise that it can deliver better banking services for Black …
Photo credit: JPMorgan.
Return on Inclusion | May 11, 2022
LISC raises $100 million to expand Entrepreneurs of Color Loan Fund
ImpactAlpha, May 11 — The Entrepreneurs of Color Loan Fund will buy loans off the books of community lenders to free up their …
Photo credit: Manara
Good Jobs | May 10, 2022
Manara scores $3 million to upskill tech workers in North Africa and the Middle East
ImpactAlpha, May 10 — Former engineers Iliana Montauk and Laila Abudahi launched Manara last year to offer coding classes for engineering students from …
Return on Inclusion | May 9, 2022
In volatile market, alternatives to venture capital keep financing flowing to diverse founders
ImpactAlpha, May 9 – There’s more than one capital market for startups and small businesses. Venture capital and bank loans finance less than …
Photo credit: WTOP.
Return on Inclusion | May 9, 2022
Northwestern Mutual invests $5 million in two Black-led lenders in Milwaukee
ImpactAlpha, May 9 — Northwestern Mutual is investing in Legacy Redevelopment Corp. and Northwest Side Community Development Corp. to provide loans to Black-owned …
Inclusive Economy | May 5, 2022
Common Future and Uncharted merge to expand entrepreneurship and wealth-building in underserved communities
ImpactAlpha, May 5 – Call it the un-M&A deal. Common Future, the Oakland-based nonprofit focused on economic inequality, and Uncharted, the nonprofit social …
Photo credit: BURN Stoves.
Frontier and Growth Markets | May 5, 2022
BUILD fund raises $60 million for small and growing businesses in Africa
ImpactAlpha, May 5 — BUILD, a fund launched by the U.N. Capital Development Fund and Bamboo Capital Partners, will invest in impact-focused projects …
Photo credit: Payments.com
Financial Inclusion | May 4, 2022
Xepelin rakes in $111 million for financial services for small businesses in Latin America
ImpactAlpha, May 4 — Small and mid-sized businesses in Latin America fail more frequently than similar businesses in other regions. Santiago, Chile-based Xepelin …
Photo credit: RideTandem.
Good Jobs | May 4, 2022
RideTandem scores $2.2 million to alleviate ‘transport poverty’ for blue-collar workers
ImpactAlpha, May 4 — Public transportation is increasingly inaccessible for low-income workers in the U.K., particularly in rural areas. “Half of the lowest-earning …
Photo credit: Dell Foundation.
Financial Inclusion | May 3, 2022
Open secures $50 million for small business services in India
ImpactAlpha, May 3 — Bengaluru-based Open provides digital banking, payments, invoicing and automated bookkeeping services to more than two million small and mid-sized …
Something Better Foods founder GW Chew
Inclusive Economy | May 3, 2022
Flexible and equitable financial tools for a more inclusive economy
Seemingly everyone is creating a fund to address themes ranging from reparations to crypto-enviro. As impact investors, redesigning our economic relationships is just …
Steve Case and J.D. Vance in 2017 | Photo credit: Revolution
Entrepreneurship | April 28, 2022
J.D. Vance, the impact fund manager his partners would rather forget
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 28 – Before he got Donald Trump’s nod in the Republican primary for Ohio’s U.S. Senate seat, J.D. Vance was – briefly …
Photo credit: Honeycomb Credit
Creative Economy | April 27, 2022
Foundations join the crowd to invest in creative startups through Honeycomb Credit
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 27 – More than 80% of the businesses that have raised capital through Honeycomb’s loan crowdfunding platform are local creative businesses such …