Dealflow is back with the deals big and small: A $20 million raise for African and Asian solar microgrid provider Powerhive; another financial services investment in Ghana for LeapFrog; and a social impact bond to tackle homelessness in Denver raises $8.6 million — to be repaid based on a reduction in jail time.
Powerhive raises $20 million to expand solar microgrids in Africa and Asia-Pacific. The Berkeley, Calif., company has raised $32 million since it launched in 2011. The new series A fundraising round was led by social impact venture capital firm Prelude Ventures. Other investors included Caterpillar Ventures, Total Energy Ventures, Tao Capital Partners and Pi Investments. The company’s flagship project is intended to serve about 90,000 people in western Kenya.
A social impact bond to address chronic homelessness in Denver raised $8.6 million. The Mental Health Center of Denver and the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless will oversee the five-year program, which aims to help 250 of the city’s chronically homeless residents. Investors will be repaid by the city based on a reduction of participants’ days spent in jail. Northern Trust Co., which is investing $3 million, is joined by the Arnold Foundation, based in Houston ($1.7 million); the Colorado Health Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation ($1 million each); and the Nonprofit Finance Fund, Living Cities Blended Catalyst Fund, Denver Foundation and The Piton Foundation (roughly $500,000 each). Mental Health Center of Denver and the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless are overseeing the program’s implementation. Investors could recoup as much as $11.4 million — a 32 percent return — if the program exceeds its most ambitious goals.
LeapFrog Investments acquires majority stake in a Ghanaian life insurance company. The majority stake in UT Life Insurance Company, for an undisclosed amount, marks the impact investor’s third direct investment in Ghana and second in life insurance. UT Life also has a strong presence in Ghana’s funeral and education savings policies. The deal follows the news that LeapFrog will manage a new $350 million investment fund for Prudential Financial. The capital will be committed to life insurance companies in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya over the next three to five years.
The largest rooftop solar photovoltaic installation in Queensland, Australia will top a recently acquired hospital. Australia-based Impact Investment Group will use the installation to improve the hospital’s property’s carbon footprint. The acquisition of Gold Coast Surgical Hospital is part of the firm’s nearly AUS$400 million real estate portfolio. The firm also owns a wind farm and runs a solar energy infrastructure fund.
A new social enterprise incubation fund in Israel reaches $6.5 million. The Israeli IVN-Yozma fund has received a $500,000 investment from New York-based UJA-Federation, alongside a $2.6 million grant from the Israeli Ministry of Finance and $3.4 million in other donations and commercial investments. The fund also made its first investment, a $250,000 loan to Call Yachol, one of the largest private employer of disabled workers in the world. The IVN-Yozma fund invests in businesses serving at-risk youth, unemployment, elderly and disabled care and Israel’s disadvantaged minority populations.
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DealFlow is ImpactAlpha’s weekly roundup of what, where, how and why impact capital flowed each week… See more impact deals in ImpactAlpha’s DealFlow section. And send your dealflow news to [email protected].
Photo credit: Powerhive
