Impact Investing
White House advisor Mitch Landrieu and LPO's Jigar Shah at the Demonstrate, Deploy, Decarbonize conference
Climate and Clean Tech | September 28, 2023
With catalytic climate financing, Energy Department looks to demonstrate, deploy and decarbonize
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 28 – “We’re the government and we’re here to help.” The Department of Energy is trying to turn the old punchline …
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, I’ll be focused on a critical element of our work: …
Image credit: Adirondack Foundation
Catalytic Capital | September 26, 2023
Community foundations embrace mission-related investing to boost local impact
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 26 – In her 30 years at the Battle Creek Community Foundation, Brenda Hunt has seen her share of ups and downs …
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 Investing | September 20, 2023
Zero Gap Fund backs regenerative agriculture investor Trailhead Capital
ImpactAlpha, September 20 – The Rockefeller and MacArthur foundations four years ago partnered on a $30 million Zero Gap Fund to catalyze more …
Impact Investing | September 19, 2023
Emata nets $2.4 million for East Africa’s smallholder farmers
ImpactAlpha, September 19 – Emata partners with agricultural cooperatives to extend low-cost loans to smallholder coffee, maize and dairy farmers. The Uganda-based fintech …
Climate Finance | September 18, 2023
From scientific to doomsday, the five climate change narratives shaping discourse and decisions
ImpactAlpha, September 18 — The climate discourse by individuals and groups typically involves five narratives about the import and response to climate change. Some …
Photo credit: Steve Shook
Policy Corner | September 18, 2023
With laws and lawsuits, California takes on Big Oil
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 18 – Will he or won’t he? Gavin Newsom put to rest questions about the fate of two landmark bills passed by …
Photo: Dllu (Wikicommons)
Climate Finance | September 14, 2023
Protesters and private investors to pressure global leaders at Climate Week NYC
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 14 – When world leaders jet into New York for the annual UN General Assembly this weekend, it will be hard …
Al Gore, former US Vice President and cofounder of Generation Management
Impact Investing | September 13, 2023
Al Gore’s climate investment firm ‘calls a moment’ in the sustainability revolution
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 13 – Climate has moved from the margins to the center of global politics. “We’re calling a moment here,” says Justin Gillis …
Impact Investing | September 13, 2023
Lyten snags $200 million to commercialize “supermaterial” batteries and composites
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 13 – The energy transition depends upon declining cost curves and better performance of low carbon alternatives. Lyten is looking to …
Impact Investing | September 11, 2023
How some US companies are preparing for mandatory impact reporting (Q&A)
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 11 – Markets around the globe are likely to require corporations to report on their social and environmental impact before the end …
Photo: Eman Mohammed, Survival Media Agency
Impact Investing | September 10, 2023
Climate protestors step up their game as climate action falters
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 11 – Tomato soup on Van Gogh’s sunflowers. A blockade of Burning Man. This weekend, climate protestors staged their latest stunt …
Impact Investing | September 8, 2023
H2’s $1.6 billion raise signals growing investor and customer demand for green steel
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 8 – In one of the largest climate tech deals of the year, Sweden’s H2 Green Steel pulled in €1.5 billion …
Photo by yasin hemmati on Unsplash
Dealflow | September 7, 2023
Boston Metal hauls in $262 million for green steel and metals
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 7 – Boston Metal’s electro-chemical process turns iron ore into liquid metal, streamlining zero-emission steel production without the use of coal. …
Source: The GIIN
Impact Investing | September 1, 2023
Impact investors look to shift allocations to emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 1 – Climate, Covid and political uncertainty have had impact investors hiding out in developed markets. Perceptions of risk and volatility are …
Impact Investing | August 30, 2023
Single-family rentals deserve a seat at the affordable housing table
As the affordable housing crisis drags painfully on, more and more people are pointing the finger at investors buying homes. News headlines – …
Water | August 28, 2023
Water security climbs the climate agenda at World Water Week
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 28 – The fire that ravaged western Maui this month exposed simmering tensions over rights to dwindling water supplies. In fast-growing …
Vivek Ramaswamy at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference.
Photo: Julia Nikhinson - CNP
Impact Investing | August 23, 2023
Ramaswamy spins business chops into politics while attacking politics in business
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 23 – A year ago, Vivek Ramaswamy, then an upstart asset manager, thought his attacks on ESG investing had been misunderstood. …
Christopher Kennedy McKelvy (Photo: K. Ventures)
Dealflow | August 22, 2023
Kennedy cousin invests in disability services
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 22 – The challenges of people affected by disabilities are attracting entrepreneurs – and investors. The latest example: Christopher McKelvy, a …
Photo: Rondo Energy
Climate and Clean Tech | August 21, 2023
Rondo raises fresh $60 million to electrify industrial processes
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 21 – Rondo Energy is tackling one of the biggest obstacles to the adoption of renewable power: storing intermittent power so it …
Impact Investing | August 21, 2023
Developing a pro-ESG narrative around transparency, long-term returns and political freedom
As political and corporate actors continue to discredit the ESG movement in national publications and on broadcast television, it is more important than …
Impact Investing | August 17, 2023
In India, ‘zebra’ companies deliver impact at scale and exits for investors
Recent research suggests that India has become increasingly appealing to impact investors. The industry has grown to $27.1 billion at a rate of …
Climate Finance | August 16, 2023
African leaders want a bigger slice of a bigger market for voluntary carbon credits
ImpactAlpha, August 16 – Africa needs $250 billion a year to finance climate mitigation and adaptation initiatives. Yet the vast continent of nearly …
Perovskite
Climate and Clean Tech | August 14, 2023
Caelux snags another $12 million to make solar panels more efficient
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 14 – Solar power costs have dropped by more than 75% since 2010. But the efficiency at which solar panels convert sunlight …
Abuja, Nigeria
Impact Investing | August 10, 2023
Let’s retain talent and crowd in investment in healthcare innovation in Africa
COVID-19 was a disaster for public healthcare across Africa. For a sector traditionally under-resourced, poorly administered or both, the pandemic showed the continent’s healthcare …
Brazil
Conservation | August 10, 2023
Revived South American alliance takes steps to protect Amazon forests and communities
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 10 – There was no grand pledge to halt deforestation, as Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had urged. Nor …
Climate and Clean Tech | August 10, 2023
Matter raises $10 million to filter out microplastics on an industrial scale
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 10 – A mechanical engineer at Dyson, Adam Root had an idea for a washing machine filter to screen out microplastics …
Mangrove forest in Sindh, Pakistan
Conservation | August 9, 2023
Revival of Pakistan’s mangroves provides a blueprint for global restoration
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 9 – Less than 20 years ago, Keti Bandar, a coastal town in southeastern Pakistan, had barren shores. Today, it’s a …
Green Infrastructure | August 8, 2023
Hybar snags $700 million in debt and equity for recycled steel plant in Arkansas
ImpactAlpha, Aug 8 – Electric vehicle, battery and chip factories are rising in the US south and midwest. Hybar’s planned mill in Osceola, …
Impact Investing | July 27, 2023
Catalytic grants aim to ready communities to deploy historic clean energy funding
ImpactAlpha, July 27 – When the Covid pandemic hit, philanthropic organizations mobilized with relative lightning speed to address the crisis and its impact …
Impact Investing | July 26, 2023
Impact for decision-making, Part 1
New to impact investing? Or just want to improve your game? We’ve got you covered. Over the next few weeks, ImpactAlpha will offer …
Impact Investing | July 24, 2023
Terabase and PVcase raise capital for solar design and construction
ImpactAlpha, July 24 – The world needs to add more than 50 terawatts of solar capacity by 2050 to stave off catastrophic global …
Climate and Clean Tech | July 21, 2023
Renewables go exponential, but is that fast enough?
ImpactAlpha, July 21 – As much of the planet withers under historic heat, here’s some cool news: the energy transition is happening even faster …
Ophira Melamed (second from right) and the Nitrofix team
Impact Investing | July 20, 2023
Israel-based Nitrofix raises $3.1 million for decentralized green ammonia production
ImpactAlpha, July 20 – Greening ammonia is among the next big emission reduction opportunities. The gas, which binds with nitrogen in the air, …
Inclusive Economy | July 19, 2023
How some communities and funders are practicing ‘participatory investing’ to share power as well as capital
ImpactAlpha, July 19 – Community-led investing. Grassroots community engaged investing. Participatory investing. Whatever it’s called, the practice of shifting investment decision-making power to …
Photo: Mark Blyth @MkBlyth
ESG | July 19, 2023
BlackRock’s latest move has climate advocates asking, ‘What’s up with Larry Fink?’
ImpactAlpha, July 19 – Larry Fink has jumped from the frying pan into the fire. Last month, the BlackRock CEO said he was …
Institutional Impact | July 18, 2023
For ESG Month, let’s have an honest discussion about the limits of shareholder engagement
Move over infrastructure week. On Capitol Hill, it’s ESG month! It’s hard for me, too, to contain my excitement. Environmental, social and governance …
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 …
Impact Investing | July 14, 2023
Amy Duffuor, Azolla Ventures: Bridging climate gaps with catalytic capital
Many investors look at promising new climate solutions and say, ‘Great, come back to me when you have traction.’ Azolla Ventures is more …
Impact Investing | July 14, 2023
Putting Africa’s pension funds to work for Africa’s social infrastructure
Drawing Africa’s pension funds deeper into impact investing is one of the goals of this week’s Africa Impact Summit in Cape Town, South …
Catalytic Capital | July 13, 2023
Prime Coalition’s Azolla Ventures raises $239 million to catalyze climate capital
ImpactAlpha, July 13 – Prime Coalition launched independently run Azolla in 2021 as a successor to its $50 million Prime Impact Fund. Azolla’s …
Dealflow | July 13, 2023
Spring Lane Capital clinches $290 million for second sustainable infrastructure fund
ImpactAlpha, July 13 – The Boston- and Montreal-based firm will use the capital for debt and equity investments in green energy, waste, food …
New York City
Impact Muni Bonds | July 11, 2023
$307 million sustainability bond to rehabilitate and retrofit affordable housing in New York
Editor’s note: ImpactAlpha has partnered with HIP Investor to highlight upcoming bond issues with social and/or environmental significance. Disclaimer: Nothing in this post …
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 …