farmlead
Dealflow | March 21, 2017
FarmLead raises $6.5 million for online grain marketplace
FarmLead has raised $6.5 million for its online grain marketplace. The platform, launched in Ottawa in 2013, connects 4,000 grain growers to buyers …
- Beats
- The Brief
December 5, 2022
The Brief
Featured: Policy Corner
Pro-ESG forces rally to confront backlash against corporate accountability, workers rights and risk management. It took awhile, but advocates for the integration of environmental, social and governance factors in investment decisions are mobilizing their allies and their arguments to counter the well-coordinated campaign to demonize ESG. The attorneys general of 16 states and the District of Columbia wrote to congressional leaders last month rebutting the anti-ESG arguments made by 19 other attorneys general in an August letter to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. Coalitions of climate, labor and “stakeholder capitalism” organizations are coordinating their messaging, social media and state-level organizing to quickly respond to rhetorical attacks and legislative proposals to roll back ESG policies and practices at state agencies and pension funds. “Most people are on our side when you describe what ESG is about in plain English,” said Chris Jurgens of Omidyar Network. “It's about companies disclosing and managing their positive and negative impacts on workers, people, planet and communities.”
Sponsored by Mission Investors Exchange
‘We can make do, or we can make noise.’ In the pandemic lockdowns of spring 2020, many Black and Brown businesses owners in Forrest City, Ark. found themselves shut out of federal and state relief programs. “That familiar ‘here we go again’ feeling rose up in me,” Sherece West Scantlebury of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation writes as part of ImpactAlpha’s series with Mission Investors Exchange. The foundation worked with nonprofit leaders in the majority-Black region to launch and seed the Delta Owned loan fund. WRF and other funders have invested $1.3 million in the fund and facilitated a partnership with the Arkansas Small Business Administration to connect Delta businesses to SBA loans and resources. “This is what pursuing economic equity and systems disruption looks like for us,” says West Scantlebury. “As investors for impact and change, we have a choice. We can make do, or we can make noise.”
Dealflow: Inclusive Fintech
Creation Investments closes $270 million fund for financial inclusion in emerging markets. With its fifth fund, Creation will invest in eight to 10 companies in basic banking, insurance services and fintech-enabled affordable housing, education and supply chain finance, mostly in Mexico and India. Since 2007, Chicago-based Creation Investments has focused on deploying private credit and equity to microfinance institutions, small and medium enterprise lenders, banks and other financial services providers in emerging markets. The goal: expand access to financial capital and services for the 1.4 billion unbanked adults in emerging markets, primarily women, Creation’s Patrick Fisher told ImpactAlpha. Creation has local teams in Bangalore and Mexico City.
Impact Voices: Impact Management
For comparability’s sake, let’s really move impact measurement from outputs to outcomes. Designing impact investment performance instruments that actually measure outcomes was never going to be easy. But it is not impossible. “Commonly used measurement tools are doing a reasonable job of measuring outputs,” such as the number of people reached, says Tom Adams of 60 Decibels. Data remains scarce on the depth of impact on individual and household, or ‘outcome’ metrics. “It’s high time this changed,” Adams writes in a guest post.
Agents of Impact: Follow the Talent
Nonprofit Finance Fund namesBrenda Loya of Amalgamated Bank, Kris Putnam-Walkerly of Putnam Consulting Group, Gregory Robinson of Moody’s, and Joe Silver of Submittable to its board… Economist Sebastián Welisiejkojoins New Ventures as a partner… The MacArthur Foundation is recruiting a senior impact investments officer in Chicago… The Equality Fundseeks a vice president of its investment program in Ottawa, Ontario.
- 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
Podcasts | December 2, 2022
Ownership trusts to close the wealth gap with Zoe Schlag (podcast)
Host Brian Walsh catches up with Common Trust’s Zoe Schlag, who is taking aim at U.S. wealth gaps by helping employees become owners …
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 …
Podcasts | November 18, 2022
Stephan Nicoleau shares an update from COP27
Amy Cortese catches up with FullCycle’s Stephan Nicoleau who is at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, to talk methane, governance and catalytic …
Podcasts | November 11, 2022
Ceres’ Steven Rothstein on the midterm elections and COP27
Host Brian Walsh is joined by Steven Rothstein, managing director of the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets, to chat about how climate …
Podcasts | November 3, 2022
Morningstar’s Jon Hale on the U.S. Midterm Elections
Jon Hale, director of sustainability research at Morningstar, joins host Monique Aiken to talk about what is at stake for impact investors in …
Muni Impact | October 31, 2022
Optimizing the municipal bond market for health equity and racial justice (podcast)
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 31 – The municipal bond market has been called the original impact investment asset class, a source of capital for water, housing, …
Podcasts | October 28, 2022
Bob Eccles on the ESG Wars
Host Brian Walsh has the headlines and Amy Cortese chats with Oxford’s Bob Eccles about why the distinction between ESG and impact in …
Podcasts | October 20, 2022
SOCAP is Back
Host Monique Aiken is live and in person with Rodney Foxworth, CEO of Common Future, and ImpactAlpha’s David Bank at SOCAP22 in San …
Podcasts | October 14, 2022
Deploying “patient capital” with Daniel Waldron
Host Brian Walsh is joined by Acumen’s Daniel Waldron to discuss lessons from the nonprofit investor’s two decades of deploying “patient capital” in …
Impact Investing | October 6, 2022
The Greening of the 401(k)
ImpactAlpha’s David Bank catches up with Zach Stein, CEO of Carbon Collective, to talk about how average investors with 401(k) retirement accounts can …
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 …
- Opinion
graph drawing with pencil and bar chart analysis Business concept
Impact Management | December 5, 2022
For comparability’s sake, let’s really move impact measurement from outputs to outcomes
Designing meaningful, appropriate and comparable impact investment performance instruments that do not stop at outputs, but get all the way to outcomes, was …
Institutional Shift | December 5, 2022
ESG is dead? European asset owners in venture capital think differently
The backlash to environmental, social and governance, or ESG, investing is in full swing in the U.S. In Europe, asset owners are to …
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 …
Sponsored | November 30, 2022
How shared accountability can increase the social impact of healthcare investing
Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures, which supports ImpactAlpha’s Investing in Health coverage. In partnership with J&J Impact Ventures, ImpactAlpha is exploring the …
Smallholder farmers in Ghana. Source: Miller CenterImpact Voices | November 23, 2022
Five insights into the future of social entrepreneurship
In some ways, a quarter of a century is a long time to be at the forefront of social entrepreneurship. But in other …
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 credit: U.N. AssociationImpact Voices | November 17, 2022
Facing up to shortfalls – and trade-offs – in the Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals need rescuing, a global sustainable investors group warned recently. The SDGs are a collection of 17 interlinked goals ranging …
CapEQ’s Tynesia Boyea-RobinsonImpact Voices | November 16, 2022
A moonshot mindset for social-impact advantage
Editor’s Note: The Social Impact Advantage, the new book from Tynesia Boyea-Robinson of CapEQ, walks readers through a step-by-step process for what it …
Photo credit: Ocean Risk and Resilience Action AllianceImpact Voices | November 10, 2022
A future-focused agenda for COP27
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP27) that began a few days ago will allow the world to …
A Kenyan farmer uses his phone to access data to help him manage his crops. Source: Mercy CorpsImpact Voices | November 10, 2022
How Web3 can shift power to the climate-vulnerable
Innovative financial services and blockchain/Web3 solutions are a passport to greater climate resilience, writes Scott Onder, Mercy Corps’ chief investment officer
Impact Voices | November 3, 2022
Have we reached the tipping point for impact-linked compensation?
ImpactAlpha, November 3 – On a panel I recently moderated at the GIIN Investor Forum, I baited the participants with a statement that I …
Image credit: PatagoniaPolicy Corner | November 2, 2022
Pursuing environmental justice through the Inflation Reduction Act
The Inflation Reduction Act is a historic investment in marginalized communities on the frontlines of climate change. However, the bill also links renewable …
- Agents of Impact
Agents of Impact | November 4, 2022
Mia Mottley, Barbados: Shaping the global finance agenda.
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 4 – Barbados is an island nation of just 166 square miles and less than 300,000 inhabitants. But its leader, Mia …
photo credit: Jim Hill/CPR NewsAgents of Impact | October 28, 2022
Blake Jones, Kachuwa Impact Fund: Making co-ops work for investors, too.
Blake Jones is “a cooperative geek.” After co-founding four co-op enterprises, including Namaste Solar and Clean Energy Credit Union, he has brought the …
Agents of Impact | October 7, 2022
Regina Kline, Enable Ventures: Closing the disability gap
ImpactAlpha, October 7 – Regina Kline has seen the state of labor and employment for disabled Americans up close, as a lawyer representing workers …
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 …
- More