- Beats
- The Brief
July 30, 2021
The Brief
The Week’s Agent of Impact
Elizabeth McCluskey, CMFG Ventures. This is what an impact investing career path looks like. McCluskey was working at UBS, first in investment banking and then in wealth management, when the Great Financial Crisis wiped out nearly $10 trillion in household wealth. “I got to see firsthand how fragile our financial institutions were and how vulnerable so many Americans were during that time,” McCluskey told ImpactAlpha. She went to Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management to figure out “how I could integrate impact into capitalism.” McCluskey joined Chicago-based Impact Engine and helped it grow from an accelerator for social impact startups into a venture capital and private equity firm managing $63 million in assets. Now, McCluskey has been tapped to head CMFG Ventures’ Discovery Fund, a $15 million open-ended vehicle that will provide venture funding for early-stage fintech startups led by under-represented founders, especially women and people of color.
The Week’s Big 6
1. Year of the Climate Fund. In a single day, announcements of more than $12 billion in institutional capital committed to climate solutions signaled a step-change in climate finance. TPG Rise Climate’s $5.4 billion fundraise and Brookfield Asset Management’s $7 billion fund, along with a parade of other 10-digit green and climate funds, belie a more sober reality. As impressive as the new funds are, Climate Policy Initiative’s Barbara Buchner says what’s remarkable is that “we are not seeing more action to close the trillion-dollar climate investment gap.” Go deeper.
The Week’s Dealflow
Clean energy. Soltage closes a $130 million debt facility to finance a distributed utility-scale portfolio of projects across the U.S… CrossBoundary backs PowerGen to develop mini-grids in Nigeria… Hydropower developer Natel Energy closes $20 million in financing led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Chevron’s corporate venture arm… Bright Power clinches $24.5 million to help commercial building operators and owners manage their energy and water usage… Benin-based small-scale, off-grid solar provider MyJouleBox secures €3 million to expand to Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Togo.
The Week’s Talent
Pembrook Capital Management brings on municipal finance attorney David Baker Lewis and affordable housing advisor Ghebre Selassie Mehreteab as advisors on racial and economic equity in affordable housing lending… Amber Kuchar-Bell, ex- of CDFI Fund, joins Opportunity Finance Network as chief strategy and operations officer… Emma Sissman is promoted to director of portfolio acceleration at SJF Ventures.
The Week’s Jobs
RBC Capital Markets is looking for an analyst for its sustainable finance group in New York… Omidyar Network is recruiting a principal for its Reimagining Capitalism team in Washington, D.C… Mission Driven Finance is looking for an investor relations coordinator… Convergence is hiring an associate director of content and thought leadership and a digital communications associate in Toronto or Washington, D.C.
- The Call
Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash
Call Recording | July 9, 2021
Agents of Impact Call No. 29: Capitalism reimagined for fair gainsharing and equitable prosperity (video)
ImpactAlpha, July 9 – Elevating the power (and wages) of low-income workers is not typically at the top of investors’ agenda. But a fairer …
Call Recording | June 2, 2021
Call No. 28: For these wealthy families, deploying catalytic capital for impact is a privilege and responsibility
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 2 – The very rich are different, as F. Scott Fitzgerald once observed. One of those differences is the prerogative to put …
Photo credit: Kuli KuliCall Recording | March 1, 2021
Call No. 27: Opportunities at the intersection of gender and climate
ImpactAlpha, March 1 – Capital is flowing to climate solutions. Climate bonds have topped $1 trillion. SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies are …
Call Recording | January 6, 2021
Call No. 26: What Agents of Impact are expecting in 2021 (replay)
ImpactAlpha, January 6 — A few of the keywords thrown around on last month’s Agents of Impact Call No. 26: accountability, electrification, institutional, …
Call Recording | November 13, 2020
Call No. 25: Gender-smart investing for a sustainable recovery
What: The Call No. 25: Gender-smart investing for a sustainable recovery Join SME.NG’s Thelma Ekiyor, Trade Depot’s Onyekachi Izukanne, Development Partners International’s Takudzwa Mutasa, Alitheia’s Temilade Denton, …
Africa | October 19, 2020
Call No. 24: Agents of Impact converge on financing solutions to ‘light every clinic’
The people and principles needed to solve the challenges of financing solar power for frontline health clinics were represented on ImpactAlpha’s Agents of …
Call Recording | October 1, 2020
Call No. 23 recap: Changing investment algorithms to advance racial justice
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 1 – What got us here won’t get us where we need to go. Guidelines that govern global finance need to …
Call Recording | August 27, 2020
Call No. 22: Rooting out racism as a systemic risk
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 27 – Investors have been talking about systemic risks at least since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008. More recently, climate …
Call Recording | August 11, 2020
Call No. 21: Impact investors confront the impact of the November election
It’s long past time to get political. Impact investing, with appeal on both the left and the right, has generally steered clear of …
Call Recording | July 1, 2020
Call No. 20: Investors share experiences in getting their assets off the sidelines
“It’s a great time for new entrants, but for those of us who’ve been doing this for a while it is equally urgent to raise our game right and to not get complacent,” said Margot Brandenburg of the Ford Foundation.
2030 Finance | June 24, 2020
Call No. 19: Green infrastructure is back on the agenda
ImpactAlpha, Jun 24 – The action in climate action is shifting to infrastructure. Driven by falling price curves for renewables, mispriced risk, and …
Agents of Impact | May 4, 2020
Call No. 16: Impact investors step up to the 10x challenge
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 4 – A disruptive technology has to be 10 times better than what it’s replacing. Tech venture capitalists aim to recoup …
- Podcasts
Podcasts | July 30, 2021
Impact Briefing: July 30
On this week’s podcast, host Monique Aiken checks in with David Bank, who has been in South Carolina’s Lowcountry exploring the history of …
Podcasts | July 26, 2021
The Reconstruction: How philanthropy unbound can put humanity back into investing in all its forms
ImpactAlpha July 26 – Renée Joslyn wants to restore philanthropy to the roots of the word: love of humanity. Joslyn, the founder of …
Podcasts | July 23, 2021
Impact Briefing, Week of July 23
ImpactAlpha, July 23 – On this week’s podcast, Brian Walsh hosts roundtable regulars Imogen Rose-Smith and David Bank to discuss Imogen’s latest column, How …
Podcasts | July 16, 2021
Impact Briefing: Week of July 16
ImpactAlpha, July 16 – On this week’s podcast, Monique Aiken and Dennis Price check in with Illumen Capital’s Daryn Dodson about bias in asset …
John Duong, Kind CapitalPodcasts | July 12, 2021
The Reconstruction: Practicing kindness to disrupt venture capital and deepen diversity
ImpactAlpha July 12 – Can venture capital be kind? This simple question is at the heart of the impact investing firm Kind Capital …
Podcasts | July 9, 2021
Impact Briefing: Week of July 9
ImpactAlpha, July 9 – On this week’s podcast, ImpactAlpha’s Amy Cortese and David Bank join host Brian Walsh to talk fusion, the transformational …
Podcasts | July 2, 2021
Impact Briefing: Week of July 2
ImpactAlpha, July 2 – On this week’s podcast, host Monique Aiken talks with PolicyLink’s Michael McAfee about “the curb-cut effect,” closing the racial wealth …
Gangstas to Growers in Atlanta | Photo credit: Gangstas to Growers/FacebookPodcasts | June 28, 2021
The Reconstruction: Building community power and agency to redress racial wealth gaps in Atlanta
ImpactAlpha, June 28 – Atlanta has been the de facto headquarters of the civil rights movement since the 1950s and ‘60s. A 1971 …
Podcasts | June 25, 2021
Impact Briefing: Week of June 25
ImpactAlpha, June 25 – On this week’s podcast, ImpactAlpha’s David Bank joins host Brian Walsh to reimagine capitalism. We also hear from Rev. Dr. …
Podcasts | June 18, 2021
Impact Briefing: Week of June 18
ImpactAlpha, June 18 – Lisa Mensah of Opportunity Finance Network joins host Monique Aiken to reflect on Juneteenth, community lending and today’s opportunity for …
Tommy Johnson and Fennie Wang of Made with Black CultureBlockchain/AI/IoT | June 14, 2021
The Reconstruction: Certifying products made with Black culture to build an ethical marketplace – on blockchain
ImpactAlpha June 14 – Made with Black Culture is developing a certification process to authenticate products of Black culture. Through a blockchain-based cryptographic …
Podcasts | June 11, 2021
Impact Briefing: Week of June 11
Roundtable regulars Imogen Rose-Smith and David Bank are back on this week’s podcast with host Brian Walsh to reimagine capitalism, detail the pension …
- Opinion
Photo credit: REUTERS/NORIHIKO SHIROUZU
ESG | July 27, 2021
Emerging markets emerge as sustainability leaders
Investors, take note: In emerging markets (EM), many companies are now at the forefront of change. In today’s EM, there is a rapidly …
Circular irrigation fields for growing crops | Photo credit: Trismegist SanFrontier and Growth Markets | July 27, 2021
Better economic data can drive inclusive growth in Africa
“In God we trust, everyone else must bring data,” said the statistician W. Edwards Deming. The debilitating effect of Covid19 on the economies …
Yaounde, CameroonAfrica | July 27, 2021
Are funds of funds the next frontier for African impact investing?
ImpactAlpha, July 27 – The landscape of private equity and private debt funds in Africa remains small compared to other parts of the …
Capitalism Reimagined | July 26, 2021
The case for a ‘Volcker Shock’ for climate
Contemporary efforts to grapple with the climate crisis almost all come with mid-twentieth century branding: a ‘Green New Deal,’ a ‘climate moonshot,’ a …
Catalytic Capital | July 22, 2021
Four ways investors can structure financing to incentivize positive impact
The Social Impact Bond made its debut in 2010 with the purpose of aligning initiatives and investors around social impact objectives. Since then, …
ESG | July 22, 2021
CFOs turn on sustainability reporting and ESG metrics in enterprise software suites
Ubi concordia, ibi victoria. Where there is harmony, there is victory. This Latin proverb is particularly relevant to my vision for holistic steering …
ESG | July 15, 2021
Bringing transparency to the growing market for sustainability-linked debt
Sustainability-linked debt is gathering momentum globally. The umbrella term, which includes instruments such as sustainability-linked loans (SLLs) and sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs), is one …
Capitalism Reimagined | July 14, 2021
There’s no building back better without investing in underserved communities
Between record levels of government stimulus, an unprecedented vaccination campaign and a buzzing economy, it’s easy to see reasons for optimism as America …
CEO Robert Carter and owner-operator Shekita Hammond. Courtesy of Carter Transportation Group.Impact Voices | July 12, 2021
How usable capital can unleash Black business growth and close racial gaps
Carter Transportation is a minority-owned freight delivery service that operates nationwide. It is a relatively young company, without an operating history for traditional …
Photo by Delightin Dee on UnsplashFrontier and Growth Markets | July 8, 2021
Growth of gender-smart investing in development finance signals opportunity for commercial investors as well
Businesses in emerging markets run by women receive less than half the funding received by those run by men. In 2021, that fact …
Photo credit: Rawpixel.comFrontier and Growth Markets | July 6, 2021
Scaling impact through nonprofit mergers and acquisitions
The ongoing pandemic and economic uncertainty have led non-profit leaders to contingency plan in creative and unprecedented ways, including strategic partnerships. The sector …
Photo by Lagos Techie on UnsplashCatalytic Capital | June 29, 2021
Consider yourself a fiduciary? Then it’s time to invest in Africa
Africa was home to half of the world’s 10 fastest growing economies last year. Institutional investors must begin to seriously consider Africa as …
- Agents of Impact
Elizabeth McCluskey, CMFG Ventures
Agents of Impact | July 30, 2021
Elizabeth McCluskey, CMFG Ventures
ImpactAlpha, July 30 – This is what an impact investing career path looks like. McCluskey was working at UBS, first in investment banking and …
Heather Fleming, Change LabsAgents of Impact | July 23, 2021
Heather Fleming, Change Labs
ImpactAlpha, July 23 – Heather Fleming started an industrial design firm to do thoughtful, community-centered design. Several years ago, she brought her skills …
Nasir Qadree, Zeal Capital PartnersAgents of Impact | July 16, 2021
Nasir Qadree, Zeal Capital Partners
ImpactAlpha, July 16 – As a first-time manager of an impact-oriented venture fund – and a Black man – Qadree defied the odds when …
Nikole Hannah-Jones, Howard UniversityAgents of Impact | July 9, 2021
Nikole Hannah-Jones, Howard University
ImpactAlpha, July 9 – Good journalism can make people feel uncomfortable. Well-told stories prompt readers and listeners to challenge assumptions, and can force societies …
Leo StrineAgents of Impact | July 2, 2021
Leo Strine on worker power and ‘fair and sustainable capitalism’
Leo Strine was effectively the chief justice of U.S. corporations. As the top judge on the Delaware Supreme Court and, before that, chancellor …
top left to right: Gloria Majiga-Kamoto (Malawi), Thai Van Nguyen (Vietnam), Maida Bilal (Bosnia and Herzegovina); bottom left to right: Kimiko Hirata (Japan), Sharon Lavigne (U.S.), Liz Chicaje Churay (Peru) | Image credit: Goldman Environmental FoundationAgents of Impact | June 25, 2021
Green Nobel winners
ImpactAlpha, June 25 – Environmental activism is social activism. Gloria Majiga-Kamoto became the face of the crusade to ban single-use plastics in Malawi. Why? …
Photo credit: Opportunity Finance NetworkAgents of Impact | June 18, 2021
Lisa Mensah, Opportunity Finance Network
The rising star of community development financial institutions, or CDFIs, was on display in Lisa Mensah’s appearance alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and …
Antony Bugg-Levine and Jed EmersonAgents of Impact | June 11, 2021
Antony Bugg-Levine and Jed Emerson
ImpactAlpha, June 11 – Early leaders face a choice as movements grow: Fade away or adapt their game. In the decade since Antony Bugg-Levine …
Agents of Impact | June 8, 2021
Jed Emerson suits up for his next act
ImpactAlpha, June 8 – Impact investing’s original provocateur, Jed Emerson, is joining Tiedemann Advisors as global lead of impact investing. The New York-based wealth advisor manages …
Charlie Penner, Engine No. 1 | Photo credit: WSJ/Paul MorseAgents of Impact | May 28, 2021
Charlie Penner, Engine No. 1
ImpactAlpha, May 28 – It was the little engine that could. This week, Engine No. 1, a tiny, five-month old activist hedge fund, prevailed …
Lynn Jurich, Sunrun: Photo credit: SunrunAgents of Impact | May 21, 2021
Lynn Jurich, Sunrun
ImpactAlpha, May 21 – As Elon Musk grabs headlines, Lynn Jurich grabs customers. The co-founder and CEO of Sunrun has quietly added 500,000 customers …
Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand: | Photo credit: Getty/M. TantrumAgents of Impact | May 14, 2021
Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand
ImpactAlpha, May 14 – The 40-year-old prime minister is redefining leadership for the 21st century. Early in the COVID crisis, Ardern chose not to …
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