- Beats
- The Brief
October 21, 2021
The Brief
Featured: Returns on Inclusion
Living Cities’ Joe Scantlebury sees cities as the template for an inclusive America. U.S. President Joe Biden wants to "build back better." Joe Scantlebury is out to make sure the rebuild includes all Americans. “I grew up in a single-parent household. I'm real clear on the hardships that we face,” says the incoming CEO of Living Cities, a 30-year-old collaborative of 19 philanthropic foundations and financial institutions investing to close racial income and wealth gaps. “It's important that we have policies that really enable the majority of Americans and a significant portion of our population to participate in the full economy.” Brooklyn-born Scantlebury takes the helm at the nonprofit following the departure of long-time CEO Ben Hecht. The outpouring of empathy following the murder of George Floyd created an opportunity to reach for a collective humanity. Now it’s time to deliver, Scantlebury says in a Q&A with ImpactAlpha.
Dealflow: Democratizing Impact
Cameroon’s Ejara raises $2 million for impact-focused crypto. Crypto is having a moment in Africa. Dozens of African fintechs promising to democratize access to cryptocurrencies across the continent have raised venture capital funding. Ejara was launched by Nelly Chatue-Dio to serve financially-underserved consumers in francophone West Africa, especially women. The woman-led startup offers simple, mobile-based cryptocurrency investment and savings options, as well as financial literacy tools. Ejara’s $2 million funding round was backed by CoinShares Ventures, Anthemis Group, impact investor Mercy Corps Ventures and others.
Signals: Countdown to COP
$100 billion is just a down payment on financing the climate transition in developing nations. For want of a nail... the kingdom was lost, as the old proverb goes. For want of $100 billion, a global climate agreement may be lost. Whether wealthy nations will meet their (repeated) promise to deliver $100 billion per year to help developing nations address climate changes may determine the fate of the COP26 global climate summit kicking off in Glasgow in 10 days. Africa’s main negotiator is calling for wealthy nations to raise their payments more than 10-fold, to $1.3 trillion per year by 2030. Private sector financing is critical to bridge the yawning gap. And the emerging consensus holds that such private financing depends on ‘catalytic capital’ to mitigate risks of investing in many emerging markets (see, “Deploying catalytic capital to bridge financing gaps for climate action”). Some promising approaches:
Agents of Impact: Follow the Talent
ImpactAlpha partner event: “Humankind: Deploying innovative investment structures to accelerate inclusion,” is among the breakout sessions at the Next Normal Now series on regeneration from the Global Impact Investing Network, Wednesday, Oct. 27. Guests include Alix Peterson Zwane of Global Innovation Fund, Stephen Buchanan of Mosaic Capital Partners and Gustavo Katz Braga of Common Fund for Commodities. RSVP today.
- The Call
The Reconstruction | October 15, 2021
Call No. 32: Black tech, green solutions for the planet and the people (video)
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 15 – Invest in climate action for the planet – and the people. “Climate change is a public health issue, it’s a …
Call Recording | October 1, 2021
The Call No. 31: Making sense of the ABCs of measurement to optimize for impact (video)
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 1 – Metrics. Standards. Dimensions. Frameworks. SDGs. Cathy Clark of the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship at Duke University’s Fuqua …
Photo by william william on UnsplashCapitalism Reimagined | September 17, 2021
The 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 spring’s ExxonMobil proxy fight was dramatic, just wait ’til next year. Join Engine No. 1’s Michael O’Leary, The Shareholder Commons’ Sara Murphy, Illinois …
Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on UnsplashCall Recording | July 9, 2021
Call No. 29: Capitalism reimagined for fair gainsharing and equitable prosperity
ImpactAlpha, July 9 – Elevating the power (and wages) of low-income workers is not typically at the top of investors’ 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 – The very rich are different, as F. Scott Fitzgerald once observed. One of those differences is the prerogative to put …
Photo credit: Kuli KuliCall Recording | 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 …
Call Recording | January 6, 2021
Call No. 26: What Agents of Impact are expecting in 2021 (replay)
ImpactAlpha, January 6 — A few of the keywords thrown around on last month’s 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.NG’s Thelma Ekiyor, Trade Depot’s Onyekachi Izukanne, Development Partners International’s Takudzwa Mutasa, Alitheia’s Temilade Denton, …
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 …
Features | October 1, 2020
Call No. 23 recap: Changing investment algorithms to advance racial justice
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 1 – 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 – Investors have been talking about systemic risks at least since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008. More recently, climate …
- Podcasts
Catalytic Capital | October 20, 2021
MacArthur’s Debra Schwartz on catalytic capital, cost curves and contributing to solutions (podcast)
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 20 – The readers have spoken. When ImpactAlpha asked subscribers last year to rank the topics where they wanted to see more …
Vanessa RoanhorseThe Reconstruction | October 18, 2021
The Reconstruction: The Indigenous wisdom of lending based on character, not collateral (podcast)
ImpactAlpha October 18 – Current systems of credit are not working. Indigenous wisdom points to more promising approaches: deep local engagement and character-based …
Podcasts | October 15, 2021
Impact Briefing: The U.K.’s surprisingly ambitious climate plans, with the roundtable regulars
On this week’s podcast, roundtable regulars Imogen Rose-Smith and David Bank join host Brian Walsh to discuss the U.K.’s surprisingly ambitious climate plans …
Sherrell Dorsey of The Plug | Photo credit: Mecca Gamble PhotographyPodcasts | October 8, 2021
Impact Briefing: Covering Black tech ecosystems, with The Plug’s Sherrell Dorsey (podcast)
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 8 – On this week’s podcast, The Plug’s Sherrell Dorsey joins host Monique Aiken to talk Black tech ecosystems, the origins of …
Nwamaka Agbo, Kataly Foundation | Photo by Bethanie HinesThe Reconstruction | October 4, 2021
Restorative economics: Creating community benefits by shifting who owns and controls assets (podcast)
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 4 – Black, Indigenous and other communities of color are often told that economic development projects will bring jobs and services to …
Podcasts | October 1, 2021
Impact Briefing: Week of October 1
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 1 – On this week’s podcast, host Brian Walsh is joined by John Cochrane from the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance to …
Podcasts | September 24, 2021
Impact Briefing: Week of September 24
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 24 – On this week’s podcast, host Monique Aiken is joined by FullCycle’s Stephan Nicoleau to talk about Climate Week, climate action …
Full Cycle's Stephan NicoleauThe Reconstruction | September 20, 2021
The Reconstruction: Redressing the past with climate-smart infrastructure for a just transition (podcast)
ImpactAlpha, Sept 20 – Infrastructure is highways and bridges. And hospitals and airports; broadband, clean water, plumbing and electricity. And it all needs …
Podcasts | September 17, 2021
Impact Briefing: Week of September 17
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 17 – Roundtable regulars David Bank and Imogen Rose-Smith return this week to join host Brian Walsh for a conversation about Imogen’s …
Podcasts | September 10, 2021
Impact Briefing: Week of September 10
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 10 – On this week’s podcast, host Monique Aiken and ImpactAlpha’s David Bank preview next week’s Agents of Impact call and sample …
Podcasts | September 3, 2021
Impact Briefing: Week of September 3
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 3 – On this week’s podcast, host Brian Walsh chats with ImpactAlpha’s Dennis Price and Amy Cortese to talk ‘beta stewardship’ and …
Hurricane Ida | Photo credit: NBC NewsThe Reconstruction | August 30, 2021
Recovery from Hurricane Ida starts with equitable treatment for the ‘resilience force’ of essential workers (podcast)
ImpactAlpha Aug. 30 – With hurricane winds still blowing and rain falling, essential workers already are stepping up to bring back services and …
- Opinion
Impact Management | October 20, 2021
Optimizing for Impact: Assign an ABC goal type to each investment (video)
Optimizing for Impact. Want to learn more about Optimizing Impact for the Sustainable Development Goals? Over the next few weeks, ImpactAlpha will offer a …
Ba Ria, Vietnam | Photo credit: Dong Nhat HuyImpact 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 Management | October 14, 2021
Optimizing for Impact: What are the five dimensions of impact? (video)
Optimizing for Impact. Want to learn more about Optimizing Impact for the Sustainable Development Goals? Over the next few weeks, ImpactAlpha will offer a …
New York, NYThe Reconstruction | October 13, 2021
Racial equity planks in a new Community Reinvestment Act can expand the American Dream
When most Americans think about civil rights, we think about the violence perpetrated upon Black Americans and the nonviolence movement that finally helped …
Catalytic Capital | October 13, 2021
Gathering evidence to put catalytic capital to its highest and best use
Disclosure: Catalytic Capital Consortium (C3) sponsors ImpactAlpha’s coverage of catalytic capital. Today, we are excited to announce 14 new awardees of the Catalytic …
Impact Voices | October 11, 2021
10 tips to speed your transition to an impact finance career
There is no denying that impact finance is one of the most sought after spaces in finance right now, but what does it …
Impact Tech | October 5, 2021
How impact venture capital differs in the U.S. and Europe
A decade ago I experienced what is described as ‘multiple discovery’ – the idea where most discoveries or inventions are made independently and …
Impact Voices | October 4, 2021
Power shifting boosts the potential of impact investments: charitable reform policies could help
Maximizing the transformative possibilities of impact investments requires shifting power from individuals and institutions toward communities that have historically been kept at the …
Impact Voices | September 29, 2021
Four steps investors can take to move beyond ESG greenwashing and drive real impact
ESG-focused assets — increasingly ubiquitous in the global investment landscape — have grown exponentially over the past 10 years. Currently in the United …
Policy Corner | September 27, 2021
Global standards for sustainability accounting must be holistic and inclusive
When global leaders converge on Glasgow in November for the COP26 climate summit, all eyes will be on the pledges that politicians make …
Photo by Jeremy Bezanger on UnsplashImpact Investing | September 27, 2021
Impact Investing 3.0: Measuring impact across all investment and business decisions
Impact is increasingly seen as not only crucial to a just recovery from effects of COVID-19, but also to the creation of stronger, …
Lagos State, Nigeria | Photo by Shyne BellzClimate and Clean Tech | September 23, 2021
Africa’s eco start-ups seek to turn the tide on plastic pollution
When a problem is on your doorstep, it’s only natural to be compelled to find a solution. Over the past years, demand for …
- Agents of Impact
Agents of Impact | October 15, 2021
Aunnie Patton Power, impact advisor and author
ImpactAlpha, October 15 – Being an investment banker in Chicago as a recent graduate wasn’t working for Aunnie Patton Power. “I was given …
Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann and Giorgio Parisi (photo: Ill. Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach)Agents of Impact | October 8, 2021
Climate scientists
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 8 – Climate scientists are having a moment, decades overdue. Private investment funds are seeking out climate soothsayers to inform decision-making. Prescient …
Agents of Impact | October 1, 2021
Oraan’s Halima Iqbal and Farwah Tapal: Digitizing women’s savings circles in Pakistan
ImpactAlpha, October 1 – Halima Iqbal didn’t plan to start her own fintech company when she returned to Pakistan in 2018, after years …
Cathy Clark, Duke's Fuqua School of BusinessAgents of Impact | September 24, 2021
Cathy Clark, Duke’s Fuqua School of Business
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 24 – Before she herself began teaching 20 years ago, Cathy Clark helped her father run a summer program in Philadelphia that …
Agents of Impact | September 17, 2021
Hilda Moraa, Pezesha
ImpactAlpha, September 17 – Hilda Moraa was ahead of the trend of enterprise technology providers popping up all over Africa and other emerging …
Bright center star cluster | Photo by NASA on UnsplashAgents of Impact | September 10, 2021
Universal Owners
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 10 – When you own everything, you don’t want everything to go to hell. That’s the simple concept behind the emerging doctrine …
Clean Energy | September 3, 2021
Jessica Brooks, Sunwealth
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 3 – On neighborhood strolls, Jessica Brooks sees schools, churches, apartment buildings – and unused rooftops. Such “infill” spaces represent a …
Sakena Yacoobi, Afghan Institute of LearningAgents of Impact | August 27, 2021
Sakena Yacoobi, Afghan Institute of Learning
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 27 – The Taliban is in power in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Not going away are the education centers, health clinics …
Charli Cooksey, WEPOWER | Photo by Lindy Drew of Humans of St. Louis.Agents of Impact | August 13, 2021
Charli Cooksey, WEPOWER
ImpactAlpha, August 13 — Charli Cooksey has lived most of her nearly 35 years on the same block in North St. Louis. After …
Elizabeth McCluskey, CMFG VenturesAgents of Impact | July 30, 2021
Elizabeth McCluskey, CMFG Ventures
ImpactAlpha, July 30 – This is what an impact investing career path looks like. McCluskey was working at UBS, first in investment banking and …
Heather Fleming, Change LabsAgents of Impact | July 23, 2021
Heather Fleming, Change Labs
ImpactAlpha, July 23 – Heather Fleming started an industrial design firm to do thoughtful, community-centered design. Several years ago, she brought her skills …
Nasir Qadree, Zeal Capital PartnersAgents of Impact | July 16, 2021
Nasir Qadree, Zeal Capital Partners
ImpactAlpha, July 16 – As a first-time manager of an impact-oriented venture fund – and a Black man – Qadree defied the odds when …
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