The Call
Past Call Recordings
Climate + Gender | November 17, 2023
To be effective, climate solutions need a gender lens (video)
ImpactAlpha, November 17 â That women are more adversely affected by climate change is well established (in impact and development circles at any …
Impact Investing | October 13, 2023
State of the Impact Field: Unprecedented opportunity tempered by sober realism (video)
This weekâs Agents of Impact Call continued a tradition started nearly a decade ago by Fran Seegull of the US Impact Investing Alliance …
Ownership Economy | September 29, 2023
Labor and capital align in new movement for worker ownership (Video)
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 29 â Itâs the age-old struggle: labor vs capital, workers vs. owners. But what happens when employees get a stake in the …
Call Recording | August 25, 2023
Mobilizing capital in Indian Country (video)
ImpactAlpha, August 25 â A growing ecosystem of Native-led entrepreneurs, lenders, financial intermediaries and nonprofits are driving Indian Country’s emerging economy. âItâs kind …
Participants in ImpactAlpha's call on HBCUs
Return on Inclusion | July 28, 2023
Impact at HBCUs: Hubs of talent, innovation and Black excellence (video)
ImpactAlpha, July 28 â Most historically Black colleges and universities were formed during the Reconstruction era. In the more than a century since, Spelman, …
Muni Impact | June 22, 2023
Connecting supply and demand for racial equity strategies in muni markets (video)
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 22 â Even as some politicians ramp up anti-ESG rhetoric, asset owners and allocators are signaling an appetite for investment strategies …
Call Recording | March 31, 2023
Metrics Madness: Wealth, ownership and âquality adjusted life yearsâ (video)
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 31 â The search for a universal metric to guide investments in racial justice and equitable wealth-building wasâŚaspirational. âWe are still a …
Policy Corner | February 24, 2023
Policymaking for workers and communities in the Year of the âSâ (video)
ImpactAlpha. Feb. 24 â âA labor market where workers have more opportunities and have more power and have more leverage is a good …
Memphis skyline
Muni Impact | February 9, 2023
Engaging racial-equity risks and opportunities in municipal finance (video)
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 9 â The fatal beating by police of Tyre Nichols in Memphis last month exposed risks to the cityâs finances that have …
Photo by Tamarcus Brown on Unsplash
Muni Impact | November 18, 2022
Mispriced risks, investor demand and community power center racial equity in municipal bonds (video)
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 18 â 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 â Capital to support womenâs economic growth and financial inclusion is flowing â finally! â 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 â Investors, entrepreneurs, corporate executives and world leaders have descended on New York for Climate Week, the annual gathering alongside the …
photo: Pixabay
Originals | June 27, 2022
Seven Calls: Agents of Impact on carbon pricing, political risk, climate adaptation, responsible fintech and more
ImpactAlpha, June 27 â 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 â 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 â 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 â The Ukraine crisis risks tipping up to 1.7 billion people â over one-fifth of humanity â 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 â Itâs one thing for a corporation to set environmental or social goals. Itâs another to shift executives, employees and supply …
Policy Corner | February 25, 2022
Call No. 38: Inside the generational opportunity to reshape rules of corporate disclosure
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 25 â Bottom-up policies for access to capital in divested communities. Top-down strategies to reshape capitalism to work for all stakeholders. âWe …
Call Recording | February 11, 2022
Call No. 37: Ramping up the supply of carbon reduction to meet the urgent demand (video)
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 11 â â$100 a ton?â exclaimed CDPâs Paula DiPerna on ImpactAlphaâs Agents of Impact Call this week. âI should be popping champagne.â …
Looking Ahead to 2022 | December 17, 2021
The Reconstruction in 2022: Seizing the moment to build multiracial prosperity and democracy
âTis the season for our lookaheads to 2022 and, thanks to ImpactAlpha subscribers, we are able to make the roundups freely available. So …
Capitalism Reimagined | December 3, 2021
Call No. 35: Building a multi-movement engine to hold corporations accountable and reimagine capitalism (video)
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 3 â The New Capitalism Project has over the past two years dissected the failings of the current system and crafted a …
Frontier and Growth Markets | November 19, 2021
Call No. 34: How tech innovation is bridging gaps in small business financing in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, November 19 â The boom in African fintech startups began before COVID-19. The economic shutdowns and financial dislocations of the pandemic supercharged …
Catalytic Capital | October 29, 2021
Call No. 33: Using catalytic capital to fill climate finance gaps from the bottom up
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 29 â As the COP26 global climate summit kicks off this weekend, much of the focus will be on the massive …
The Reconstruction | October 15, 2021
Call No. 32: Black tech, green solutions for the planet and the people
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 15 â Invest in climate action for the planet â and the people. “Climate change is a public health issue, it’s a …
Call Recording | October 1, 2021
Call No. 31: Making sense of the ABCs of measurement to optimize for impact
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 1 â Metrics. Standards. Dimensions. Frameworks. SDGs. Cathy Clark of the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship at Duke Universityâs Fuqua …
Photo by william william on Unsplash
Capitalism Reimagined | September 17, 2021
Call No. 30: Universal owners aim to turn shareholder power into real-world impact
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 16 – Universal owners are leaning into their power as long-term stewards of capital. Asset owners and managers are deploying a flurry …
Capitalism Reimagined | September 1, 2021
RSVP for Call No. 30: Capitalism Reimagined
If you thought this springâs ExxonMobil proxy fight was dramatic, just wait âtil next year. Join Engine No. 1âs Michael OâLeary, The Shareholder Commonsâ Sara Murphy, Illinois …
Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash
Call Recording | July 9, 2021
Call No. 29: Capitalism reimagined for fair gainsharing and equitable prosperity
ImpactAlpha, July 9 â Elevating the power (and wages) of low-income workers is not typically at the top of investorsâ agenda. But a fairer …
Catalytic Capital | June 2, 2021
Call No. 28: For these wealthy families, deploying catalytic capital for impact is a privilege and responsibility
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 2 â The very rich are different, as F. Scott Fitzgerald once observed. One of those differences is the prerogative to put …
Photo credit: Kuli Kuli
Climate + Gender | March 1, 2021
Call No. 27: Opportunities at the intersection of gender and climate
ImpactAlpha, March 1 â Capital is flowing to climate solutions. Climate bonds have topped $1 trillion. SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies are …
Call Recording | January 6, 2021
Call No. 26: What Agents of Impact are expecting in 2021 (replay)
ImpactAlpha, January 6 â A few of the keywords thrown around on last monthâs Agents of Impact Call No. 26: accountability, electrification, institutional, …
Gender Smart | November 13, 2020
Call No. 25: Gender-smart investing for a sustainable recovery
What: The Call No. 25: Gender-smart investing for a sustainable recovery Join SME.NGâs Thelma Ekiyor, Trade Depotâs Onyekachi Izukanne, Development Partners Internationalâs Takudzwa Mutasa, Alitheiaâs Temilade Denton, …
Features | October 19, 2020
Call No. 24: Agents of Impact converge on financing solutions to âlight every clinicâ
The people and principles needed to solve the challenges of financing solar power for frontline health clinics were represented on ImpactAlphaâs Agents of …
Features | October 1, 2020
Call No. 23 recap: Changing investment algorithms to advance racial justice
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 1 â What got us here won’t get us where we need to go. Guidelines that govern global finance need to …
Features | August 27, 2020
Call No. 22: Rooting out racism as a systemic risk
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 27 â Investors have been talking about systemic risks at least since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008. More recently, climate …
Features | August 11, 2020
Call No. 21: Impact investors confront the impact of the November election
Itâs long past time to get political. Impact investing, with appeal on both the left and the right, has generally steered clear of …
Call Recording | July 1, 2020
Call No. 20: Investors share experiences in getting their assets off the sidelines
âItâs a great time for new entrants, but for those of us who’ve been doing this for a while it is equally urgent to raise our game right and to not get complacent,â said Margot Brandenburg of the Ford Foundation.
Features | June 24, 2020
Call No. 19: Green infrastructure is back on the agenda
ImpactAlpha, Jun 24 â The action in climate action is shifting to infrastructure. Driven by falling price curves for renewables, mispriced risk, and …
Agents of Impact | May 4, 2020
Call No. 16: Impact investors step up to the 10x challenge
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 4 â A disruptive technology has to be 10 times better than what itâs replacing. Tech venture capitalists aim to recoup …
Call Recording | April 30, 2020
Impact management is hot: Recapping Call No. 15
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 30 â The first annual assessments of impact investors are coming in under the International Finance Corporationâs Operating Principles for Impact …
Africa | February 5, 2020
Call No. 12: How local early-stage funders are finding impact alpha in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, February 5 â Small and growing businesses are the pillars of local economies, in both developed and developing economies. Startups are engines …
Call Recording | August 14, 2019
Call No. 10: Calling trends and scooping ideas in ImpactAlpha’s newsroom
ImpactAlpha, April 14 â Donât refer to conventional finance as âmainstream,â ImpactAlphaâs David Bank said on The Call earlier this month. Call it âlegacy …
Beyond Trade-offs | June 3, 2019
Call No. 9: Impact investors move âbeyond trade-offsâ
ImpactAlpha, June 3 â The early days of impact investing were all about proving that you didnât have to sacrifice financial returns to do …
Agents of Impact | April 23, 2019
Call No. 8: Financial advisors spill their secrets of sustainable investing
ImpactAlpha, April 23 â Financial advisors are transforming themselves into “agents of impact” in order to deepen their relationships with existing clients, build their …
Call Recording | February 12, 2019
Underwriting â and optimizing â for impact on Call No. 7
ImpactAlpha, February 12 – Limited partners are demanding more rigorous impact underwriting by fund managers. Successful projects also require ongoing impact management. On …
Agents of Impact | January 7, 2019
Call No. 6: A new year, and a new day, for Agents of Impact
Something changed in 2018. For years, Caprock Groupâs Matthew Weatherley-White has found families and institutional investors ‘skeptical but interestedâ in impact investing. In …