Impact Voices
Impact Management | November 30, 2023
Equipping private equity managers to unlock value through sustainability
The private equity industry, known for its focus on efficiency improvements and earnings growth, has expanded dramatically in the past decade, tripling assets …
Climate Finance | November 30, 2023
How much science is there behind the Science Based Targets Initiative?
There is an urgent race to curb rising temperatures and prevent the worst effects of climate change. This is reflected in a growing …
Ceniarth's Diane Isenberg and Greg Neichin
Catalytic Capital | November 27, 2023
Ten lessons for 10 years: Inconvenient truths from an impact-first investor
The impact-first philosophy that Ceniarth has championed has had its fair share of challenges. But we remain convinced that it is critical to …
Impact Management | November 21, 2023
Private equity is leaving billions of dollars in sustainability value on the table
Private equity has a significant opportunity to create financial and societal value through sustainability. PE firms that invest in improving the management and …
Climate Finance | November 15, 2023
Climate tech experts identify the biggest opportunities, and challenges, in the low-carbon transition
Climate tech investment is booming. Since 2013, there have been more than 6,000 investors (private, public and philanthropic) in climate tech startups, and …
Impact Voices | November 14, 2023
Five ways to supercharge energy retrofits
When UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak watered down the UKâs commitment to its Net Zero targets earlier this fall, he at least started …
Macro Impact | November 13, 2023
âFirst-time everâ economic conditions challenge impact investors to rethink models and expectations
Pump it up until you can feel it. Pump it up when you don’t really need it. â “Pump it Up,” Elvis Costello …
Impact Management | November 2, 2023
In impact investing, failure is good â if we learn and share the lessons
In the US, venture backed investments are failing at rates not seen since the Great Recession. The market forces slamming these companies are …
Impact Voices | November 1, 2023
Busting three common âscope 3â myths
California just enacted a set of bills that together represent a huge leap forward in tackling the climate crisis. Under SB 253, about …
Photo credit: Orientea
Catalytic Capital | October 26, 2023
Creative capital helps entrepreneurs scale impact in a down market
Five early-stage startups in Tunisia beat the odds of fundraising in a declining venture market last year, collectively raising $10.3 million with the …
City of Refuge, Baltimore
Impact Voices | October 19, 2023
How the IRAâs âdirect payâ provision is driving community ownership and resilience
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 19 â Just a year after its passage, the Inflation Reduction Act has helped kickstart new battery and EV manufacturing plants …
ImpactAlpha Open | October 17, 2023
ImpactAlpha Open: Child-lens investing + State of the Field
Hi there, Agents of Impact! Welcome to ImpactAlpha Open, our free weekly roundup of top news and opportunities in impact investing and sustainable finance. ImpactAlpha’s Cesar …
Impact Voices | October 17, 2023
Tapping the creativity of local fund managers to scale small business finance
Small businesses are the growth engine for inclusive and resilient development in Africa. Yet the $330 billion annual financing gap remains stubbornly sticky …
Impact Voices | October 2, 2023
Investing for a post-affirmative action economy
After the US Supreme Court decision curtailing affirmative action in college admissions, 21 Democratic attorneys general powerfully came together to take a stand: …
Impact Voices | September 27, 2023
Elevating our collective leadership and accelerating our shared momentum at the GIIN Impact Forum
When I address you at the GIIN Impact Forum in Copenhagen next week, Iâll be focused on a critical element of our work: …
Katni, INDIA
Impact Voices | September 26, 2023
Investing in âmeaningful connectivityâ to a better internet in Africa, Asia and Latin America
Heads of state from around the world gathered at the UN Headquarters in New York last week to review the implementation of the …
Impact Voices | September 25, 2023
Policy tailwinds can buoy investment, but impact relies on business innovation
The impact investing industry is in a unique position in that its main objectives align with those of any (sensible) government. It wants …
Impact Management | September 21, 2023
Messiness, Mutuality and Methodology: Three tips for measuring impact
Note: This is an abridged version for ImpactAlpha. For all 10 tips, please visit this article on Medium.com. At the end of 2022, …
Mangrove forest restoration on Pate Island, Kenya | Photo credit: Thomson Reuters Foundation / Dominic Kirui
Climate Finance | September 19, 2023
Nature-based solutions may be the key to meeting Paris climate goals
As world leaders gather in New York City this week for the UN General Assembly and New York Climate Week, investors and funders …
Africa | September 13, 2023
How Africaâs pension funds are financing the continentâs infrastructure gap
African countries have huge infrastructure needs, and governments need private investment to help meet them, particularly considering increasing climate impacts and green development …
Green Infrastructure | September 13, 2023
Financing power transmissionânot just generationâto meet Africaâs climate goals
Renewable energy generation and storage opportunities were a key focus at last weekâs Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, culminating in $26 billion in new …
Impact Voices | September 12, 2023
How foundations can use impact investments to leverage their grant capital
Impact investing offers the promise of greater impact per dollar as funds are returned and recycled into new investments that generate new impact. …
Ownership Economy | September 6, 2023
Challenging wealth supremacy to realize the dream of systemic change
This essay is adapted from Marjorie Kellyâs forthcoming book, âWealth Supremacy: How the Extractive Economy and the Biased Rules of Capitalism Drive Todayâs …
Impact Management | August 31, 2023
Is Europeâs Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation delivering on its promise?
The European Unionâs Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, known as SFDR, is making waves in the investment industry. The legislative measure, introduced in 2019, …
Photo credit: Upaya Social Ventures
Impact Voices | August 31, 2023
Collaborating to create more dignified jobs in a warming world
The temperature was over 110 degrees Fahrenheit the day I met Roopa, a widowed mother of three, on her tiny plot of land …
Impact Management | July 27, 2023
How three impact investors engage their most important stakeholders to validate impact
An increasingly important question for impact investors is how to validate that their investments are having the intended impact on people or the …
Agrifood Tech | July 20, 2023
A bigger helping of catalytic grant capital can fuel new solutions to food waste
Over the last few years, the main story around U.S. food waste funding has been that private capital has started to pay attention and invest …
Corporate Impact | July 17, 2023
Flex of worker power raises the stakes for quality jobs
Investors focused on societal impact are often concerned with corporate treatment of workers. To assess job quality performance across a portfolio, they generally …
Catalytic Capital | July 13, 2023
5 tips for attracting catalytic capital from wealthy individuals and family offices
There is untapped capacity and enthusiasm for catalytic capital by âhigh net wealth individualsâ (HNIs) and family offices. TONIIC recently surveyed more than …
Impact Investing | July 10, 2023
The Global Steering Group looks to mobilize capital and build impact ecosystems
In late May, leaders from the GSG and National Advisory Boards (NABs) met for the Global Leadership Meeting in Istanbul to discuss how to accelerate …
Photo by Melissa Bradley on Unsplash
Impact Investing | July 6, 2023
Passive investing is making it harder to accurately price climate riskÂ
The single most important question in investing is: âWhen?â When do you expect you will need this money? In a year? In 30 years? …
The Lunkenheimer Valve Co in Cincinnati | Photo credit: The Port / FB
Muni Impact | June 29, 2023
Cincinnati âjobs bondâ aims to fuel manufacturing boom in the Midwest
If you build it they will come. An innovative bond issuance will help a public agency in the city of Cincinnati acquire and …
Impact Voices | June 29, 2023
Need for ‘skin in the game’ hampers diversity in fund management
Those of us working to grow investments into and by communities of color know the statistics well: fewer than 2% of assets under …
Climate Finance | June 27, 2023
Smallholder farmers need holistic climate solutions, not quick fixes
Staple crops like corn, wheat and plantains are being impacted by climate change. So is the coffee we drink; farmers are being forced …
Frontier and Growth Markets | June 22, 2023
Track record? These fund managers are proving their investment chops in creative ways
Access to finance is the biggest constraint to small business growthâand the economic development potential they can unlockâin emerging markets. Africaâs young but …
At the 2022 Rock Health Summit in San Francisco, California, diverse minds from technology, medicine and public health gathered for inspired conversations on the topic of ROI (Reimagining Opportunity and Innovation) in digital health.
Sponsored | June 21, 2023
Unlocking opportunity for impact in digital health with diverse entrepreneurs
Editor’s Note: Deonta Wortham of RockHealth.org, reviews the growth of the digital health innovation market, along with data that investors are missing some …
A group of Mamotest patients in Saenz Peña, Argentina.
Sponsored | June 21, 2023
AI is revolutionizing healthcare⊠but for whom?
Editor’s Note: Guillermo Pepe, founder and CEO of Mamotest, elaborates on the opportunity of using AI to expand access to healthcare in new …
ESG | June 15, 2023
Active ownership, an overlooked path to collective liberation
As we approach Juneteeth while celebrating LGBTQIA+ this month, we should think about how active ownership of publicly traded stocks is imperative for …
Catalytic Capital | June 14, 2023
How wealthy individuals and family offices are embracing catalytic capital
Wealthy individuals and family offices are an under-tapped source of catalytic capital. Family offices and High Net Wealth Individuals (HNIs) can operate without …
Impact Voices | June 12, 2023
Community-based climate partnerships poised to gain from new âgreen bankâ funding
Adapting to climate change, and preventing its worst impacts, is a daunting job â too big for most local governments, nonprofits, or businesses …
Photo by Mario Gogh on Unsplash
Return on Inclusion | June 6, 2023
Three steps private equity can take to capture alpha through diversity and inclusion
Private equity firms often bring sector-specific expertise and a seasoned perspective to their investments, knowing how to best create efficiencies, improve operations and …
ESG | May 31, 2023
The mounting costs of the attacks on ESG investing
Where politics and finance collide, the crusade against ESG is a rollercoaster ride filled with intrigue, backroom deals, and unforeseen consequences. From politicians …
Investing in Health | May 25, 2023
Health is too important to be left to the health sector alone
The World Bank Groupâs and International Monetary Fund themed their recent meetings in Washington, DC, âThe way forward: Building resilience and reshaping development.â …
Return on Inclusion | May 24, 2023
Seven lessons from successful financial activists
What does it take to be an effective financial activist? After supporting 156 Just Economy Institute fellows over the past six years, we …
Gender Smart | May 22, 2023
Bringing women to the forefront of sustainable development
The following is an excerpt from “Working to restore: Harnessing the power of regenerative business to heal the world,” by Esha Chhabra. In …