Features
The Brief | November 23, 2022
The Brief: Labor Department’s green light for ESG, catalyzing catalytic capital, Africa’s inclusive growth, rewiring America, future of social entrepreneurship
Greetings, Agents of Impact! We are deeply grateful for all of the Agents of Impact who make our work meaningful – and possible. …
Policy Corner | November 23, 2022
For pension fund managers, Department of Labor puts ESG back on the table – again
ImpactAlpha, Nov.23 – Cannot! Can so! Just as some states are trying to block so-called ESG investing, the U.S. Department of Labor has …
Smallholder farmers in Ghana. Source: Miller Center
Impact 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 …
The Brief | November 22, 2022
The Brief: Bankrupt billionaires, home healthcare, Kenya’s electric buses, geothermal heat pumps, boosting renter wealth, public solution for worker rights
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: Institutional Impact Beware of paper billionaires bearing gifts, and other lessons of the FTX implosion. Before he lost …
ImpactAlpha Open | November 22, 2022
ImpactAlpha Open: Climate finance opportunities
Greetings, Agents of Impact! And a happy short week to those celebrating Thanksgiving. We kicked off ImpactAlpha Open, our free weekly newsletter, in July to …
Photo credit: U.N. Climate Change
The Brief | November 21, 2022
The Brief: Seeking inclusion alpha, committing to equity in California, streamlining government aid, Schneider’s corporate VC, #WTF at COP27
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: Agents of Impact Podcast VC Include’s Bahiyah Yasmeen Robinson on three drivers of inclusion alpha. Bahiyah Robinson is …
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 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 …
The Brief | November 18, 2022
The Week in Impact Investing: Governance
TGIF, Agents of Impact! 🗣 Fallout. Given how high it rose and how far it fell, it’s no surprise that some names familiar …
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 …
Photo credit: Tamul Plates
The Brief | November 17, 2022
The Brief: Tradeoffs in the global goals, low-carbon real assets, battery-powered stovetops, good jobs in India, emissions liability management
Greetings, Agents of Impact! It was great to see so many of you on yesterday’s Call, “Optimizing muni bonds for racial equity.” We’ll …
Photo credit: U.N. Association
Impact 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 …
Solar farm in Indonesia
The Brief | November 16, 2022
The Brief: Today’s Call: Racial equity in muni bonds, climate finance tracker, coal shutdown in Indonesia, agtech in Africa, social impact moonshots
Greetings, Agents of Impact! 👋 Hop on today’s Call. Join Marjorie Henning, NYC’s deputy comptroller for public finance, Kimberlee Cornett of the Robert …
CapEQ’s Tynesia Boyea-Robinson
Impact 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: MasteryPrep
The Brief | November 15, 2022
The Brief: New climate narrative, home ownership in Denver, college test prep, clean energy in India, gender alpha in agribusiness
Greetings, Agents of Impact! 👋 Last chance to RSVP for tomorrow’s Call, “Optimizing muni bonds for racial equity,” Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 10am …
Climate Finance | November 15, 2022
New narrative of climate action: Unstoppable progress and immense opportunity
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 15 – It has become fashionable to dismiss global climate confabs like COP27 as so much “blah blah blah.” But for …
Photo credit: Root Capital
Signals | November 15, 2022
Women-led agribusinesses notch greater profits, faster growth and less risk
ImpactAlpha, November 15 – Financing smallholder farmers is difficult work. New data from Root Capital suggests that investing in women delivers the trifecta investors …
Photo by Andrei Damian on Unsplash
ImpactAlpha Open | November 15, 2022
ImpactAlpha Open: ESG after the midterms + muni impact
TGIT, Agents of Impact! Welcome to this week’s ImpactAlpha Open. Three quick announcements: 🎮 Impact: The video game. ImpactAlpha has partnered with E-Line Media and the Ford Foundation to explore the potential of …
Photo credit: New York City Housing Authority
The Brief | November 14, 2022
The Brief: Call preview: Racial equity in muni markets, catalytic capital for energy transitions, climate cost savings, blockchain for nuclear threat reduction
Greetings, Agents of Impact! 🎮 Impact: The video game. ImpactAlpha has partnered with E-Line Media and the Ford Foundation to explore the potential …
The Brief | November 11, 2022
The Week in Impact Investing: Deliver
TGIF, Agents of Impact! Take a moment to thank a vet on this Veterans Day. 🗣 Unfinished business. We launched The Brief the …
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 …
Photo credit: Akintune Babatunde
Climate Finance | November 10, 2022
At COP27, ‘loss and damages’ inches from discussion to action
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 10 – Scotland kicked off the race with $7 million. Then came $13.5 million from Denmark, $10 million from Ireland, $50 …
The Brief | November 10, 2022
The Brief: Impact: the video game, emerging markets’ energy transition, regenerative ranching, telemedicine in India, Web3 for climate impact
Greetings, Agents of Impact! 🎮 Impact: The video game. ImpactAlpha has partnered with E-Line Media and Ford Foundation to explore the potential of …
Photo credit: Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance
Impact 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 Corps
Impact 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
The Brief | November 9, 2022
The Brief: Bond banks vs. the Black Tax, Quona’s financial inclusion, Norwegian offshore wind, electric buses in emerging markets, finance day at COP27
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: Muni Impact Many small cities pay a ‘Black Tax.’ Can bond banks help? An old idea is finding …
Signals | November 9, 2022
It’s Finance Day at COP27: Here’s what’s on tap
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 9 – Developed nations are under pressure to provide more capital to low- and middle-income countries to help them grow sustainably …
The Brief | November 8, 2022
The Brief: Fintech data for impact, recycling tech opportunity, Egyptian savings circles, ESG attacks escalate, ‘climate-transition’ proteins
Greetings, Agents of Impact! A warm welcome to MBA students from nearly two dozen business schools around the world who signed up with …
Photo credit: Tienda Pago
Frontier and Growth Markets | November 8, 2022
Inclusive fintechs build on gains to help emerging market businesses weather the economic storm
ImpactAlpha, November 8 – First it was Covid lockdowns. Then global supply-chain disruptions. Now, the rising cost of goods and interest rates is tightening …
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 …
ImpactAlpha Open | November 8, 2022
ImpactAlpha Open: Impact stakes in U.S. elections + COP27 watch
Greetings, Agents of Impact! This is Dennis Price. Welcome to this week’s ImpactAlpha Open. Two quick opportunities: 💰 Take 50% off. If you’ve been contemplating an upgrade …
Photo credit: U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change
The Brief | November 7, 2022
The Brief: Loss and damages at COP27, women-led climate tech, lending in Puerto Rico, microfinance in Mozambique, community solar, growth in impact assets
Greetings, Agents of Impact! 👋 Next week’s Call: Optimizing muni bonds for racial equity. Market shapers are steering the $4 trillion municipal bond …
Source: Shutterstock
Impact Investing | November 5, 2022
Social and environmental crises drive assets to impact – and to ImpactAssets
As the Covid pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement laid bare the vast inequalities and tensions in the US and beyond, impact …
Poker Chips Stock Photo High Quality
The Brief | November 4, 2022
The Week in impact investing: Stakes
TGIF, Agents of Impact! 🗣 Taking a stake. A stake can be a marker, a source of support or a tether. Or something that …
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 …
The Brief | November 3, 2022
The Brief: Keeping fossil fuels in the ground, climate tech pipeline, microfinance exit in Honduras, Indigenous-led waste recycling, impact-linked compensation
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: Stranded Assets A new kind of carbon credit incentivizes fossil fuel producers to ‘keep it in the ground.’ …
Impact Investing | November 3, 2022
A new kind of carbon credit incentivizes fossil fuel producers to ‘keep it in the ground’
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 3 – ‘Keep it in the ground’ has long been a rallying cry for climate activists. A new company is creating …
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 …
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 …
The Brief | November 2, 2022
The Brief: Impact stakes in U.S. elections, climate tech in Africa, impact real estate in the U.K., lithium battery recycling, enabling environmental justice
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Join the next ImpactAlpha Agents of Impact Call, “Optimizing muni bonds for racial equity,” with Public Finance Initiative’s Lourdes …
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 …
Image credit: Patagonia
Policy 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 …
The Brief | November 1, 2022
The Brief: November’s Liist of impact funds, Collide’s Capital’s fund for diverse founders, BlackRock’s balancing act, Is nuclear energy sustainable?
Greetings, Agents of Impact! 👋 The Call: Optimizing muni bonds for racial equity. Public Finance Initiative’s Lourdes Germán, Robert Wood Johnson’s Kimberlee Cornett …
ImpactAlpha Open | November 1, 2022
ImpactAlpha Open: The original impact investment + The Liist
Hi there, Agents of Impact! Welcome to this week’s ImpactAlpha Open. Funding for water, housing, schools. The municipal bond market has been called the original …