science-fiction
Long-termism | September 16, 2017
Blade Runner through an impact lens
It’s 2017, the year Leon Kowalski rolls off the assembly line at the Tyrell Corporation. He’s programmed for slave labor on one of …
- Beats
- The Brief
June 2, 2023
The Brief
The Week’s Podcast
🎧 Impact Briefing. David Bank joins host Monique Aiken to talk about the ownership economy, ESG backlash and system-level investing. Plus the headlines.Listen to this week’s episode, and follow all of ImpactAlpha’s podcasts on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen.
The Week’s Chart
Net-zero pathway. A boom in solar and electric vehicles is driving down emissions and pushing the world’s largest carbon-emitter toward an energy tipping point. BloombergNEF expects China to add three times the amount of solar in 2023 than it did just two years ago. EVs now make up one-third of new car sales. The accelerated progress could push China’s fossil fuel use into long-term decline as early as next year, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. The excitement, says Bloomberg’s Dan Murtaugh, “suggests China is nearing an inflection point in its energy transition more than a half-decade before a 2030 target to peak emissions.”
The Week’s Dealflow
Deal spotlight: Fusion is heating up. Some $5 billion in private capital already has been invested in fusion energy startups. Last month, Microsoft inked the first pre-purchase agreement for grid-connected fusion power – to be delivered by 2028. This week, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $46 million to eight fusion companies to help commercialize the technology, contingent on milestones to be met over the next 18 months. “It’s no longer a question of possibilities,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. “It’s a question of ingenuity and whether we can muster up the investment and the commitment that this challenge demands.” As ImpactAlpha’s Climate Co-Investor Tracker, developed by Vibrant Data Labs and SecondMuse, shows, the DOE and National Science Foundation have long been the hub of the climate-tech ecosystem.
The Week’s Talent
Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg of Black Women in Executive Leadership joins the board of Autodesk Foundation… Former Enel CEO Francesco Starace joins EQT Infrastructure as a partner… Isabelle Schmidt, ex- of Wellington Management, and Pooja Monga, ex- of KOIS, join Beyond Capital Ventures as an operations associates.
The Week’s Jobs
💼 Share the week’s impact jobs. Want to post a job in The Brief? Drop us a note.
- The Call
Call Recording | March 31, 2023
Metrics Madness: Wealth, ownership and ‘quality adjusted life years’ (video)
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 31 – The search for a universal metric to guide investments in racial justice and equitable wealth-building was…aspirational. “We are still a …
Policy Corner | February 24, 2023
Policymaking for workers and communities in the Year of the ‘S’ (video)
ImpactAlpha. Feb. 24 – “A labor market where workers have more opportunities and have more power and have more leverage is a good …
Memphis skylineMuni Impact | February 9, 2023
Engaging racial-equity risks and opportunities in municipal finance (video)
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 9 – The fatal beating by police of Tyre Nichols in Memphis last month exposed risks to the city’s finances that have …
Photo by Tamarcus Brown on UnsplashMuni Impact | November 18, 2022
Mispriced risks, investor demand and community power center racial equity in municipal bonds (video)
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 18 – Cities around the U.S. are raising low-cost capital in the municipal bond markets by highlighting intentional efforts to address long-standing …
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 …
- Podcasts
Podcasts | June 2, 2023
Ownership, ESG, and systems-level investing
David Bank joins host Monique Aiken to talk about the ownership economy, ESG backlash, and system-level investing. Plus the headlines. Follow all of …
Impact Investing | May 30, 2023
Capricorn Investments makes the outsourcing case to foundations and families seeking impact alpha (podcast)
Jeff Skoll first became well-known as the president (and first full-time employee) of a nascent Internet marketplace known as eBay. Then he built …
Podcasts | May 26, 2023
Why employee ownership is the next big thing in impact, and America with Jack Moriarty
Jack Moriarty of Ownership America chats with ImpactAlpha’s David Bank about employee ownership and new legislation to help investors back companies that are …
Podcasts | May 19, 2023
Funding African tech entrepreneurs with Eunice Ajim
Eunice Ajim, founding partner Ajim Capital speaks with David Bank about her personal journey to launch the fund and her mission to support tech entrepreneurs …
Podcasts | May 12, 2023
The long and winding road to responsible private equity with Tensie Whelan
Host Brian Walsh is joined by NYU’s Tensie Whelan to hear why more and more private equity firms are starting to embrace impact …
Podcasts | May 5, 2023
Racial justice investing as an emerging manager
The BFM (Black Founders Matter) Fund’s Himalaya Rao speaks with David Bank about the alpha case for racial justice investing and the challenges …
Podcasts | April 28, 2023
Neighborhood Economics with Kevin Jones
As the Neighborhood Economics conference wraps up in Jackson, Miss., Kevin Jones speaks with David Bank about startup capital for sole proprietors, Black …
Frontier and Growth Markets | April 24, 2023
Jacob Haar: Helping emerging market lenders ‘leapfrog’ the US (podcast)
ImpactAlpha, April 24 – Jacob Haar’s work in microfinance in Azerbaijan inspired him to tackle obstacles to financial inclusion at home in the …
Podcasts | April 21, 2023
U.S. Financial regulations and over 40 years of Earth Days with Dianne Dillon-Ridgley
For Earth Day, Dianne Dillon-Ridgley joins host Monique Aiken to reflect on four decades of working in finance, the environment and human rights. …
Podcasts | April 14, 2023
Ariane Mahler, Veridien Global Investors: Going beyond ‘net-zero’ in public markets
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 14 – “Net zero is not going to get us anywhere,” Ariane Mahler of Veridien Global Investors tells ImpactAlpha’s David Bank. “You …
Podcasts | April 7, 2023
Training the next generation of impact investors
🎧 On this week’s podcast. The Turner Miint’s Adwoa Asare joins co-hostsMonique Aiken and Brian Walsh to talk about training the next generation …
Podcasts | March 31, 2023
In spite of itself, Texas takes on the mantle of climate leader
From Austin, ImpactAlpha’s Dennis Price joins host Brian Walsh to discuss Texas’s surprising role as the U.S.’s leader in clean energy – and how …
- Opinion
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 Group’s and International Monetary Fund themed their recent meetings in Washington, DC, “The way forward: Building resilience and reshaping development.” …
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 …
Impact Voices | May 17, 2023
Why don’t more impact fund managers tie compensation to impact? Let’s find out.
Impact investing has now reached more than $1 trillion in assets under management. With this growth, concerns over “impact washing” have also grown. …
Impact Investing | May 16, 2023
Reimagining slums: The business case for infrastructure investments in informal settlements
More than one billion people around the world live in urban areas without formal access to basic infrastructure such as potable water, sewage, …
Impact Management | May 15, 2023
Five ways to improve impact measurement and accountability
A push by fund index providers to tighten the criteria for what qualifies as an environmental, social and governance fund has led to …
Impact Management | May 15, 2023
How investors can better assess risk to impact
Investors routinely examine the risk of achieving their financial objectives, and screen investments for ESG risk, but how do impact investors consider the …
Impact Management | May 15, 2023
Leveraging ESG data for impact investing
Management guru Peter Drucker is credited with the popular maxim “what gets measured gets managed.” This holds true also in impact investing where …
Impact Voices | May 11, 2023
More private equity firms embrace impact as a path to outperformance
Across the globe, some 10,000 private equity firms enjoy ownership rights in 40,000 portfolio companies, which in turn manage 20 million employees. PE …
Impact Voices | May 10, 2023
How carbon credits are driving down the costs of climate-friendly goods in Africa
Despite the valid criticisms that have surfaced about the voluntary carbon market, carbon finance is playing a critical role in catalyzing a just …
Impact Voices | May 10, 2023
It’s time to center nature in the carbon removal conversation
Carbon is a hot commodity. The market for carbon removal – which spans soil carbon sequestration, reforestation and the enhancement of natural processes …
- Agents of Impact
Agents of Impact | May 26, 2023
Jessica Espinoza, 2X Global: Proving gender as a value-driver
ImpactAlpha, May 26 – A decade ago, investors pushed back against the loan products Jessica Espinoza was designing for female business owners as …
Agents of Impact | May 12, 2023
Aina Abiodun, VertueLab: Centering community in climate tech in the Pacific Northwest
ImpactAlpha, May 12 – Nigeria-born climate entrepreneur and “professional nomad” Aina Abiodun is bullish on place-based climate innovation. “There is nothing more urgent than …
Agents of Impact | May 5, 2023
John Moore, ImpactPHL: Stocking the pipeline of impact investments in Philadelphia
ImpactAlpha, May 5 – John Moore quit his corporate gig and moved to Philadelphia two decades ago. He found a city rich in …
Agents of Impact | April 28, 2023
Su Sanni, Dollaride: From dollar-van commuter to urban-mobility entrepreneur
ImpactAlpha, April 28 — A first generation Nigerian-American, Su Sanni grew up in East New York, Brooklyn and Jamaica, Queens. The low-income neighborhoods, …
Lourdes Germán | Photo credit: Public Finance InitiativeAgents of Impact | April 21, 2023
Lourdes Germán, Public Finance Initiative: Tilting the $4 trillion muni market toward racial equity
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 21 – Attorney and academic Lourdes Germán recognized early the power of public finance. She has spent years working at firms including …
Podcasts | April 14, 2023
Ariane Mahler, Veridien Global Investors: Going beyond ‘net-zero’ in public markets
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 14 – “Net zero is not going to get us anywhere,” Ariane Mahler of Veridien Global Investors tells ImpactAlpha’s David Bank. “You …
Impact Investing | March 24, 2023
Mindy Lubber, Ceres: Making the business case for responsible investing
ImpactAlpha, March 24 – Hundreds of companies and investors this week urged policymakers to protect their “freedom to invest responsibly,” marking a new …
Podcasts | March 17, 2023
Ben McAdams, Sorenson Impact: Marrying public real estate and private capital (podcast)
What is the net worth of Salt Lake City? It’s a relatively straightforward exercise to total up the balance sheet of a company …
Agents of Impact | March 10, 2023
Laura Ortiz Montemayor, SVX Mexico and Regenera Ventures: Stewarding capital for Mexico’s regenerative economy
ImpactAlpha, March 10 – Laura Ortiz Montemayor is not on board with decarbonization or its advocates. “Carbon is key to life. It’s a …
Inclusive Economy | February 17, 2023
Rihanna: Shining star power on inclusion in music and business
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 17 – Years before this week’s elegant and understated Super Bowl appearance, Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty turned down the NFL’s invitation to headline …
Agents of Impact | February 3, 2023
Andrew Crosson, Invest Appalachia: Catalytic capital for community impact
ImpactAlpha, February 3 — Andrew Crosson was a decade deep in the work of community economic development in central Appalachia when he got …
Agents of Impact | January 27, 2023
Gary Forster, Publish What You Fund: Holding development finance institutions accountable for impact
ImpactAlpha, January 27 – Gary Forster left his job in logistics at Procter & Gamble to volunteer in Zambia, inspired by the 2005 …
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