ImpactAlpha Open | October 8, 2024

ImpactAlpha Open: Decarbonizing shipping +’US green bank’ funds flow

Dennis Price
ImpactAlpha Editor

Dennis Price

Hi there, Agent of Impact! Welcome to ImpactAlpha Open, our free weekly newsletter to keep you in the loop and ahead of the curve in impact investing and sustainable finance. 

📣 Agents of Impact Call No. 65: Preserving affordable housing. The number of times “housing” was mentioned in the recent US vice presidential debate: 32. That’s 32 more than the number of “housing” mentions in the last three VP debates combined. Housing is top of mind for many Americans, from first-time home buyers to renters to retirees, and especially so for residents of “affordable housing.” Rent restrictions are expiring on more than 325,000 units of affordable housing that were built with federal tax credits. As commercial developers snap up such properties, longtime residents are at risk of losing their homes. This month’s Agents of Impact Call takes up investment strategies to preserve stocks of affordable housing, with Impact Community Capital’s Michael Lohmeier, ROC USA’s Paul Bradley and other special guests, in conversation with ImpactAlpha’s David Bank. Join The Call, with complimentary access, Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm London. RSVP today.

On the circuit. Over the coming weeks, ImpactAlpha will be reporting from the GIIN Impact Forum in Amsterdam, SOCAP in San Francisco, OFN Conference in Los Angeles, the FLII Central America and Caribbean and more. Don’t miss a beat. Subscribe today with 25% off your first year.

In this week’s Open:

  • Decarbonizing shipping
  • ‘US green bank’ funds start to flow
  • Diversifying the landscape of fund managers
  • Betting on authenticity in food

Let’s jump in. – Dennis Price


Must-reads on ImpactAlpha

  • Decarbonizing shipping. Each year, the shipping industry is responsible for roughly 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. That number could grow to 10% by 2050. Green alternatives for shipping are on the horizon. Investments in alternative green fuels are complementing energy efficiency efforts, explain Azolla Venture’s Amy Duffuor and Alexandra Steckmest of Wallem Steckmest & Co. Learn more.
  • ‘US green bank’ funds start to flow. The first Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund deal has been inked, just six weeks after the awards were finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency. The first disbursement went to an Arkansas-based solar power developer in the form of a $31.8 million pre-construction loan, reports Amy CorteseGet the details.
  • October’s Liist of impact funds actively raising. A growing number of women- and diverse-led funds are spotting climate and other opportunities that other managers may miss. Mumbai-based Ankur Capital and AiiM in California are among the emerging managers featured by Jessica Pothering and Lucy Ngige in this month’s Liist of actively raising funds. Collect them all.
  • Risking-taking development finance. Halfway through its latest five-year strategy, British International Investment has launched the second of its Kinetic catalytic capital facilities, reports ImpactAlpha’sJessica Pothering. The UK’s development finance institution is accelerating its efforts to mobilize private capital for sustainable development. The blended capital approach builds on the model of the SDG loan fund. Learn more
    • Financing impact, managing risk. Strategies including “equity-like debt” are on the rise, as catalytic investors push to attract commercial capital to high-impact deals, according to research from the Global Impact Investing NetworkDig in.
  • Private equity doubles down on dirty energy. Private equity giants talk a good game and have raised billions of dollars on the low-carbon transition. But the top 21 private equity firms, including Blackstone and KKR, have invested roughly $1 trillion in fossil-fuel energy companies since 2010, creating greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of the entire aviation industry.. Read more.
  • Closing the climate disaster protection gap. As insurers retreat from climate risks, the broken market for homeowners insurance presents a huge opportunity. As Ryan Jones details for ImpactAlpha, new models are emerging for communities to pool resources to cover storm-related damages to homes and infrastructure. Check it out.
  • An edge for Africa’s e-mobility startups. Ethiopia made headlines in February by becoming the first country in the world to ban the importation of fuel-powered cars. Then, Addis Ababa city administration moved to implement an outright ban on fuel motorcycles. The bans are buoying the country’s EV startups, reports Lucy NgigeSee how.

Agents of Impact

🏃 On the move

  • LISC welcomed Rob Lockett, previously with Rocket Community Fund, as executive director of its Detroit office.
  • WORC’s Ellen-Frank Miller joined HCAP Partners as an operating advisor. 
  • Acre Impact Capital added Tshepiso Moahloli as an investment committee member.

The Week’s Podcasts

🎧 This Week in Impact: Climate-proofing homes and towns

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David BankUp this week: new insurance models that aim to climate-proof homes and towns, enhanced efforts to support diverse emerging fund managers, and how private equity is quietly funding fossil fuel investments.

😎 Agents of ImpactJeff Brenner on building institutional-grade strategies to create and preserve affordable housing.

Increasing the supply of new affordable housing is important. Preserving existing housing units for low-income families is existential. “We can’t afford to lose access to affordable housing,” Jeff Brenner of Impact Community Capital says on the latest episode of ImpactAlpha’s Agents of Impact podcast, which explores the fund manager’s strategy to preserve affordable housing by helping developers compete with buyers intent on flipping those units and raising rents.


Deal Spotlight

🌮 The key ingredient in Siete Food’s $1.2 billion exit to Pepsi: Authenticity

Authentic food products can drive a whole lot of authentic demand. That’s the food industry buzz after last week’s news that PepsiCo will acquire Siete Foods, the Austin, Texas-based maker of grain-free tortillas, better-for-you chips and dairy-free queso. In a decade, the Mexican-American Garza family built the company from an Austin favorite to a national brand with $500 million in annual revenue and distribution from Whole Foods to Walmart. The deal from PepsiCo values the company at $1.2 billion. “It’s possible to build a thriving brand that honors our heritage and celebrates our culture,” said Siete’s Miguel Garza. From food to fashion, authenticity is winning. 


Get in the Game

💼 Step up

  • The Nature Conservancy is looking for a director for impact investments for a remote role.
  • Echoing Green is seeking an associate in New York for a hybrid remote role.
  • Opportunity Finance Network is hiring a senior vice president for its climate and green investment programs in Washington, DC.

Sign up to Impact Careers get the top impact investing job listings and internships right in your inbox. Register for free.

🤝 Meet up

Don’t miss these upcoming impact investing events:

Subscribe (with 25% off) to access substantial discounts on partner events.


Partner with us. Reach the most influential audience in impact investing. Get in touch.

Get ImpactAlpha for Teams. Save with substantial group discounts. Start here