Agents of Impact | July 12, 2019

Follow the Talent: ImpactAlpha’s ‘Agents of Impact’ Special Report for July 12

Dennis Price
ImpactAlpha Editor

Dennis Price

Greetings, Agents of Impact!

Welcome to ImpactAlpha’s weekly “follow the talent” roundup of impact investing career moves, job openings, events and opportunities. Help the growing ImpactAlpha community follow your talent: Send job moves, mandates, event announcements and other news to [email protected].

– Dennis Price, editorial director

Agent of Impact 

Sonia Bashir Kabir of SBK Tech Ventures. As Microsoft’s managing director for Bangladesh and other countries in South Asia, Sonia Bashir Kabir was building tech solutions for the world’s top three billion or so income earners. Now, with SBK Tech Ventures, the Bangladeshi tech investor and entrepreneur is turning her attention to the challenges of the next four billion. Kabir left Microsoft in May to launch SBK, an “impact tech” fund with a focus on tech-enabled ventures solving financial, legal, agricultural and other challenges facing rural consumers in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and countries in Southeast Asia. Kabir burnished her chops in “impact tech” by co-founding or investing in more than two-dozen Bangladesh startups, including solar mini-grid startup SOLshare, rural e-commerce venture Deligram and family-health center network Praava Health.

“I’ve seen these problems first hand,” says Kabir, who grew up in Bangladesh before moving to Silicon Valley for her education. She’s worked with Sun Microsystems, Syntec and Dell, is vice chair of the U.N. Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries, chairs an angel investor network in Bangladesh and—ready for this?—played volleyball and cricket for Bangladesh’s national teams. In keeping with SBK’s ecosystem approach, Kabir has opened tech hubs in 64 different districts in Bangladesh to support her portfolio companies and familiarize rural Bangladeshis with new technologies. Kabir says few companies are tackling the big challenges facing the hundreds of millions of tech-connected consumers emerging from poverty in South Asia. The solutions, she believes, will be home grown. “What works in the west may not work in the east,” she says. “We’re next.” Follow ImpactAlpha on Instagram.

Seize the Opportunity

Glenmede is hiring a director of sustainable and impact investing in Philadelphia… Nonprofit Finance Fund is looking for a senior associate of equity in action… The European Venture Philanthropy Association is looking for a CEO in Brussels… Haas School of Business at the University of California is recruiting a director for its new sustainable and impact finance initiative… 60 Decibels is hiring an associate in Mumbai… Capria seeks a content writer… Social Finance is seeking a managing director of social investment in Boston… The Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship seeks a senior project manager in Cape Town… The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs is hiring a communications manager… 

The International Union for Conservation of Nature is seeking investment managers to implement the CPIC Conservation Finance Initiative… REDF is looking for a program manager in San Francisco or Los Angeles, and the REDF Accelerator is recruiting entrepreneurs to help their employees transition to long-term employment… Rocky Mountain Institute seeks a principal of global climate finance in Boulder or Washington DC… The Pace Energy and Climate Center in New York is hiring an executive director… SheEO is recruiting a data and tech-ops coordinator… New Island Capital is hiring a vice president of liquidity portfolio in San Francisco… Agora Partnerships seeks a head of investor relations in Mexico City, Bogota or Santiago… 

Prudential’s diversity, inclusion and impact team is looking for a finance and operations senior analyst in Newark… Social Finance is hiring a part-time content producer for its impact incubator in London..  Impact venture capital firm Uprising is recruiting an executive assistant in the Bay Area… FaithInvest is hiring an executive director and director of membership in the UK… Sustainalytics seeks an associate director of water in Toronto or Amsterdam… Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital is looking for an investment analyst in Washington, DC.

Follow the Talent

Project Heather appoints Elaine Morton as chief regulatory and compliance officer, and Helen Webster as chief operating officer, to support the impact-focused Scottish Stock ExchangeEmmett Carson stepped down as CEO of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Greg Avis will continue as interim president and CEO as the $13.5 billion community foundation… Lolita Taub, ex- of Backstage Capital, joins Catalyte as chief of staff… Global Reporting Initiative appoints Marco van der Ree as chief development officer… Peer to peer lender Initiative Ireland appoints Aisling Healey as director of finance and treasury… 

Susan Ruffo, ex- of Ocean Conservancy, becomes founding executive director of The Circulate Initiative, a non-profit created by Circulate Capital… JP Gibbons says he’s moving on from USAID to join the mission-related investing team at Cambridge Associates (see, “A conversation with Circulate Capital’s Rob Kaplan and USAID’s J.P. Gibbons).

Impact Watch

Investments from Bamboo Capital Partners, which has raised almost $400 million for developing economies, have impacted 152 million lives and created more than 40,000 jobs (up 58% and 33%, respectively, year over year) over 12 years… Assets at donor-advised fund manager ImpactAssets’ Giving Fund reach $1 billion after more than doubling in the last six months… Congruent Ventures, Closed Loop Partners and Social Impact Capital join the Impact Capital Managers network (see, “Private funds managers deliver outperformance by driving impact)… “There are entrepreneurs like me all over the country… I believe in these entrepreneurs,” said AOL founder Steve Case of Rise of the Rest on 60 Minutes.

Apply, Respond, Submit 

The Good Food Awards is accepting applications from food crafters who excel in both taste and sustainability.

Where to be

The “Sustainable Investing in Emerging Markets Summit” from Emerging Markets Private Equity Association convenes in London, Oct. 8.

That’s a wrap! Help the growing ImpactAlpha community follow your talent: Send your own job moves, new opportunities and event announcements to [email protected].