Inclusive Economy
Photo credit: Baltimore Public Markets Corp.
Place-Based Investing | December 1, 2022
Real estate developers in Baltimore test strategies for inclusive growth and community wealth
ImpactAlpha, December 1 – On the west side of downtown Baltimore, a $45 million rehabilitation of Lexington Market is turning the once-languishing food …
Place-Based Investing | December 1, 2022
M&G Catalyst backs Lafayette Square’s direct lending business with $200 million
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 1 – M&G’s Catalyst has committed $200 million to Lafayette Square’s direct lending business. The capital is a boost for the …
Return on Inclusion | December 1, 2022
Six ways to build the Long COVID economy
One hundred million. That’s the number of people globally who never recovered from the Coronavirus. COVID Long Haulers, as we are known, experience …
Return on Inclusion | November 30, 2022
Through ‘ownership trusts,’ investors can help employees become owners and owners retire
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 30 – Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard’s unusual succession plan made waves with its massive commitment of the family-owned company’s future profits …
Photo by Ahamove.
Good Jobs | November 30, 2022
Igloo raises $46 million to provide insurance for gig economy workers in Southeast Asia
ImpactAlpha, November 30 — In Southeast Asia, insurance coverage as a benefit for employees is a luxury most small and even medium-sized businesses …
Return on Inclusion | November 29, 2022
Toussaint Bailey, Uplifting Capital: Bringing ‘the quietly bothered’ into impact investing (podcast)
Between the true believers in investing for impact and those that, for whatever reason, have their heels dug in, there are the “quietly …
Photo by Pivo.
Financial Inclusion | November 29, 2022
Pivo scores $2 million to provide financing and tools for Nigeria’s vendors
ImpactAlpha, November 29 — Pivo provides financial services and digital tools to 300 small- and medium-sized vendors in Nigeria’s manufacturing supply chains. Launched …
Return on Inclusion | November 28, 2022
Collective ownership, renter payouts and neighborhood trusts expand access to housing wealth
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 28 – Late in the afternoon on a Friday in September, a dozen or so Latina small-business owners gathered at the headquarters …
Return on Inclusion | November 21, 2022
VC Include’s Bahiyah Yasmeen Robinson on three drivers of inclusion alpha (podcast)
ImpactAlpha, November 21 – Bahiyah Yasmeen Robinson is nearly one-third of the way toward her goal of seeding 100 women and historically underrepresented fund …
Impact Voices | November 21, 2022
How housing investments can create wealth for investors – and tenants
“E,” for environmental, gets most of the love in ESG investing. Investments in the “S” and “G,” for social and governance, particularly in …
Photo by Beam.
Inclusive Economy | November 21, 2022
Beam raises $6.4 million to streamline government aid to families in need
ImpactAlpha, November 21 — Brooklyn-based Beam has raised $6.4 million in a Series A round from investors including including Potencia Ventures, Spring Point …
Photo credit: The California Endowment; painting by Baadal Nanjundaswamy
Sponsored | November 21, 2022
How The California Endowment is investing for health and racial equity (Q&A)
President and chief executive officer for The California Endowment Robert Ross is a leader in leveraging impact investing to advance the foundation’s mission …
Photo by Tamarcus Brown on Unsplash
Muni Impact | November 18, 2022
Mispriced risks, investor demand and community power center racial equity in municipal bonds (video)
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 18 – Cities around the U.S. are raising low-cost capital in the municipal bond markets by highlighting intentional efforts to address long-standing …
Photo credit: Tamul Plates
Good Jobs | November 17, 2022
Upaya Social Ventures exits India-based maker of sustainable tableware
ImpactAlpha, November 17 – Upaya Social Ventures made a $27,000 equity investment in Tamul Plates in 2015, helping the all-natural disposable plate and …
Photo by Gary Community Ventures.
Return on Inclusion | November 15, 2022
Dearfield Fund secures $7.5 million to help Black first-time homeowners make down payments
ImpactAlpha, November 15 — Making a down payment is one the biggest challenges for first-time homebuyers in the U.S., particularly for Black and …
Photo by MasteryPrep.
Dealflow | November 15, 2022
Achieve Partners acquires MasteryPrep to improve college readiness for underserved students
ImpactAlpha, November 15 — New York-based Achieve Partners is acquiring Baton Rouge, La.-based edtech company MasteryPrep. MasteryPrep has worked with more than 500 …
Muni Impact | November 9, 2022
The ‘Black Tax’ plagues small municipalities. Can bond banks help?
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 9 – An old idea is finding new life in the municipal bond market, where a stubborn complacency with conventional ways of …
ESG | November 8, 2022
Anticipating election wins, conservative politicians escalate attacks on ESG ‘collusion.’
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 8 – Republicans are feeling emboldened as Americans head to the polls for today’s midterm elections. Just days ago, a group …
Dealflow | November 7, 2022
Amazon commits $53 million to support female climate tech founders
ImpactAlpha, November 7 — Amazon, through its $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund, says it will invest $50 million directly in climate tech companies …
Image credit: Origen Carbon Solutions / screenshot
Climate and Clean Tech | November 3, 2022
Elemental Excelerator stocks the climate tech pipeline for hard-to-decarbonize industries
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 3 – Early-stage climate tech investor and accelerator Elemental Excelerator has helped launch some of the hottest names in climate tech. Among …
Financial Inclusion | November 2, 2022
Bamboo Capital Partners exits Honduran microfinance institution Banco Popular
ImpactAlpha, November 2 — Luxembourg-based emerging and frontier markets investor Bamboo Capital Partners is exiting its investment in Banco Popular a decade after …
Impact Investing | November 2, 2022
What’s at stake for climate, ESG and impact investors in the U.S. midterm elections
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 2 – The annual global climate summit known as COP27, this year in Egypt, will coincide with next week’s midterm elections …
Satgana's founding team | Photo by Satgana.
Women Rising | November 1, 2022
Satgana raises funds for climate tech startups in Africa and Europe
ImpactAlpha, November 2 — Luxembourg-based Satgana, which means “a good company” in Sanskrit, has raised an undisclosed amount in a first close from …
Aaron Samuels and Brian Hollins | Photo by Collide Capital.
Return on Inclusion | October 31, 2022
Collide Capital raises $66 million to back early-stage diverse founders
ImpactAlpha, October 31 — New York-based Collide Capital has raised $66 million to invest in early-stage Black, Latino and female founders “we believe …
Jeff Cherry of Conscious Venture Partners
Return on Inclusion | October 31, 2022
Baltimore’s Conscious Venture Partners raises $17 million to back purpose-driven startups
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 31 – Conscious Venture Partners has raised $17 million to back purpose-driven startups. The Baltimore-based fund manager is expanding across the U.S., …
New York City
Return on Inclusion | October 27, 2022
Trinity Church Wall Street commits $20 million to MSquared’s New York affordable housing fund
ImpactAlpha, October 27 — Women-owned real estate impact firm MSquared is aiming to tackle the U.S. affordable housing crisis at the intersection of …
Photo credit: Flourish Ventures
Return on Inclusion | October 26, 2022
Flourish Ventures to invest $12 million in tech startups ‘Made in Africa’
ImpactAlpha, October 26 — U.S.-based venture capital firm Flourish Ventures has launched Madica, short for ‘Made In Africa’, to invest in and provide …
David Reuter of private equity firm LLR Partners.
Impact Voices | October 26, 2022
Three ways to move your private equity firm closer to racial justice – and create value
Like many people, the summer of 2020 was a moment of personal and professional reckoning for me. The uprising that followed the murder …
Photo credit: Carmen Correa
Signals | October 24, 2022
Gender lens + climate finance = broader reach
ImpactAlpha, October 24 – Gender-lens investing’s next big thing: integrating gender considerations across climate action and other investment themes. Investors channeled more than $600 …
Photo by OnImpact.
Conservation | October 20, 2022
New Forests’ African Forestry Impact Platform secures $200 million from development finance institutions
ImpactAlpha, October 20 — Nearly 10 million acres of forests in Africa, one of Earth’s most important carbon sinks and soil, are disappearing …
Impact Investing | October 20, 2022
Development finance institutions face calls for reform in the face of cascading climate and energy crises
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 21 – Embattled World Bank chief David Malpass made an about-face last week, copping to manmade global warming and the need …
Impact Voices | October 19, 2022
Employees: The Missing ‘E’ in ESG
Workers, the people most important to capitalism, have been buried in the ‘S’ in ESG, for environmental, social, and governance risk factors in …
Gender Smart | October 19, 2022
Six ways to support women entrepreneurs in the Global South
More than ever, women are starting their own businesses, particularly in parts of the Global South, where women remain key drivers of economic …
Return on Inclusion | October 17, 2022
In tough times, corporate leaders must double down on diversity, equity and inclusion
History has shown that our nation’s most vulnerable workers tend to be hit hardest during economic downturns. During the height of the pandemic, …
Policy Corner | October 17, 2022
Policy Corner: Diversity in asset management
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 17 – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last week released guidance that investment advisers can consider diversity, equity and inclusion, DEI …
Franz Hochstrasser (left) and Matthew Moroney, cofounders of Raise Green
Climate and Clean Tech | October 13, 2022
Raise Green snags $1.2 million to expand access to climate deals for retail investors
ImpactAlpha, October 13 — Somerville, Mass.-based Raise Green manages an online marketplace that helps small-scale solar developers and green ventures get financing for …
Photo by Vistaar Finance
Financial Inclusion | October 13, 2022
Warburg Pincus takes control of Indian micro-enterprise lender Vistaar Finance
ImpactAlpha, October 13 — New York-based Warburg Pincus is acquiring a majority stake in Vistaar Finance, an India-based non-bank financial company that provides …
Photo by New Mexico Nomad.
Place-Based Investing | October 12, 2022
New Mexico taps fixed-income strategy for small business lending
ImpactAlpha, October 12 — A fixed-income strategy that has helped hundreds of low-income, women-led and Native families in New Mexico access housing and …
Klean Energy Kulture cofounders Michael Hawthorne and Corey Dennard, aka Mr. Hanky. | Photo credit: Klean Energy Kulture/FYE Images
Return on Inclusion | October 11, 2022
Klean Energy Kulture aims to bring swagger to climate to activate Black communities
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 11 – Climate action needs some swagger. A hip-hop super producer and a “community organizing nerd” are teaming up to give the …
Photo by Amazon.
Dealflow | October 11, 2022
Amazon Catalytic Capital to invest $150 million in underserved founders
ImpactAlpha, October 11 — Amazon has launched Amazon Catalytic Capital to invest in at least 10 venture capital funds, as well as accelerators, …
Photo by SweepSouth.
Good Jobs | October 4, 2022
South African home cleaning service SweepSouth raises $11 million, led by Alitheia IDF
ImpactAlpha, October 4 — The domestic services industry in Africa has a reputation for being unregulated and exploitative. Cape Town-based SweepSouth launched in …
Photo by Peopleimages.
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 …
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 …