Frontier And Growth Markets
Features
Clean Energy | March 13, 2024
The path to universal energy access is local, inclusive and women-led
In Zimbabwe, Agriput Solar leverages a network of local women to sell solar home products in rural communities. Women-led Grean World in Ethiopia …
Frontier and Growth Markets | December 19, 2023
At stake in 2024: From financial inclusion to women to health, investing in emerging markets requires a climate lens
ImpactAlpha, December 19 – In Africa, fintech data is exposing climate vulnerabilities. In Latin America, investing in smallholder farmers means investing in regenerative agriculture. …
India | November 15, 2023
Impact investors brave Delhi’s smog to champion climate finance in India
ImpactAlpha, November 15 – Impact investors in India gathered last week in Delhi’s hazardous smog to strategize ways to raise, and deploy, more …
Climate + Gender | October 30, 2023
Doubling down on guarantees, MCE Social Capital is unlocking capital for climate + gender
ImpactAlpha, October 30 – Impact investors know the challenges that come with building a market. Moving capital to address both climate change and …
Frontier and Growth Markets | October 3, 2023
Bboxx snags $17 million World Bank subsidy for clean cookstoves in Rwanda
ImpactAlpha, October 3 — Cooking with firewood or coal is dangerous to human health and the planet. In Rwanda, more households are looking …
Climate Finance | September 7, 2023
Hit hard by climate change, African nations lean into opportunities in the green transition
ImpactAlpha, September 7 – African countries top the list of the world’s most climate-vulnerable places, despite having contributed little to the greenhouse gas …
Frontier and Growth Markets | August 30, 2023
Trouble at Twiga… and Copia… and Sendy: downturn hits East African logistics disruptors
ImpactAlpha, August 30 – The emerging markets impact story of the pandemic era has taken a somber turn. Small business and logistics tech …
Frontier and Growth Markets | August 17, 2023
Small vehicles have investors thinking big about India’s e-mobility transition
ImpactAlpha, August 17 – American electric car makers like Tesla are making headlines over plans to bring their cars to India. But it …
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 | June 26, 2023
New global financial pact advances innovative financial solutions and commitments to system change
ImpactAlpha, June 26 – World leaders took steps to upgrade the global financial architecture that has saddled low- and middle-income countries with debt …
Africa | June 15, 2023
Zola, Sun King and M-KOPA offer three paths to Africa’s off-grid energy future
ImpactAlpha, June 15 – For a decade, access to affordable, reliable and modern energy increased by roughly 100 million people a year – until …
Climate Finance | May 30, 2023
Packard and Ford foundations back Nusantara Fund to bolster climate resilience for Indonesia’s Indigenous communities
ImpactAlpha, May 30 – Indonesia is among the world’s small number of “mega bio-diverse” countries – and has one of the world’s highest …
Catalytic Capital | May 10, 2023
Visa provides catalytic ‘working capital’ grant to three women-led funds in Africa
ImpactAlpha, May 10 – Female fund managers control just a sliver of private equity and venture capital assets globally, much less in Africa. …
Frontier and Growth Markets | April 27, 2023
Small and growing businesses are the key to inclusive development. Let’s get them the capital they need to thrive.
Development finance institutions and impact investors recognize that Africa’s small businesses are key to the continent’s sustainable and prosperous economic development. Yet most …
Catalytic Capital | April 18, 2023
Why ’embedded finance’ is emerging as the future of global financial inclusion (Q&A)
ImpactAlpha, April 18 – Borrowers and beneficiaries financed by the World Bank are buckling under the weight of expensive debt, fragile post-Covid economies, …
Climate Finance | April 12, 2023
India’s urban slums have become a testbed for climate solutions. Investors are welcome to take a look
ImpactAlpha, April 12 – The Sanjaynagar slum in Ahmednagar, about 150 miles from Mumbai, was a desolate piece of marshland about the size …
Features | March 14, 2023
From India to Latin America, Elevar Equity invests in better livelihoods and products for low-income customers
ImpactAlpha, March 14 – In a volatile global economy, Elevar Equity has found a safe, or at least safer, harbor: low-income customers. There …
Climate Finance | March 6, 2023
India poised to lead – and test – the just energy transition
ImpactAlpha, March 6 – India is fast becoming the focus of efforts to super-charge climate funding into the Global South. Under Prime Minister …
Signals | March 2, 2023
Regeneration and Risk-Taking: Overheard at the Latin American Impact Investing Forum
ImpactAlpha, March 2 – Some 800 agentes de impacto turned out for the forum, known as the FLII, in Mérida, Mexico this week. …
Frontier and Growth Markets | February 27, 2023
Latin America’s impact entrepreneurs find opportunities in nature-based solutions and smarter services for low-income consumers
ImpactAlpha, February 27 – Street demonstrations, populist leaders and economic strife dominate news headlines about Latin America. Less appreciated are the entrepreneurs who …
Frontier and Growth Markets | January 30, 2023
What 672 private debt and equity funds show about impact investing in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, Jan. 30 – After a pandemic-related pause, institutional investors are again moving money into private impact funds in emerging markets. But only a …
Impact Management | January 25, 2023
To catalyze climate capital, development finance institutions are pressed to ‘publish what you fund’
ImpactAlpha, January 25 – Six trillion dollars. That’s roughly how much is needed annually to fight climate change and meet the U.N.’s Sustainable …
Frontier and Growth Markets | December 20, 2022
2023 emerging market opportunities are locally-rooted, gender-smart and climate-friendly
ImpactAlpha, December 20 – Impact investing’s early advocates imagined a trillion-dollar industry. This year, by one estimate, the industry surpassed that target. Big …
Signals | November 15, 2022
Women-led agribusinesses notch greater profits, faster growth and less risk
ImpactAlpha, November 15 – Financing smallholder farmers is difficult work. New data from Root Capital suggests that investing in women delivers the trifecta investors …
Frontier and Growth Markets | November 8, 2022
Inclusive fintechs build on gains to help emerging market businesses weather the economic storm
ImpactAlpha, November 8 – First it was Covid lockdowns. Then global supply-chain disruptions. Now, the rising cost of goods and interest rates is tightening …
Frontier and Growth Markets | October 24, 2022
To drive more capital to small businesses, invest in local fund managers as entrepreneurs
ImpactAlpha, October 24 – Hundreds of local fund managers are looking to prove that investing in small businesses is a viable and profitable path …
Impact Management | October 13, 2022
Overheard at the GIIN: As impact investing assets cross $1 trillion, investors eye a larger opportunity
ImpactAlpha, October 13 – Impact investing assets under management surpassed $1 trillion as funds, foundations, development finance agencies and other investors have sought impact …
Catalytic Capital | October 13, 2022
Seven lessons from Acumen’s two decades of ‘patient capital’ investing
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 13 – Acumen made a simple if unconventional promise to early backers of its strategy to make long-term and “patient” investments …
Refugee Lens Investing | September 28, 2022
Displaced East Africans remake camps into testbeds for refugee-lens investing
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 28 – A settlement camp in a remote area of northwest Kenya is abuzz with economic activity – and a signal of the …
Gender Smart | September 26, 2022
How women-led funds in South Africa are unlocking capital for women and small businesses
ImpactAlpha, September 26 – Gender-lens investing is no longer a niche or little-known strategy. Still, too little capital is making it into the hands …
Climate Finance | September 21, 2022
How The Good Roll and Wangara Green Ventures are saving trees and creating green jobs in Ghana
ImpactAlpha, September 21 – A startup in the Netherlands is teaming up with a fund manager in Ghana to demonstrate the green, resilient, local …
Climate Finance | September 15, 2022
Overheard at India’s ‘Impact 2022’: Climate investment tipping point
ImpactAlpha, September 15 – India is experiencing a surge of interest in climate investment and innovation, thanks to the country’s bold commitments at COP26 …
Climate Finance | September 15, 2022
Investors in India are betting on climate tech’s financial opportunity
ImpactAlpha, September 15 – Climate finance in India surged in 2021, reaching about $20 billion in equity, green bonds and other types of capital. …
Catalytic Capital | September 8, 2022
Measuring and valuing climate adaptation to mobilize capital for low-carbon development
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 8 – Solar irrigation to increase crop yields. Clean cookstoves to improve indoor air quality. Cold storage to raise farmers’ incomes. Water …
Frontier and Growth Markets | August 25, 2022
Three lessons impact investors can offer venture capitalists looking for deals in Africa
At the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan earlier this summer, a striking consensus emerged: Africa is at a new investment crossroads. Venture capital …
Seeding Impact | August 22, 2022
Teranga Capital: Taking risks to build an impact ecosystem in West Africa
ImpactAlpha, August 22 – Dakar-based Teranga Capital does private equity deals. It deploys venture capital. It helps small businesses that are too early for …
Financial Inclusion | August 9, 2022
How Balloon Ventures is (cost-effectively) banking the “missing middle” in Africa
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 9 – Ubora Specialty Crops is the definition of a “missing middle” business that is financially served by just about no one. …
Climate Finance | August 1, 2022
Can’t we just pay the Democratic Republic of Congo to keep its oil in the ground?
ImpactAlpha, August 1 – The biggest failure of nature conservation and restoration efforts “are the unrewarded provision of public goods and services,” the U.N. …
Frontier and Growth Markets | July 20, 2022
For ‘quick commerce’ startups, the pandemic giveth and taketh away
ImpactAlpha, July 20 – Airlift became a darling of Pakistan’s venture capital scene last year when it raised $85 million in Series B …
Signals | July 14, 2022
Is a green transition the cause – or the solution – in Sri Lanka’s crisis?
ImpactAlpha, July 14 – It was an irresistible meme: A crash transition to organic farming tanked Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector and sent the country …
Frontier and Growth Markets | July 11, 2022
Off-grid solar pioneer Bboxx is following the data to down-market growth
ImpactAlpha, July 11 – Mansoor Hamayun couldn’t have anticipated the data revolution when he launched Bboxx more than a decade ago. Back then, the …
Clean Energy | June 21, 2022
Mirova acquires SunFunder to expand clean energy and climate investing in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, June 21 — Paris-based Mirova, a $27 billion unit of French global asset management firm Natixis Investment Managers, is acquiring SunFunder to …
Frontier and Growth Markets | June 13, 2022
Nyala Venture aims to catalyze local fund managers to unlock capital for small businesses in Africa
ImpactAlpha, June 13 – Who knows best the needs of a community but members of the community itself? First-time fund managers who understand the …
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 …
Capitalism Reimagined | May 25, 2022
Risk off? Savvy investors go ‘impact on’ to stay on track in a volatile market
ImpactAlpha, May 25 – Markets have gone risk off. Savvy investors who have gone impact on are weathering the economic downturn. Speculators in crypto, …
Features | May 16, 2022
YAPU is giving microfinance a digital upgrade with a climate twist
ImpactAlpha, May 16 – Beekeeping in Colombia. Greenhouses in Peru. Biogas stoves in Benin. Small upgrades can increase resilience to climate change for the …
Frontier and Growth Markets | May 9, 2022
High fuel prices spur Africa’s transition to electric mobility
ImpactAlpha, May 9 – Long lines at Nairobi’s gas pumps last month put the spotlight on rising prices and fuel shortages caused by …
Frontier and Growth Markets | May 2, 2022
Can off-grid solar keep focus on energy access for the poor as commercial capital arrives?
ImpactAlpha, May 2 – It’s one of the conundrums of the pandemic: commercial capital is pouring into off-grid electricity companies in Africa and …
Frontier and Growth Markets | April 27, 2022
Energy access and financial inclusion ride Africa’s swell of private capital
ImpactAlpha, April 27 – The bad news: The COVID-19 pandemic reversed progress in Africa toward Sustainable Development Goals. The good news: Much of …
Impact Investing | April 17, 2022
Social ‘co-benefits’ and ecosystem restoration begin to make climate adaptation investable
ImpactAlpha, April 14 – Climate-smart investments that restore ecosystems, improve women’s lives, reduce damage from storms and surges, avoid dislocation and migration and …
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 …
Smallholder Agriculture | March 31, 2022
Apollo Agriculture is out to show how financing smallholder farmers can boost production and profits
ImpactAlpha, March 31 – Smallholder farmers have long been the darling of development specialists, microfinance institutions and impact investors. Now, commercial investors are …
Signals | March 31, 2022
LeapFrog’s ‘launchpad’ helps companies serve low-income consumers in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, March 31 — The challenges of delivering essential products and services to customers in low-income and rural areas has kept many companies …
Catalytic Capital | March 24, 2022
Risk-averse development finance institutions are more often catalyzed than catalytic
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 24 – Work the room at any global development or impact investing conference and you’ll hear grumblings about how development financial institutions …
Frontier and Growth Markets | March 21, 2022
Commercial capital floods into India’s impact startups
ImpactAlpha, March 21 – Venture capital investing in India, as elsewhere, surged last year, along with a wave of impact capital. Impact startups …
Frontier and Growth Markets | March 15, 2022
Rodrigo Villar wants impact investors in Latin America ‘to think more radically’
ImpactAlpha, March 15 – The $15 billion flood of venture capital into Latin American startups last year caught even veteran investors by surprise. …
Frontier and Growth Markets | February 9, 2022
Africa’s biggest bank turns to fintech to extend lending to informal businesses
It may take the threat of a fintech disruption to get local commercial banks focused on lending for micro and small businesses in …
Water | January 20, 2022
How pre-construction financing is building a pipeline of water projects in Kenya
ImpactAlpha, January 20 – Water and sanitation is one of the fastest growing, yet still underinvested sectors of impact investing. An experimental fund …
Catalytic Capital | January 12, 2022
Migration surge spurs impact funds to target financial services for people on the move
ImpactAlpha, Jan. 12 – The record number of people who have been displaced from their communities by conflict, climate, crime and poverty is making …
Inclusive Economy | December 20, 2021
Impact in emerging markets in 2022: Riding the digital transformation to drive inclusive and sustainable growth
‘Tis the season for our lookaheads to 2022 and, thanks to ImpactAlpha subscribers, we are able to make the roundups freely available. So …
Signals | December 16, 2021
India’s family offices are on the hunt for proof of impact
ImpactAlpha, December 16 – Impact investing in India has climbed to more than $10 billion in the last decade, owing to both 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 – The boom in African fintech startups began before COVID-19. The economic shutdowns and financial dislocations of the pandemic supercharged …
Innovative Finance | November 16, 2021
How The People’s Fund is unlocking capital for small businesses from the crowd up
ImpactAlpha, November 16 – South Africa’s Black-owned businesses were systematically shut out of economic opportunities under the country’s racist aparthied regime. Now, even …
Frontier and Growth Markets | November 10, 2021
African startups develop crypto tools for inclusive prosperity
ImpactAlpha, November 10 – Nelly Chatue-Diop was a teenager in 1994 when her family lost much of their savings overnight with the devaluation …
Frontier and Growth Markets | November 9, 2021
How technology is disrupting small-business financing in emerging markets – in a good way
ImpactAlpha, November 9 – The COVID-19 pandemic could have been development finance’s moment to shine. Such quasi-public investors, after all, have been trying …
Signals | November 3, 2021
Investments in agtech, fintech and climate tech can speed Kenya’s COVID recovery
ImpactAlpha, November 3 – Daily life is gradually returning to normal in Kenya 19 months into the pandemic. But businesses and jobs have …
Catalytic Capital | October 21, 2021
$100 billion is just a down payment on financing the climate transition in developing nations
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 21 – For want of a nail…the kingdom was lost, as the old proverb goes. For want of $100 billion, a …
Catalytic Capital | October 6, 2021
National advisory boards target local pension funds for small-business financing in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, October 6 – Impact investing in emerging markets has long been dominated by international development finance institutions. The national advisory boards, or …
Frontier and Growth Markets | September 15, 2021
New channel of capital for small businesses worldwide: enterprise tech startups
ImpactAlpha, September 15 – There’s no shortage of capital for global small business lending. What have blocked small businesses from access to working capital, …
Frontier and Growth Markets | August 26, 2021
Can investors help Haiti build back better this time?
ImpactAlpha, August 26 — Haiti’s politicians are promising a different response. Global leaders are looking for different approaches. And millions of Haitians are …
Innovative Finance | August 17, 2021
Five critiques of blended finance – and five responses from Convergence
The opportunity to blend private capital with philanthropic and public funding has been heralded by financial heavyweights from Blackrock to the billionaire-backed Breakthrough …
Capitalism Reimagined | July 29, 2021
Social enterprises provide models for stakeholder capitalism in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, July 29 – Social entrepreneurs in Asia, sub-Saharan African and Latin America have for decades prioritized communities, employees and long-term growth over short-term …
Signals | July 8, 2021
Inclusive fintech is the first stop for impact venture capital in Africa
ImpactAlpha, July 8 – Small business loans. Digital payments. Free remittances. Venture investors looking for deals in Africa are stocking their pipelines with …
Climate Finance | July 8, 2021
Bridging the funding gap for climate mitigation and adaptation in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, July 8 – Record-shattering heat and extreme weather are upping the urgency for climate action. On the front lines of climate disruption …
2030 Finance | June 24, 2021
What we know about Rockefeller Foundation’s grand ambitions for distributed energy
ImpactAlpha, June 24 – The Rockefeller and IKEA Foundations this week jointly announced a commitment of $1 billion for off-grid energy development in …
Originals | June 3, 2021
Shift to electric rickshaws and motorcycles is drawing investors to emerging markets’ e-mobility opportunity
ImpactAlpha, June 3 – The streets of Delhi, Kigali, Nairobi and other cities across the developing world are clogged with traffic, including “boda boda” …
Catalytic Capital | May 13, 2021
How Lendable parses risks and returns to mobilize capital for inclusive fintech in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, May 13 – There’s little argument about the positive impact of making affordable loans to small- and medium-size enterprises in countries like Indonesia, …
SDGs | May 11, 2021
J.P. Morgan’s ‘development financial institution’ amps up transparency in emerging markets dealmaking
ImpactAlpha, May 11 – Development finance institutions are typically quasi-governmental agencies that invest in economic development (and soft power) in emerging and growth markets. …
SDGs | April 22, 2021
Fifteen startups with solutions for land restoration in Latin America
ImpactAlpha, April 22 – Latin America a testing ground for innovative environmental financing and business solutions: Lending incentives supporting smallholder farmers; partnerships with Indigenous …
Frontier and Growth Markets | April 21, 2021
In Pakistan, investing with a gender lens gives i2i Ventures an early-stage edge
ImpactAlpha, April 21 – If overlooked markets and underserved entrepreneurs represent untapped opportunities, Pakistan presents i2i Ventures with a rich bounty of possibilities. The …
Climate Finance | April 12, 2021
Changing the climate for climate investments in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, April 12 – Energy-transition investment surged by 24% in developed nations last year. In emerging markets strained by the COVID pandemic, it …
Corporate Impact | April 7, 2021
Africa’s business and investment leaders step up to meet demands for impact and ESG investing
ImpactAlpha, April 7 – Investors, non-governmental organizations and civil society groups are increasingly pressuring African businesses to shift to more responsible ways of doing …
Innovative Finance | March 22, 2021
Alt-credit and mobile-money apps give African fintechs a closeup view of climate risks – and opportunities
ImpactAlpha, March 22 – Financial technology firms have leveraged billions of data points across mobile phones and social media to transform loan underwriting across …
Climate + Gender | March 1, 2021
Call No. 27: Opportunities at the intersection of gender and climate
ImpactAlpha, March 1 – Capital is flowing to climate solutions. Climate bonds have topped $1 trillion. SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies are …
Climate + Gender | February 9, 2021
Mapping the climate edge for gender investors – and vice versa
ImpactAlpha, February 9 – A women-led, women-backed investment fund in Dakar, Senegal is getting an environmental bonus from the women entrepreneurs it supports. A …
Frontier and Growth Markets | January 25, 2021
Digitization of smallholder farming draws investors to Indian agtech startups
ImpactAlpha, January 25 – Among the world’s largest producers of food, India stands out for its 130 million independent smallholder farmers who till, on …
Frontier and Growth Markets | December 23, 2020
Aiming high by pricing low: How entrepreneurs can tap the mass market for impact at scale
ImpactAlpha, Dec 23 – Emerging market entrepreneurs have to thread the needle when pricing their products and services: too low, and they won’t generate …
Frontier and Growth Markets | December 14, 2020
Looking ahead: Helping small businesses in emerging markets survive and thrive in 2021
ImpactAlpha, December 14 – The stabilization and revival of the micro, small and medium-sized businesses sector has been the emerging markets story of …
2030 Finance | November 30, 2020
Updating investment ‘exclusion lists’ for deeper social and environmental impact
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 30 – Cluster bombs and hazardous chemicals. Tobacco and firearms. Child labor and corruption. “Exclusion” lists have for decades helped investors keep …
Signals | November 16, 2020
With billions as bait, development financiers seek to hook private investors on gender-lens investing
ImpactAlpha, November 16 – Private equity and venture capital fund managers have an added incentive to apply a “gender lens” in their investment …
Africa | November 4, 2020
Post-pivots, African tech startups are peddling pandemic resilience
ImpactAlpha, November 4 – As Africa’s economies restart from COVID lockdowns, the businesses on the fastest path to recovery are tech startups helping …
Features | October 19, 2020
Call No. 24: Agents of Impact converge on financing solutions to ‘light every clinic’
The people and principles needed to solve the challenges of financing solar power for frontline health clinics were represented on ImpactAlpha’s Agents of …
Africa | October 12, 2020
Tugende helps Uganda’s motorcycle taxi drivers survive the lockdown – and raises $6 million to grow again
ImpactAlpha, October 12 – It was looking like a stellar year for Tugende. The Kampala-based social lender, which finances the purchase of motorcycle …
Frontier and Growth Markets | October 5, 2020
Latin America’s micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises need working capital to survive and thrive
ImpactAlpha, October 5 – Latin America’s annual small business financing gap stood at $1 trillion even before the COVID crisis. Now, the pandemic …
Features | July 8, 2020
The investment case for COVID relief for Africa’s essential businesses
The question impact investors will ask one another in the years to come is: “What did you do when Covid-19 pandemic erupted?”
Africa | June 25, 2020
COVID-recovery financing facilities aim to bridge capital gaps for small and growing businesses
ImpactAlpha, June 25 – A quarter of small businesses will fail and a quarter will succeed, and even thrive, in the aftermath of …
Catalytic Capital | May 20, 2020
The outlook is bleak, and financing needs clear, for small businesses in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, May 20 – COVID is crushing small and growing businesses in emerging markets. Four in 10 companies supported by members of the …
Frontier and Growth Markets | May 18, 2020
How high-impact businesses in emerging markets are pivoting in the COVID crisis
ImpactAlpha, May 18 – Local textile manufacturers in North and West Africa are pivoting to meet demand for personal protective equipment. Flower growers …
Features | May 18, 2020
Eyes on the time horizon: Five shifts to watch in moving from crisis to growth
In the years we have spent in early-stage equity investing, often backing raw startups and paper plans, our decision to go with a …
Features | April 22, 2020
Survey of emerging markets capital managers aims to shape COVID solutions for small businesses
ImpactAlpha, April 22 – Local providers of equity and debt capital in emerging markets have become “economic first responders” to small and growing …
Impact Voices
Frontier and Growth Markets | December 4, 2023
Funds of funds provide more than capital for local investors in small and growing businesses
An expanding range of financing mechanisms and vehicles are emerging to help private capital providers direct money and resources to their small business …
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 …
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 …
Africa | September 13, 2023
How Africa’s pension funds are financing the continent’s 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 transmission—not just generation—to meet Africa’s climate goals
Renewable energy generation and storage opportunities were a key focus at last week’s Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, culminating in $26 billion in new …
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 …
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 growth—and the economic development potential they can unlock—in emerging markets. Africa’s young but …
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 …
Scaling Impact | January 23, 2023
How to get more international money flowing in local currency
Editor’s note: This blog is part of ImpactAlpha’s “Scaling Impact” series, authored by participants in the Catalytic Capital Consortium (C3) Scaling Learning Labs. Key insights …
Impact Voices | October 24, 2022
Five considerations for weighing the risk and opportunity of investing in emerging fund managers
ImpactAlpha, October 24 – In Ghana and many other emerging markets, the Ukraine war has amplified the vulnerability of food and fuel supply chains. …
Gender Smart | October 19, 2022
Six ways to support women entrepreneurs in the Global South
More than ever, women are starting their own businesses, particularly in parts of the Global South, where women remain key drivers of economic …
Catalytic Capital | October 11, 2022
Gawa Capital’s Huruma Fund: A case study in blending finance for farmers’ financial inclusion
An investment 18 months ago in Ecuador-based microfinance institution FACES has enabled 3,500 smallholder farmers to access financial services. A technical assistance grant …
Impact Voices | September 21, 2022
How emerging market impact funds can reverse the curse of low (return) expectations
Nowhere is impact investing needed more urgently than in emerging markets (EMs). Private investment is needed to lift billions out of poverty, create …
Impact Voices | August 31, 2022
Education financiers aim to flip the odds in favor of students in the Global South
As our children head back to school this Fall, there are still hundreds of millions of students in low- and middle-income countries suffering …
Impact Voices | August 25, 2022
Tips for strengthening ESG investing from emerging market fund managers
ImpactAlpha, August 25 – Environmental, social and governance, or ESG, investing is dogged by inconsistent, and sometimes conflicting, reporting criteria and ratings that make …
Impact Voices | August 23, 2022
Sustainable agriculture needs more investment in women at the top—not just bottom—of the pyramid
ImpactAlpha, August 23 – Agriculture is the foundation of daily life in most of the world. The food and agriculture sector provides livelihoods for …
Seeding Impact | August 3, 2022
Combating bias in asset management with catalytic capital and inclusive due diligence
Editor’s note: This blog is part of ImpactAlpha’s series, “Seeding Impact,” authored by participants in the Catalytic Capital Consortium (C3) Seeding Learning Labs. …
Impact Voices | July 26, 2022
How NGOs are blending capital to amplify their impact
The typical employee within a non-governmental organization doesn’t talk a lot to commercial banks, pension funds and insurance companies. But like everyone else, …
Frontier and Growth Markets | April 27, 2022
Patterns in the data from 200 impact fund managers investing in Africa
ImpactAlpha, April 27 – Africa offers increasingly interesting opportunities for investors to generate financial returns coupled with societal impact. This article shares the …
Investing in Health | April 5, 2022
Why Kenyan nonprofit Jacaranda Health spun out its hospital as a social venture
Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures, which supports ImpactAlpha’s Investing in Health coverage. In partnership with J&J Impact Ventures, ImpactAlpha is exploring the …
Impact Voices | March 8, 2022
How six impact investors are giving their portfolios a ‘gender-smart’ boost
ImpactAlpha, March 8 – Investors are showing increased interest in gender-smart investment strategies, given COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on women and the growing desire …
Gender Smart | March 8, 2022
Seizing Africa’s overlooked investment opportunities with an inclusivity lens
ImpactAlpha, March 8 – Africa is transforming. Many investors are interested in the continent’s rapid urbanization and spending power of its larger, more …
Impact Voices | January 6, 2022
To address climate inequality, we need innovative finance solutions
Developed countries received $60 billion more in clean energy investments last year than developing countries according to a recent BloombergNEF survey. Poorer countries …
Impact Voices | October 18, 2021
Taking action against violence and sexual harassment at work through gender-lens investing.
In the past eighteen months, the global community has clearly seen that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on women. The …
Impact Voices | July 27, 2021
Emerging markets emerge as sustainability leaders
Investors, take note: In emerging markets (EM), many companies are now at the forefront of change. In today’s EM, there is a rapidly …
Frontier and Growth Markets | July 27, 2021
Better economic data can drive inclusive growth in Africa
“In God we trust, everyone else must bring data,” said the statistician W. Edwards Deming. The debilitating effect of Covid19 on the economies …
Impact Voices | July 27, 2021
Are funds of funds the next frontier for African impact investing?
ImpactAlpha, July 27 – The landscape of private equity and private debt funds in Africa remains small compared to other parts of the …
Impact Voices | July 8, 2021
Growth of gender-smart investing in development finance signals opportunity for commercial investors as well
Businesses in emerging markets run by women receive less than half the funding received by those run by men. In 2021, that fact …
Frontier and Growth Markets | July 6, 2021
Scaling impact through nonprofit mergers and acquisitions
The ongoing pandemic and economic uncertainty have led non-profit leaders to contingency plan in creative and unprecedented ways, including strategic partnerships. The sector …
Impact Voices | June 29, 2021
Consider yourself a fiduciary? Then it’s time to invest in Africa
Africa was home to half of the world’s 10 fastest growing economies last year. Institutional investors must begin to seriously consider Africa as …
Impact Voices | June 23, 2021
Securitizing future cash flows to advance the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa
ImpactAlpha, June 23 – In Nigeria, Primero Transport Services, a bus company with a concession from the Lagos government, securitized receivables from its bus …
2030 Finance | June 3, 2021
E-buses are accelerating e-mobility in Latin America
ImpactAlpha, June 3 – Fleets of zero-emission electric buses operating in Latin America were once a distant dream, especially for city dwellers commuting to …
Innovative Finance | June 1, 2021
How investment facilitators can unlock dealflow in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, June 1 – Getting deals done in emerging markets costs more than in developed markets, both in absolute terms – due to peculiarities …
Impact Voices | May 27, 2021
How last-mile distributors put capital to work for impact
ImpactAlpha, May 27 – To meet the Sustainable Development Goals, remote and low-income populations need access to beneficial products that address basic needs, such …
Impact Voices | May 13, 2021
How digitalization can enhance, shift and transform the entrepreneurial support ecosystem
All organizations must continually innovate to adapt their practices to the current business environment. Even before the pandemic, entrepreneurial support organizations, which provide …
Impact Voices | May 13, 2021
Africa’s online safety is a new frontier for social innovation
The exponential increase and expected growth of internet, smartphone and mobile network usage in Africa has enabled a thriving ecosystem of tech entrepreneurs …
Corporate Impact | April 7, 2021
Companies in emerging markets are getting on board with board diversity
For any investor who has initiated a conversation about a company gender diversity, particularly in the boardroom, does any of this sound familiar? …
Africa | March 24, 2021
African agtech is boosting yields, protecting resources and raising incomes
ImpactAlpha, March 24 – Field drones. Harvesting robots. Big Data-driven farm insights. Innovative technological applications in agriculture can have a profound impact on farmers’ …
2030 Finance | November 24, 2020
Strengthening impact investing in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia with collaboration, local solutions and scale
For the first time in two decades, global extreme poverty is expected to rise. According to The World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic will …
ESG | November 18, 2020
Responsible restructurings: How impact investors can help emerging market businesses survive the ‘debt pandemic’
Impact investors may be missing an opportunity to restore sustainable emerging market growth and earn commercial returns by providing desperately needed restructuring support …
Catalytic Capital | October 29, 2020
How a portfolio of inclusive businesses prioritized the poor through COVID
The spread of COVID-19 and the economic devastation in its wake have shown just how necessary for-profit approaches are to serving the poor …
Africa | October 29, 2020
Q&A with DPI’s Runa Alam: How Africa’s impact ventures became essential during Covid-19
As the Covid-19 pandemic began to spread around the world in early 2020, gloomy predictions about the coronavirus’s effects on Africa also made …
Africa | October 29, 2020
Non-bank lenders need capital to finance African small businesses rejected by banks
ImpactAlpha, October 29 – The clunky term “non-bank financial intermediaries” identifies a varied group of lenders only by what they are not. These …
Features | September 21, 2020
How a mandate for impact in emerging markets helped the IFC outperform the S&P 500
Investors often meet skepticism when they say that they can make money while doing good. A new analysis of every equity investment International …
Frontier and Growth Markets | September 15, 2020
Weathering the Storm: COVID-19 lessons from social entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia
No matter where you are in the world, if you work somewhere in the entrepreneurial ecosystem – entrepreneur, investor, support organization – your …
Catalytic Capital | July 30, 2020
Beyond gender-lens: CARE’s new impact fund opts for ‘gender justice’
As impact investors who have launched a new “gender-justice” impact investment fund, CARE wants to make it clear: we seek deep systems change. …
Frontier and Growth Markets | July 23, 2020
Maintaining momentum for the SDGs in the face of COVID
The economic fall-out of COVID-19 – and its knock-on effect on the UN Sustainable Development Goals – will be long-term and significant. The …
Catalytic Capital | June 25, 2020
Building a better post-COVID food system with investments in small businesses in developing economies
COVID-19 is – and will continue to have – a huge impact on global food and nutrition security. On the supply side, restrictions …
Catalytic Capital | June 25, 2020
‘Impact Rescue Facility’ targets $1 billion to support small enterprises in emerging markets
Many commentators posit that the COVID-19 pandemic could go down in history as this generation’s opportunity to do a course correction toward a …
Frontier and Growth Markets | May 6, 2020
Your pipeline of impact deals in emerging markets is at risk. Three things you can do about it.
When the COVID the crisis began, the organic garden and agriculture business Vivero Nambume in Carazo, Nicaragua saw their revenues drop to zero …
Frontier and Growth Markets | March 31, 2020
How development finance leaders can help emerging-market economies survive the COVID-19 crisis
As fast as the COVID-19 crisis is unfolding, leaders of development finance institutions (DFIs) must move faster. While it is impossible to know …
Frontier and Growth Markets | November 18, 2019
Managing mission drift and driving impact in emerging markets: a roadmap
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 18 – Impact drift challenges nearly all impact funds. When a fund stops delivering impact, or drifts from its intended impact, investors …
Agrifood Tech | October 10, 2019
Investing with a ‘nutrition lens’ to drive progress on the Sustainable Development Goals
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 10 – Poor nutrition is an untrenched global challenge that impacts many of the 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. Solving it …
2030 Finance | July 11, 2019
Accelerating entrepreneurship: Why business accelerators are good investments for global development
ImpactAlpha, July 11 – Since the launch of Y Combinator in Boston over a decade ago business accelerators have spread like wildfire as …
Africa | December 13, 2018
Impact fintechs need private debt, not just private equity, to fuel their social mission
Impact investors are no stranger to private debt. But are they too shy about these instruments, right when impact-focused fintech companies need them …
Dealflow
Climate Finance | March 14, 2024
Green Climate Fund invests in India’s climate resilience via the Avaana Sustainability Fund
The Small Industries Development Bank of India is the main financing body for tens of millions of India’s small businesses. The bank manages …
Financial Inclusion | March 13, 2024
IFC extends $20 million to Burundian bank to bolster small business lending
The International Finance Corp. and a group of institutional investors have extended a $20 million loan to Banque de Crédit de Bujumbura to …
Frontier and Growth Markets | March 12, 2024
XSML raises nearly $100 million to invest in African small and mid-sized businesses
Amsterdam-based XSML invests in growing African businesses providing basic consumer goods and services in less-invested markets like Uganda and the Democratic Republic of …
Investing in Health | March 11, 2024
Pharma company Eisai backs South African health tech venture RecoMed
Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai launched subsidiaries in South Africa and Kenya in 2022 to supply drugs for cancer, dementia and other non-communicable diseases. …
Corporate Impact | March 11, 2024
Blue Earth Capital inks sustainability-linked loan for Asia’s garment sector
ImpactAlpha, March 11 – Asia’s garment sector, which feeds global fast-fashion demand, is notorious for human rights and environmental abuses. Q Collection is …
Financial Inclusion | March 6, 2024
Wagely inks $23 million to help Asia’s workers with cash stability and financial health
ImpactAlpha, March 6 – Indonesia and Bangladesh have nearly 200 million wage workers. Unexpected expenses force many to resort to expensive payday loans. …
Impact Tech | February 23, 2024
‘Deep tech’ impact investing in India
ImpactAlpha, February 23 – India is emerging as a hub for high-value, deep science tech startups working on breakthrough solutions to climate change, …
Clean Energy | February 20, 2024
D.light closes $7.4 million solar securitization deal in Nigeria
ImpactAlpha, February 21 – Securitized financing enables d.light to move loans to solar customers off of its balance sheet, freeing its capital to …
Gender Smart | February 20, 2024
WIC Capital invests in a local snack food company in Senegal
ImpactAlpha, February 20 – Most African markets are heavily dependent on imported food products, despite the fact that most Africans depend on agriculture …
Catalytic Capital | February 16, 2024
Deal spotlight: Building an impact secondaries market
ImpactAlpha, February 16 – Local fund managers in Africa and elsewhere are often best positioned to deploy capital where it’s needed in their …
Climate and Clean Tech | February 14, 2024
Catalyst Fund seeds nine African climate tech startups
ImpactAlpha, February 14 – The impact tech fund of BFA Global invested $1.8 million in companies that “directly empower farmers, healthcare providers, waste …
Climate and Clean Tech | February 13, 2024
India’s growing appetite for electric vehicles
ImpactAlpha, February 13 – The US is sending mixed signals about consumer EV adoption. In India, where most vehicle sales are two- and …
Catalytic Capital | February 13, 2024
British International Investment sells stakes to seed impact secondaries market
ImpactAlpha, February 13 – The how-tos of exiting impact investments are always a hot topic of conversation among emerging market investors. IPOs are …
Frontier and Growth Markets | February 12, 2024
IDB Invest directs $100 million to modernize Jamaica’s electricity grid
ImpactAlpha, February 12 – Jamaica’s energy utility Jamaica Public Service Co. has been working in recent years to improve the reliability of the …
Smallholder Agriculture | February 8, 2024
Eco.business Fund backs Family Bank to finance climate resilience for farmers in Kenya
ImpactAlpha, February 8 – Most commercial banks in Africa have long dismissed smallholder farmers and other agricultural businesses as too risky. Kenya’s Family …
Gender Smart | February 8, 2024
Village Capital partners with Standard Chartered to catalyze capital to African women in tech
ImpactAlpha, February 8 – Female founders receive just 2% of venture capital in Africa (and about the same globally). Standard Chartered bank launched …
Investing in Health | February 7, 2024
India’s Aarogya Tech scores $1.8 million for chronic disease prevention and management
ImpactAlpha, February 7 – Non-communicable diseases like diabetes and cancer are responsible for more than 60% of deaths in India. Without interventions, they …
Inclusive Economy | February 5, 2024
Impaqto Capital backs Sinba’s recycling services in Peru
ImpactAlpha, February 5 – Sinba provides recycling services for 1,500 residential customers and 70 companies, including Starbucks, Nestle and Coca-Cola. Its services help …
Agrifood Tech | January 31, 2024
Aquaconnect raises $4 million to link India’s fish farmers to supplies and markets
ImpactAlpha, January 31 – Chennai-based Aquaconnect supports fish and shrimp farmers with remote monitoring and access to cold storage, logistics and buyers. The …
Green Infrastructure | January 29, 2024
ResponsAbility backs CleanEdge Resources for wastewater treatment in Asia
ImpactAlpha, January 29 – ResponsAbility invested $20 million in Singapore-based CleanEdge to develop wastewater treatment and management facilities for corporate and industrial customers. …
Dealflow | January 22, 2024
African Guarantee Fund backstops Vista Group’s lending to small businesses and green ventures
ImpactAlpha, January 22 – The African Development Bank and Danish and Spanish governments launched the African Guarantee Fund more than a decade ago …
Dealflow | January 18, 2024
KisanKonnect’s raises $3.7 million to combat food waste and boost farmers in India
ImpactAlpha, January 18 – Pune-based KisanKonnect started its farm-to-consumer logistics service to cut food waste in India’s inefficient and fragmented food supply chain. …
Africa | January 17, 2024
EAIF locks in $294 million in debt for infrastructure in Africa
ImpactAlpha, January 17 – The $100 billion gap in Africa’s annual infrastructure financing needs isn’t evenly spread. The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund is …
Climate Finance | January 10, 2024
Renew Capital backs Octavia Carbon for direct air capture in Kenya
ImpactAlpha, January 10 – African leaders and innovators are starting to tap global carbon markets. Nairobi-based Octavia Carbon is a rare direct air …
Clean Energy | January 10, 2024
African investors back Africa50 to accelerate sustainable infrastructure
ImpactAlpha, January 10 – Morocco-based Africa50 aims to spur critical infrastructure development in Africa with different funding mechanisms that help developers overcome financing …
Frontier and Growth Markets | December 14, 2023
Investors back Copia with fresh capital to right the ship
ImpactAlpha, December 14 – The wave of investment in digitizing informal businesses in emerging markets produced overfunded startups, artificial valuations and unproven business …
Climate + Gender | December 13, 2023
IIX scores $100 million for its sixth Women’s Livelihood Bond
ImpactAlpha, December 13 – Since launching the bond series in 2017, the Singapore-based impact investment firm has raised nearly $230 million to support …
Frontier and Growth Markets | December 13, 2023
Omidyar Network India to shut down
ImpactAlpha, December 13 – Omidyar Network India was an early mover and impact ecosystem builder in India when it was launched more than …
Dealflow | December 11, 2023
Mercy Corp Ventures backs Tappi to boost economic and climate resilience in Africa’s small businesses
ImpactAlpha, December 11 – Flooding and droughts, which disrupt logistics, damage stock, depress consumer spending and raise the cost of goods, affect nearly …
Dealflow | December 8, 2023
Blended finance stars as COP28 seeks to unlock climate capital
ImpactAlpha, December 8 – Within the United Arab Emirates’s new $30 billion Altérra climate fund is a $5 billion carveout that could represent …
Asia | December 5, 2023
British International Investment backs trio of climate tech funds in South Asia
ImpactAlpha, December 5 — British International Investment, the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, has made a $25 million allocation to GEF …
Dealflow | December 5, 2023
FINCA Ventures invests in health access and financial inclusion startups
ImpactAlpha, December 5 – The impact investing arm of microfinance company FINCA backed Berlin-based Euclid, which connects smallholder farmers in Africa and Latin …
Agrifood Tech | November 27, 2023
Investors commit $1.7 million to Aquarech to support fish farmers in Kenya
ImpactAlpha, November 28 – Africa’s fast-growing population is driving increased demand for protein, including fish. With local production dwindling, Kenya is meeting demand …
Dealflow | November 16, 2023
Beyond Capital Ventures backs Lapaire for affordable eye care in Africa
ImpactAlpha, November 16 — Africa faces a shortage of eye-care specialists, making it challenging for tens of millions of Africans with visual impairments …
Africa | November 15, 2023
Easy Solar scores $7 million for energy access in Sierra Leone and Liberia
ImpactAlpha, November 15 – Until the early 2000s, both Sierra Leone and Liberia were rocked by civil war. One of the many longstanding …
Frontier and Growth Markets | November 12, 2023
Novastar Ventures secures $40 million for African impact startups
ImpactAlpha, November 13 – Financial services firm SBI Holdings has directly invested in several startups on the continent. It’s now backing Novastar to …
Inclusive Economy | November 9, 2023
ALIVE Ventures backs Teclogi to support truckers in Colombia
ImpactAlpha, November 9 – Logistics inefficiencies clog the movement of goods, drive up costs, and create unsafe road conditions in Colombia. Bogota-based Teclogi …
Latin America | November 6, 2023
Pomona scores backing from the DFC and IFC for small businesses in Latin America
ImpactAlpha, November 6 – Pomona Impact Management has made 28 investments since 2011 to support small businesses in Central America. It stretched a …
Dealflow | November 6, 2023
Women-led Almouneer raises $3.6 million for diabetes care in Egypt
ImpactAlpha, November 6 – In Africa and the Middle East, 40% of adults are obese and/or are diabetic or pre-diabetic. Egypt’s Almouneer offers …
Clean Energy | November 2, 2023
EAIF commits $48 million to ‘social bonds’ for rural electrification in Côte d’Ivoire
ImpactAlpha, November 2 – Nearly half of Côte d’Ivoire’s 28 million people live in rural areas; less than 40% of them have access …
Smallholder Agriculture | November 1, 2023
Verqor scores $7.5 million to provide digital credit to Mexico’s farmers
ImpactAlpha, November 1 – More than three-quarters of Mexico’s five million farmers do not earn sufficient income to live. Mexico City-based Verqor provides …
Clean Energy | October 31, 2023
Burn Manufacturing issues $10 million green bond for clean cooking in Africa
ImpactAlpha, October 31 – More than two billion people still use kerosene, wood, charcoal and other rudimentary, dirty fuels for most of their …
Frontier and Growth Markets | October 19, 2023
Deal spotlight: Building investment pathways in the world’s most neglected markets
ImpactAlpha, October 20 – “Mobilize” may be the word of the year for emerging markets investments. Africa alone needs an additional $100 billion …
Climate + Gender | October 18, 2023
MCE Social Capital notches $41.6 million for its sustainable agriculture fund
ImpactAlpha, October 18 – The MCE Empowering Sustainable Agriculture fund, or MESA, builds on MCE Capital’s 17 years of support for small agribusinesses …
Clean Energy | October 18, 2023
Proparco extends loan to Ziz Energie for solar ‘metro-grids’ in Chad
ImpactAlpha, October 18 – The Central African country of Chad is one of the poorest in the world. Chad’s poverty extends to energy: …
Frontier and Growth Markets | October 16, 2023
Incofin backs Rite Water to promote drinking water access in rural India
ImpactAlpha, October 16 – Rite Water makes and installs water purification systems in parts of rural and urban India that lack access to …
India | October 12, 2023
Onsurity secures $24 million to extend health insurance to India’s small businesses
ImpactAlpha, October 12 – Thirty percent of India’s 1.4 billion people don’t have healthcare coverage because of lack of affordability and awareness; the …
Gender Smart | October 12, 2023
Sanari Capital lands $65 million to invest in South African businesses and job growth
ImpactAlpha, October 12 – Sanari Capital has for a decade provided growth capital to South Africa’s mid-sized businesses. The portfolio of the women-led, …
Clean Energy | October 11, 2023
Adenia takes a majority stake in South African solar provider Enfin
ImpactAlpha, October 11 – By the end of this year, South Africans will have faced 250 days of rolling blackouts in 2023. The …
Dealflow | October 10, 2023
LeapFrog’s emerging consumer fund secures $100 million commitment from IFC
ImpactAlpha, October 10 — LeapFrog Investments has secured a $100 million commitment from the International Finance Corp. for its emerging consumer fund, the …
Frontier and Growth Markets | September 27, 2023
Secha Capital inks $15.8 million to back South Africa’s growing businesses
ImpactAlpha, September 27 – Unemployment in South Africa, the worst in the world, remains stubbornly high. Secha Capital is working to strengthen the …
Frontier and Growth Markets | September 25, 2023
LeapFrog joins insurance tech venture Bolttech’s $246 million equity round
ImpactAlpha, September 25 – Singapore-based Bolttech’s insurance exchange connects businesses to more than 6,000 insurance products from 230 companies in North America, Europe …
Smallholder Agriculture | September 25, 2023
Complete Farmer nets $10 million to connect Ghana’s farmers
ImpactAlpha, September 25 – Complete Farmer started as a “crowdfarming” platform to connect Ghana’s smallholder farmers to funders. It has grown into an …
Frontier and Growth Markets | September 20, 2023
Incofin sells its stake in Unguka Bank in Rwanda
ImpactAlpha, September 20 – Belgian impact investor Incofin sold its 28% equity stake in Rwanda’s Unguka Bank to Sri Lanka’s LOLC Holdings. LOLC’s …
Frontier and Growth Markets | September 6, 2023
Omnivore sells its stake in Barrix to Sumitomo to notch another exit
ImpactAlpha, September 6 – Omnivore, one of the first dedicated agtech investors in India, co-led Barrix Agro’s first institutional investment round in 2013. …
Africa | August 28, 2023
Kentegra Biotechnology in Kenya scores $15 million for organic crop treatments
ImpactAlpha, August 28 – Imported crop treatments are expensive for smallholder farmers in Africa. Kentegra Biotechnology is helping farmers substitute affordable bio-pesticides for …
Gender Smart | August 24, 2023
Local investors help Ditiro Capital raise $14.5 million for job creation in South Africa
ImpactAlpha, August 24 – South Africa has an abundance of minerals, renewable energy and other natural resources. It also has a struggling economy, …
Frontier and Growth Markets | August 21, 2023
Insaan reups in Indian cleantech and agtech distributor Essmart
ImpactAlpha, August 21 – Livelihood essentials like farming supplies and solar-powered lights are expensive and hard to secure in rural India. Essmart handles …
Oceans | August 16, 2023
Gabon raises a $500 million blue bond to swap debt for nature
ImpactAlpha, August 16 – Investing in ocean health represents one of the best opportunities for slowing climate change, protecting billions of livelihoods, and …
Green Infrastructure | August 15, 2023
IFC provides $236 million to Absa to finance green real estate in South Africa
ImpactAlpha, August 15 – By 2050, seven in 10 people will live in urban centers around the world; Asia and Africa are urbanizing …
Clean Energy | August 14, 2023
Big Solar: D.light securitizes customer loans as incumbents consolidate off-grid energy market
ImpactAlpha, August 14 – Africa’s solar standouts are enjoying a moment of sun in an otherwise frosty investment climate. Led by the industry’s …
Frontier and Growth Markets | August 8, 2023
Acre Impact Capital secures €40 million to spur green infrastructure development in Africa
ImpactAlpha, August 8 – Africa faces an annual infrastructure financing gap of at least $100 billion. “Only 6% of all infrastructure financing comes …
Frontier and Growth Markets | August 7, 2023
Local and global investors show up to finance small businesses in Ghana’s ‘missing middle’
ImpactAlpha, August 7 – Ghana’s $5 billion annual shortfall in capital available to small business owners is stunting badly needed economic growth. Mirepa …
Smallholder Agriculture | July 27, 2023
Culttivo raises $14.5 million to extend credit to Brazil’s small-scale coffee producers
ImpactAlpha, July 27 – Brazil is the world’s largest producer of coffee. Most beans are grown and harvested by small producers, whose livelihoods …
Investing in Health | July 27, 2023
Desaisiv raises $2 million to expand health insurance in the Middle East
ImpactAlpha, July 27 – Wealth extremes between oil-rich countries like Saudi Arabia, middle-income countries like Jordan, and unstable economies like Lebanon and Syria …
Inclusive Economy | July 27, 2023
BluLever Education scores funding to train South Africa’s artisans and trade workers
ImpactAlpha, July 27 – More than 60% of South African youth are unemployed. Johannesburg-based BluLever Education is addressing the country’s jobs crisis with …
Investing in Health | July 26, 2023
Five35 Ventures backs Zuri Health to expand mobile healthcare in Africa
ImpactAlpha, July 26 – Kenya-based Zuri has a mobile app to help patients connect with doctors and local healthcare services. It also offers …
Frontier and Growth Markets | July 26, 2023
FINCA Ventures invests in farmer livelihoods, financial inclusion and education
ImpactAlpha, July 26 – FINCA Ventures, the venture arm of the global microfinance institution FINCA, invests in early-stage social enterprises providing essential products …
Frontier and Growth Markets | July 25, 2023
Norfund invests $12.7 million in circular economy startups in West Africa
ImpactAlpha, July 25 – As much as 80% of Africa’s municipal solid waste is recyclable; just 4% is recycled. Nigeria-based Wecyclers offers subscription-based …
Frontier and Growth Markets | July 19, 2023
World Bank supports fintech startups from oft-overlooked markets in Southern Africa
ImpactAlpha, July 19 – The World Bank-backed Fintech Challenge awards small investment readiness grants to early-stage enterprises providing affordable financial services to underserved …
Europe | July 18, 2023
VIA Fund makes four impact investments in Armenian entrepreneurs
ImpactAlpha, July 18 – Armenia, with fewer than three million people, punches above its weight in tech entrepreneurship and VC. But impact capital …
Caribbean / Island Nations | July 17, 2023
Caribbean Investor Capital eyes $4.5 million stake in Solengy for solar in Haiti
ImpactAlpha, July 17 – Poor grid infrastructure and fuel shortages are driving demand for off-grid solar in Haiti, where less than half the …
Dealflow | July 14, 2023
Deal spotlight: A social media platform for India’s poor
ImpactAlpha, July 14 – The founders of Delhi-based Gram Vaani had a vision for giving India’s rural poor a greater voice and agency. …
Dealflow | July 12, 2023
Acumen invests in Gram Vaani to increase accountability in India’s ‘media dark’ communities
ImpactAlpha, July 12 – If “democracy dies in darkness,” as the Washington Post says, there’s cause for concern in India, the world’s largest …
Dealflow | July 11, 2023
LeapFrog pledges $500 million for climate solutions in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, July 11 – LeapFrog Investments pledged to invest $500 million in startups developing low-carbon solutions for Asia and Africa’s emerging consumer classes. …
Low-carbon transition | July 7, 2023
Deal spotlight: Avaada’s big push to green India’s ammonia and hydrogen production
ImpactAlpha, July 7 – Green ammonia and green hydrogen are among the highest impact opportunities for the net-zero transition. The fuels are key …
Dealflow | July 5, 2023
BlueOrchard secures $50 million for climate adaptation in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, July 5 – The Schroders impact investing group is among the few investors directing capital to climate adaptation in vulnerable countries. BlueOrchard …
Dealflow | July 5, 2023
Revivo seeks to support African shopkeepers to curb e-waste
ImpactAlpha, July 5 – Consumers discard more than 58 million tons of phones, tech gadgets and other electronic waste each year. Kenya’s Revivo …
Frontier and Growth Markets | June 29, 2023
Omnivore raises $150 million for its third India agrifood tech fund
ImpactAlpha, June 29 – Omnivore secured $150 million in a first close of its third agrifood impact tech fund. The Mumbai-based impact investor …
Frontier and Growth Markets | June 14, 2023
Aviom Housing Finance scores $30 million to help low-income Indians become homeowners
ImpactAlpha, June 14 – Aviom Housing Finance offers affordable housing loans to low-income families in India, many of whom work in the informal …
The Brief | June 12, 2023
India’s River and RevFin score investor backing to accelerate EV adoption
ImpactAlpha, June 12 – The big electric vehicle opportunity in India is two-wheel scooters and motorcycles and three-wheel autorickshaws, which make up 80% …
Asia | June 9, 2023
Deal spotlight: LeapFrog Investments highlights Asia’s appetite for impact
ImpactAlpha, June 9 – Impact investing strategies in emerging markets are seeing increased interest from global investors on the hunt for yield, impact …
Investing in Health | June 8, 2023
LeapFrog and Khosla Ventures reinvest in HealthifyMe to boost preventive health in India
ImpactAlpha, June 8 – HealthfiyMe wants to democratize nutrition access in regions with rising rates of chronic disease and inequitable access to preventative …
Clean Energy | May 31, 2023
Sun King raises $130 million through securitization of off-grid solar payments
ImpactAlpha, May 31 – Public agencies and private companies from California to Cote d’Ivoire are leveraging cash flows to finance climate adaptation and …
Dealflow | May 30, 2023
Ghana’s Kofa raises seed round for multi-purpose EV batteries
ImpactAlpha, May 30 – The action in Africa’s electric vehicle market is in electric motorbikes. Much of the early activity is concentrated in East …
Gender Smart | May 23, 2023
2X Challenge mobilizes $27 billion for women and girls’ economic resilience and inclusion
ImpactAlpha, May 23 – Development finance institutions of the G7 set a small but significant goal five years ago: within two years, invest …
Frontier and Growth Markets | May 21, 2023
Hybrico raises $2 million to shift cell tower operators to green energy
ImpactAlpha, May 21 – Online connectivity is now essential to economic inclusion. But in markets where grid energy isn’t reliable, online access is …
Dealflow | May 19, 2023
Odyssey raises $15 million to cut obstacles to renewables in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, May 19 – Commercial and industrial solar for business facilities, factories and shopping centers is growing in markets without reliable grid connections. …
Frontier and Growth Markets | May 16, 2023
M-KOPA lands $255 million in equity and impact-linked debt for financial and gender inclusion
ImpactAlpha, May 16 – M-KOPA helped build Africa’s off-grid, pay-as-you-go solar market. Now the The Nairobi-based company brands itself as a fintech company, …
Climate Finance | May 10, 2023
Catalytic Climate Finance Facility scores $12 million to test and launch new finance tools
ImpactAlpha, May 10 – Blended-finance network Convergence has for eight years supported financial innovation and experimentation in impact investing through its design funding …
Dealflow | May 4, 2023
Encourage Capital invests in Svakarma Finance to promote clean energy access for India’s small businesses
ImpactAlpha, May 4 – Mumbai-based Svakarma Finance is using an on-the-ground lending network with fintech to provide credit and other financial services to …
Frontier and Growth Markets | May 1, 2023
Beneficial Returns backs Elisur Organic to help Peru’s coffee farmers diversify their crops
ImpactAlpha, May 1 – The world’s coffee supply—and the farmers that grow it—is threatened by climate change. Some coffee specialists are trying to …
Climate Finance | April 28, 2023
Deal spotlight: Financing farming and small-business leaders in regeneration
ImpactAlpha, April 28 – Root Capital calls them “climate action leaders.” World Resources Institute calls them “regeneration champions.” Pioneering small farmers, agri-businesses and …
Frontier and Growth Markets | April 27, 2023
Brazil’s Arado raises $12 million to give smallholder farmers a tech edge
ImpactAlpha, April 27 – In one of Latin America’s most industrialized agriculture markets, Arado is doubling down on its support for small producers. …
Frontier and Growth Markets | April 26, 2023
Capria scores backing from Gates Ventures and others to invest in the Global South
Emerging markets-focused venture investor Capria Ventures closed its first, $57 million fund in June 2020. “It was a lousy time to raise and …
Smallholder Agriculture | April 20, 2023
AgDevCo invests $8 million in avocado farming venture in Kenya
ImpactAlpha, April 20 – Africa-focused agriculture investment group Agris is teaming up with a major Israeli avocado producer, Granot, to build a nearly …
Africa | April 17, 2023
Secha Capital’s investment in South Africa’s FarmTrace will support growth and employee ownership
ImpactAlpha, April 17 – Private equity firm Secha Capital made its name as an early investor in South Africa’s bread and butter businesses. …
Smallholder Agriculture | April 3, 2023
Agri-Business Capital Fund invests in four African food processing businesses
ImpactAlpha, April 3 – The Agri-Business Capital Fund, which is managed by Bamboo Capital and Injaro Investments, has inked loans totaling €2.3 million …
Frontier and Growth Markets | March 28, 2023
Factor[e] Ventures’ Delta40 scores early funding to build tech sectors in Africa
ImpactAlpha, March 28 – Investment is growing in tech sectors critical for Africa’s sustainable—and climate-resilient—development. But clean tech, agtech and mobility tech together …
Investing in Health | March 27, 2023
Mamotest secures $3.3 million for breast cancer screening in Latin America
ImpactAlpha, March 27 – Breast cancer survival rates are significantly lower in many emerging markets than in high-income countries. Startup Mamotest want to …
Podcasts
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 …
Features | May 11, 2020
Visa Foundation’s Graham Macmillan doubles down on small and micro businesses – run by women
ImpactAlpha, May 9 – A parade of philanthropic foundations will report this week on their journeys toward aligning their assets with their missions, as …
Calls
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 …
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 …
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 – The boom in African fintech startups began before COVID-19. The economic shutdowns and financial dislocations of the pandemic supercharged …
Climate + Gender | March 1, 2021
Call No. 27: Opportunities at the intersection of gender and climate
ImpactAlpha, March 1 – Capital is flowing to climate solutions. Climate bonds have topped $1 trillion. SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies are …
Features | October 19, 2020
Call No. 24: Agents of Impact converge on financing solutions to ‘light every clinic’
The people and principles needed to solve the challenges of financing solar power for frontline health clinics were represented on ImpactAlpha’s Agents of …
Africa | February 5, 2020
Call No. 12: How local early-stage funders are finding impact alpha in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, February 5 – Small and growing businesses are the pillars of local economies, in both developed and developing economies. Startups are engines …
Agents of Impact
Bold leaders. Taking action. Driving impact.