The Brief
The Brief | December 8, 2023
The Week in Impact Investing: The How
TGIF, Agents of Impact! 🗣 General practitioners. Agents of Impact are getting pretty good at structuring deals, raising capital, measuring impact – and sharing …
The Brief | December 7, 2023
The Brief: AI for climate, sustainable forestry investing, Congruent’s climate tech fund, Zestmoney’s shutdown, crypto and ESG
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: The Transition AI’s killer app: Guiding humanity through the climate challenge. The power of artificial intelligence (as well …
The Brief | December 6, 2023
The Brief: Social premiums in muni bonds, Milwaukee’s cautionary tale, Africa’s local funds, foundations of social justice, tools for institutional investors
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: Muni Impact From Atlanta to St. Paul, bond issuers are steering muni markets toward racial equity. When the …
The Brief | December 5, 2023
The Brief: Impact incentives and lived experience on The Liist, climate tech in South Asia, COP’s finance day, racial-equity investing after affirmative action
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: Impact Fundraising Managers walk the talk on impact fund strategy and structure (The Liist, Dec. 2023). Women investing …
ImpactAlpha Open | December 5, 2023
ImpactAlpha Open: COP watch + blending finance for the Global Goals
Hi there, Agents of Impact! Welcome to the latest ImpactAlpha Open, our free weekly roundup of essential reads and exclusive opportunities across impact investing …
Credit: COP28 on X
The Brief | December 4, 2023
The Brief: Chilling corporate climate cooperation, petro-billions for the green transition, California’s forest resilience bond, funds for local-capital funds
Greetings, Agents of Impact! 👋 Agents of Impact Call: Finding hidden impact and risk in municipal bonds. High-performing schools in low-income neighborhoods. Lead …
The Brief | December 1, 2023
The Week in impact investing: Soft power
TGIF, Agents of Impact! 🗣 Art of the deal. Call it greenwashing. Or call it soft power. The presidency of the annual COP …
Solar irrigated farm in Cambodia | Credit: UNDP
The Brief | November 30, 2023
The Brief: Climate tech in the Global South, raising science-based climate targets, climate + health in Canada, sustainability tools for private equity
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: The Transition With a startup accelerator, COP28 boosts climate tech in the Global South. Can rapid tech innovation …
Image credit: NAAREA
The Brief | November 29, 2023
The Brief: Catalyzing billions for the SDGs, petit French nukes, plastic-based concrete, carbon reporting for construction, family-office climate investing
Greetings, Agents of Impact! 👋 Agents of Impact Call: Finding hidden impact and risk in municipal bonds. Opportunities to invest in muni bonds …
The Brief | November 28, 2023
The Brief: Markets and methane at COP28, banking community banks, fish farms in Kenya, renewable heat in France, Indigenous venture capital
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: Climate Finance From carbon markets to curbing methane, the case for climate optimism at COP28. Even before it …
ImpactAlpha Open | November 28, 2023
ImpactAlpha Open: Private equity’s sustainability billions + Ceniarth’s inconvenient truths
Hi there, Agents of Impact! Ending Tomorrow: 75% off. We’ve extended our Black Friday-Cyber Monday-Giving Tuesday deal… through Impact Wednesday. Grab ImpactAlpha’s best offer of …
Photo credit: AEM
The Brief | November 27, 2023
The Brief: Ceniarth’s inconvenient truths, sustainable EV motors, vertical farms in Europe, virtual doctor visits in Africa, fiduciary duty of care
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: Catalytic Capital Ten lessons for 10 years: Inconvenient truths from an impact-first investor. For years, the roster of …
The Brief | November 21, 2023
The Brief: Private equity’s sustainability billions, Raj Shah’s big betsThe Brief:
Thanksgiving greetings, Agents of Impact! At ImpactAlpha, we’re grateful for your attention, community and impact, day in and day out. We’re taking a …
ImpactAlpha Open | November 21, 2023
ImpactAlpha Open: Introducing ‘Macro Impact’ + building an ownership movement
Greetings, Agents of Impact! We’re celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday this week in the U.S. At ImpactAlpha, we’re grateful for your attention, your feedback, and …
The Brief | November 20, 2023
The Brief: Return to values investing, traffic congestion in Texas, TIME’s climate leaders, alt-ownership structure
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: Institutional Impact Making impact real, or: How I learned to stop worrying and love values investing. Companies that …
The Brief | November 17, 2023
The Week in Impact Investing: Optimize
TGIF, Agents of Impact! 🗣 Collective leadership. To “realize my full potential” at a recent conference, I took part in a vigorous morning …
The Brief | November 16, 2023
The Brief: Inclusive future of work, circular fashion, eye care in Africa, survey of climate tech opportunities, outcomes-based financingThe Brief:
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Thanks to the hundreds of you who joined yesterday’s climate + gender call. We’ll have the writeup and replay …
The Brief | November 15, 2023
The Brief: Today’s Call: Climate + gender, the ownership pyramid, Indigenous enterprises in Australia, energy access in west Africa, climate finance in India
Greetings, Agents of Impact! 👋 Hop on today’s Call: Women as agents of change for climate resilience. If and when we meet the …
Photo credit: Compound Foods
The Brief | November 14, 2023
The Brief: Climate + gender fund strategies, forest carbon credits, robot farm workers, soil regeneration, supercharging energy retrofits
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: Climate + Gender These fund managers are putting climate + gender strategies into action. It’s early days, but …
ImpactAlpha Open | November 14, 2023
ImpactAlpha Open: Private equity’s appetite for impact funds + assessing meat risk
Hi there, Agents of Impact! Welcome to the latest ImpactAlpha Open, our free weekly roundup of must-reads and exciting opportunities across impact investing and …
The Brief | November 13, 2023
The Brief: Higher for longer, AI for tapping the IRA, Japanese investors in Africa, rare earth-free magnets, Evanston’s reparations
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: Macro Impact ‘First-time ever’ economic conditions challenge impact investors to rethink models and expectations. The realities of high …
The Brief | November 10, 2023
The Week in Impact Investing: Buffers
TGIF, Agents of Impact! 🗣 Thriving in turbulence. As we’ve seen in past moments of volatility, commitments to positive impact are again helping …
The Brief | November 9, 2023
The Brief: Financing health in the Global South, clean power bond in SoCal, Rockefeller’s climate commitments, Colombia’s truckers, retail impact notes
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Thanks to all of you who plugged into Plugged In. Stay tuned for the recap and replay in Friday’s …
Photo credit: WaterEquity
The Brief | November 8, 2023
The Brief: Climate + gender portfolio, Candide’s just transition fund, Gresham House’s forest strategy, Black-led inclusion tech, PE’s impact tailwinds
Greetings, Agents of Impact! ⚡ TODAY: Get Plugged In. VertueLab’s Aina Abiodun joins host Sherrell Dorsey on LinkedIn Live to discuss centering local …
The Brief | November 7, 2023
The Brief: Quality job strategies make The Liist, KKR’s second impact fund, Social Finance targets DAFs, 174 real estate funds, US hemp opportunity
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Don’t miss these upcoming ImpactAlpha calls: ⚡ Plugged In: Local climate innovation with Aina Abiodun of VertueLab. The Portland-based …
ImpactAlpha Open | November 7, 2023
ImpactAlpha Open: Lessons from impact failures + US hemp opportunity
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Welcome to the latest ImpactAlpha Open, our free weekly newsletters of top news and opportunities in impact investing and sustainable …
The Brief | November 6, 2023
The Brief: New wave of oceans investing, Pomona’s persistence, diabetes care in Egypt and India, Brookfield’s debt for renewable energy, job quality in India
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Don’t miss these upcoming ImpactAlpha calls: ⚡ Plugged In: Local climate innovation. Join host Sherrell Dorsey in conversation with …
The Brief | November 3, 2023
The Week in Impact Investing: Battle-Tested
TGIF, Agents of Impact! 🗣 Chill in the air. US Rep. Jim Jordan and other Republicans are engaging in very public saber-rattling over …
The Brief | November 2, 2023
The Brief: Republicans’ big chill on shareholder action, rural electrification in Côte d’Ivoire, upskilling workers in Colorado, lessons from Acumen’s failures
Greetings, Agents of Impact! 📞 Agents of Impact Call: Women as agents of change for climate resilience. If and when we meet the …
The Brief | November 1, 2023
The Brief: Mandatory climate disclosure, digital credit for Mexico’s farmers, training surgical teams, sustainable cities, microfinance merger in India
Greetings, Agents of Impact! ⚡ Plugged In: Local climate innovation with VertueLab’s Aina Abiodun. The head of Portland-based nonprofit climate tech investor VertueLab …
The Brief | October 31, 2023
The Brief: Plug in to VertueLab’s Aina Abiodun, tales from the conference circuit, green bond for clean cooking, EVs in India, de-risking grid finance
🎃 Spooky Halloween Greetings, Agents of Impact! 👻 ⚡ Get Plugged In. Nigeria-born climate entrepreneur and professional nomad Aina Abiodun is bullish on …
ImpactAlpha Open | October 31, 2023
ImpactAlpha Open: Socap’s defiant optimists + US ‘green bank’
Hi there, Agents of Impact! A few items on this week’s to-do list: 📬 Share your story. Like many of you, we’re lifting …
Photo credit: East African Fruits
The Brief | October 30, 2023
The Brief: Climate + gender in agriculture lending, pollinating impact tech, collateral-free trade finance, digital edge for Black entrepreneurs
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: Catalytic Capital Doubling down on guarantees, MCE Social Capital aims to unlock capital for climate + gender. Moving …
The Brief | October 27, 2023
The Week in Impact Investing: Visible Hands
TGIF, Agents of Impact! 🗣 Economic agency. Adam Smith’s theory that the “invisible hand” of the market delivers optimal public welfare through the …
Photo credit: Orientea
The Brief | October 26, 2023
The Brief: Here comes the US green bank, Flourish’s fairer fintech, Colombian microfinance, flexible financing in Africa, emerging market impact in a down market
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: Policy Corner The US is finally getting a national green bank. Here’s what to expect. Hurry up and …
The Brief | October 25, 2023
The Brief: SOCAP’s best-dressed, mini-grids in rural Africa and Asia, next-generation geothermal energy, managing water scarcity
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: Seen at SOCAP Best-dressed at SOCAP: How does your outfit express your impact? Clothes are culture. Clothes are …
Image credit: SOCAP
The Brief | October 24, 2023
The Brief: Overheard at SOCAP, moving capital to women, disability solutions, battery storage in Texas, outperforming on impact
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: Overhead at SOCAP23 Gender lens investors look beyond ‘the business case’ to move capital to women. Don’t ask …
ImpactAlpha Open | October 24, 2023
ImpactAlpha Open: Gender lens in Latin America + the $2 billion crowd
Greetings, Agents of Impact! 🎉 Limited time: Take 75% off. Subscribe to the news and intelligence platform impact investors trust. For a limited time, …
Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco
The Brief | October 23, 2023
The Brief: From DEI to equitable wealth-building, climate tech innovation, community-based healthcare, crowdfunding $2 billion, green bonds vs. fossil fuels
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: Ownership Economy SOCAP23: From DEI to equitable wealth-building to shared prosperity. The annual SOCAP conference kicks off today …
The Brief | October 20, 2023
The Week in Impact Investing: The Alpha in Impact
TGIF, Agents of Impact! 🗣 Positive externalities. What’s in a name? When we launched ImpactAlpha almost a decade ago, we wanted to cut …
The Brief | October 19, 2023
The Brief: Gender lens in Latin America, clean generators in Europe, grocery store Scope 3 emissions, the power of the IRA’s ‘direct pay’
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: Gender Alpha Through a gender lens in Latin America, investors see opportunities for impact and alpha (videos). The …
The Brief | October 18, 2023
The Brief: Surplus churches in Canada, resilient female farmers, mini-grids in Chad, super-batteries, rethinking tax increment financing in Chicago
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: Circular Real Estate Surplus church properties in Canada get new life as community hubs and affordable housing (video). …
The Brief | October 17, 2023
The Brief: ImpactAlpha’s mission-aligned investors, Elemental’s first of a kind climate solutions, community finance guarantees, hydrogen hubs, creativity of local fund managers
Greetings, Agents of Impact! Featured: A Special Note for ImpactAlpha Subscribers Dancing with the ones who brought us. When we launched ImpactAlpha back …
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 …
The Brief | October 16, 2023
The Brief: Scaling employee ownership, water bonds in Texas, water kiosks in India, independent media in Poland, Ozempic’s economic impact
Greetings, Agents of Impact! 🤝 Connect with ImpactAlpha. This week, catch ImpactAlpha’s Jessica Pothering at Financial Inclusion Week, Dennis Price and Cesar Chávez …