- Beats
- The Brief
October 3, 2022
The Brief
Featured: Catalytic Capital
U.S. Treasury channels $8 billion to help CDFIs and MDIs boost small business lending. Community development financial institutions and minority depository institutions played a vital role getting aid to small businesses in low-income, rural and communities of color during the Covid pandemic. While traditional banks focused on clients and larger businesses, many CDFIs heroically mobilized to process Paycheck Protection Program loans for thousands of small businesses outside of traditional banking channels (for context, see, “Innovative CDFIs scale up to help underserved communities move from relief to recovery“). CDFI lending has skewed toward real estate financing, but new funding from the U.S. Treasury Department aims to help the community banks continue lending to low- and moderate-income consumers and underserved small businesses in the U.S., “providing an opportunity to underserved communities across the country to regain their footing following the pandemic and strengthening their resilience against future shocks,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
Dealflow: Investing in Health
Town Hall Ventures raises $350 million to improve healthcare delivery to underserved communities. Underserved communities face disparities in health outcomes, life expectancy and deaths. “Our country has an opportunity to transform the lives of people who have been poorly served by the healthcare system,” said New York-based Town Hall’s Andy Slavitt, who headed the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services during the Obama administration. Slavitt, with David Whelan and Trevor Price, launched Town Hall in 2018 to invest in companies improving healthcare services and addressing the social determinants of health for underserved Americans. The fund is seeking to build “enduring and impactful companies that drive measurable improvements in health outcomes, especially for those who have been poorly served by the status quo,” said Whelan. The raise brings Town Hall’s total assets under management to over $1 billion. Town Hall Ventures’ first two funds raised $115 million and $275 million.
Agents of Impact: Follow the Talent
Leroy Barber, co-founder of Voices Project, joins Neighborhood Economics as an executive director… Ari David, ex- of AUA Private Equity, and Manasi Desai, ex- of KKR, join Ara Partners as vice presidents… John Holl, ex- of ACT Commodities, joins Clear Sky Advisers as president of North American carbon and environmental trading… Beneficial State Bank is hiring a chief impact officer.
- The Call
Call Recording | September 30, 2022
Agents of Impact Call No. 45: Creative capital for gender-smart investments (video)
ImpactAlpha, September 30 – Capital to support women’s economic growth and financial inclusion is flowing – finally! – in many advanced economies. In emerging …
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 …
photo: PixabayOriginals | June 27, 2022
Seven Calls: Agents of Impact on carbon pricing, political risk, climate adaptation, responsible fintech and more
ImpactAlpha, June 27 – ImpactAlpha’s spring season of Agents of Impact Calls spanned a period of tumult in the financial markets: instability in …
Call Recording | June 3, 2022
Call No. 43: How responsible fintech in Africa provides resilience in a downturn (video)
ImpactAlpha, June 3 – Just as investment in financial inclusion in Africa was really ramping up, a market downturn threatens to slow progress. Or …
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 …
Inclusive Economy | April 22, 2022
Call No 41: How investors are catalyzing climate capital for adaptation and equity (video)
ImpactAlpha, April 22 – The Ukraine crisis risks tipping up to 1.7 billion people — over one-fifth of humanity — into poverty, destitution …
Frontier and Growth Markets | April 1, 2022
Call No. 40: How impact investors embrace political risk to keep progress flowing (video)
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 1 – High-impact investments in fragile countries invariably entail political risk. And impact investments in a free press, humanitarian tech, financial inclusion …
Capitalism Reimagined | March 11, 2022
Call No. 39: Moving from ESG talk to action at major corporations (video)
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 11 – It’s one thing for a corporation to set environmental or social goals. It’s another to shift executives, employees and supply …
Policy Corner | February 25, 2022
Call No. 38: Inside the generational opportunity to reshape rules of corporate disclosure
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 25 – Bottom-up policies for access to capital in divested communities. Top-down strategies to reshape capitalism to work for all stakeholders. “We …
Call Recording | February 11, 2022
Call No. 37: Ramping up the supply of carbon reduction to meet the urgent demand (video)
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 11 – ”$100 a ton?” exclaimed CDP’s Paula DiPerna on ImpactAlpha’s Agents of Impact Call this week. “I should be popping champagne.” …
Looking Ahead to 2022 | December 17, 2021
The Reconstruction in 2022: Seizing the moment to build multiracial prosperity and democracy
‘Tis the season for our lookaheads to 2022 and, thanks to ImpactAlpha subscribers, we are able to make the roundups freely available. So …
Capitalism Reimagined | December 3, 2021
Call No. 35: Building a multi-movement engine to hold corporations accountable and reimagine capitalism (video)
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 3 – The New Capitalism Project has over the past two years dissected the failings of the current system and crafted a …
- Podcasts
Impact Investing | September 30, 2022
Investing in refugees and women
On this week’s podcast, Dennis Price joins host Brian Walsh to talk about new opportunities in “refugee lens investing,” and Brian shares takeaways …
Podcasts | August 26, 2022
‘Community rounds’ for new impact fund managers
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 27 – On this week’s podcast, Monique Aiken has the headlines and ImpactAlpha’s Dennis Price chats with Havell Rodrigues of New Majority …
Podcasts | August 19, 2022
The Roundtable takes on the anti-ESG ETF Strive, and more
Host Brian Walsh welcomes back roundtable regulars Imogen Rose-Smith and David Bank to dissect the anti-ESG backlash and the Inflation Reduction Act. Plus, …
Podcasts | August 5, 2022
Introducing The LIIST with Luni Libes and Zuleyma Bebell
ImpactAlpha’s Zuleyma Bebell and Realize Impact’s Luni Libes join host Brian Walsh to discuss the motivation behind The LIIST, our new monthly sampling …
Podcasts | July 29, 2022
ImpactAlpha Open Launches
Zuleyma Bebell and Dennis Price join host Monique Aiken to talk about this week’s launch of ImpactAlpha Open, trends in the media business …
Catalytic Capital | July 28, 2022
Margot Kane: Clearing obstacles to mobilize capital for emerging fund managers (podcast)
“There’s an inherent power dynamic in investing. Full stop.” That’s Margot Kane, the chief investment officer of Spring Point Partners, in an Agents …
Podcasts | July 22, 2022
What Airlift’s crash says about pandemic era VC investing
Jessica Pothering joins host Brian Walsh to dissect the crash landing of Airlift, and chew over the broader Covid-fueled boom and bust in …
Podcasts | July 8, 2022
Politics and Power in the Asset Management Industry
Roundtable regulars Imogen Rose-Smith and David Bank join host Brian Walsh to discuss Rose-Smith’s latest column on politics and power in asset management …
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 …
Podcasts | June 17, 2022
Emerging Fund Managers Gather in Dar es Salaam
Jessica Pothering joins Monique Aiken to share the work of equity and debt capital providers in emerging markets, whom she met with last …
Podcasts | June 10, 2022
Impact Investing and Coming Out
David Bank joins host Brian Walsh to discuss parallels between the LGBTQ+ community and the impact investing community. We also hear from Megan …
Podcasts | June 6, 2022
New leadership at Kapor Capital doubles down on diversity and impact (podcast)
ImpactAlpha, June 6 – Pro tip for entrepreneurs or fund managers getting ready to pitch Oakland-based Kapor Capital: Don’t leave diversity out of …
- Opinion
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 Voices | September 26, 2022
How asset managers are digging in on diversity to stand out from their peers
ESG begins at home. As increasing numbers of investors are looking for environmental, social and governance investment opportunities, asset managers are directing more …
Impact Voices | September 21, 2022
How emerging market impact funds can reverse the curse of low (return) expectations
Nowhere is impact investing needed more urgently than in emerging markets (EMs). Private investment is needed to lift billions out of poverty, create …
Climate Finance | September 19, 2022
Speeding the energy transition: A seven-point action plan
ImpactAlpha, September 19 – Clean-tech research firm Clean Edge has been tracking the investment, policy, and technology trends of the modern energy transition for …
Policy Corner | September 14, 2022
Reclaiming ESG as pro-business and pro-worker
The culture wars have come for sustainable investing. Right-wing politicians at both federal and state levels have started latching onto the well-known term …
Climate Finance | September 12, 2022
God save the King – and planet
In 1952, the 25-year-old Princess Elizabeth of York stepped down from her treetop camp in Kenya’s Aberdare National Park and became Queen Elizabeth II. On …
Pearl River flood water rising in neighborhoods in Jackson, MS.Impact Voices | September 7, 2022
Three shifts needed to build resilient water systems in Jackson, Miss. and other U.S. cities
The (shocking but unsurprising) sad news is that 173,000 residents of Jackson, Miss. will be out of water indefinitely. This water issue is …
ESG | September 5, 2022
Infowars investing invades “anti-competitive” Texas
Something’s rotten in the State of Texas. Once self-styled as a bastion of free markets and friendly regulation, a down-ballot politician now wields …
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 …
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 …
Impact Voices | August 30, 2022
Thoughts of a Black fund manager
I am a Black fund manager. There are not many of us: Less than 2% of AUM are managed by diverse-owned firms. I …
Impact Voices | August 30, 2022
The competitive advantage of lived experience
There is growing awareness about the importance of attracting diverse talent, but still little meaningful action. As investors, it is imperative we look …
- Agents of Impact
Agents of Impact | September 23, 2022
Suzanne Biegel, GenderSmart: Making markets work for women and the world
ImpactAlpha, September 23 – Women are hot… investments. So declared ImpactAlpha back in 2014, when we used quote marks for investors unfamiliar with “gender …
Agents of Impact | August 19, 2022
Charley Cummings, Walden Mutual Bank: Sustainable lending for sustainable food
Within the next few weeks, if everything goes according to plan, the first customers will make deposits in New Hampshire-based Walden Mutual Bank, …
Photo credit: Annie O'NeillAgents of Impact | August 5, 2022
Brandon Dennison, Coalfield Development: Forging a path for Appalachia’s green economy
ImpactAlpha, August 5 – In the roller coaster climate bill negotiations with West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, Brandon Dennison brought something to the table …
Agents of Impact | July 29, 2022
Taj Eldridge of Include Ventures: Putting the cool in climate action
ImpactAlpha, Jul. 29 – Patagonia vests and khakis ain’t gonna cut it, says Taj Eldridge. To spread the word on climate action, the PhD …
Amy Bell, The Cook's NookAgents of Impact | July 8, 2022
Amy Bell, The Cook’s Nook: Planting seeds for impact
ImpactAlpha, Jul. 8 – Amy Bell’s early work as a financier and advisor to impact funds and social enterprises helped establish the nascent field …
Colombia's Gustavo Petro and Francia MarquezAgents of Impact | June 25, 2022
New Climate Leaders: Winning with a green agenda
If the rise of a Black former maid to vice president was once unthinkable in Colombia, so too was the idea that the …
Agents of Impact | June 10, 2022
Elyse Cherry, BlueHub Capital: Creating equity for healthy communities
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 10 – Payday loans. Car loans. Student loans. “One way to describe our economy is that it’s about draining every ounce of …
Agents of Impact | June 7, 2022
In Silicon Valley, talent follows the capital – and the optimists – into climate tech
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 7 – Where you stand on the incipient tech slowdown may depend on where you sit. Investors and executives in climate …
Agents of Impact | May 27, 2022
Olu Oyinsan, Oui Capital: Investing in Africa’s mass market
ImpactAlpha, May 27 – Five years ago, Olu Oyinsan felt an urgent pull back to his native Nigeria while working in the early-stage practice …
Agents of Impact | May 6, 2022
Kevin Jones, Neighborhood Economics: Turning strangers into unlikely allies
ImpactAlpha, May 6 – Kevin Jones played an early role in convening the disparate, and sometimes unruly, tribes of impact investing under the tents …
Agents of Impact | April 29, 2022
Farmerline’s Alloysius Attah: Helping farmers in Africa produce and sell more food
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 29 – The climate disruption is spurring a long overdue upgrade for 500 million smallholder farmers, who produce up to 80% of …
Agents of Impact | April 15, 2022
Maya Winkelstein, Open Road Alliance: Helping social enterprises through life’s ‘OMG’ moments
If it feels like one calamity after another, put yourself in Maya Winkelstein’s shoes. Open Road Alliance, which Winkelstein has led for a …
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