Allianz’s SDG Loan Fund leverages a $25 million guarantee to catalyze $1.1 billion. A novel financing mechanism has stacked a small guarantee and a larger first-loss reserve to raise $1 billion from the German insurance giant Allianz and Swedish bank Skandia. The purpose: expand financing for small and growing businesses, resilient agriculture and climate solutions in emerging markets. The new SDG Loan Fund, one of the largest “blended finance” funds to date, could serve as a model for efforts to put private capital to work for the Sustainable Development Goals. “It has proven very difficult to create the vehicles that work for that mobilization, so this one was created to show it could be done, and it could be done at scale,” says Debra Schwartz of the MacArthur Foundation, who worked with Allianz and the Dutch development bank FMO to structure the fund (disclosure: MacArthur Foundation leads the Catalytic Capital Consortium, which supports ImpactAlpha’s coverage of catalytic capital). Blending finance to mobilize private capital for climate action will be high on the COP28 global climate summit agenda getting underway this week in Dubai.
French nuclear startup NAAREA raises €60 million to build modular reactors. NAAREA, short for Nuclear Abundant Affordable Resourceful Energy for All, is looking to raise €150 million to build a nuclear reactor about the size of a bus that can be operated independently from electrical grids. The vision is to have reactors that “produce power and heat as close as possible to industrial customers to relieve the grid,” said NAAREA’s Jean-Luc Alexandre. The initial funding includes €50 million ($55 million) from French family offices and €10 million from the French government. NARREA is looking to build a full-scale prototype to produce 40 megawatts of electricity, enough to power a car factory or large desalination plant, by 2028.
From ‘carve-outs’ to ‘aligners,’ five family-office archetypes for climate investing. Wealthy families are feeling the pull of climate investing. In a new report, the nonprofit CREO, which works with family offices and foundations to help them invest in climate solutions, identifies five archetypes to guide families wherever they are on their journey. From “Carve-outs” to “Aligners,” there is no one path. “Many [families] investing in climate for the first time are coming to CREO with more ambitious climate aspirations,” says CREO's Regine Clement. Many don’t know where to begin, or how to optimize their investments for impact. “All families can see themselves in at least one of the archetypes, in whole or part, whatever the stage or experience of their climate investing or philanthropic activities.”
The Climate Investment Funds names Tariye Gbadegesin of ARM-Harith Infrastructure Investments as CEO, effective in March. The first African to lead the multilateral lender, she replaces Mafalda Duarte, who left in July to lead the Green Climate Fund… AI Collaborative, a new initiative of Omidyar Group, appoints Martin Tisné, ex- of Luminate, as chief executive officer.
ImpactAlpha, November 17 – That women are more adversely affected by climate change is well established (in impact and development circles at any …
This week’s Agents of Impact Call continued a tradition started nearly a decade ago by Fran Seegull of the US Impact Investing Alliance …
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 29 – It’s the age-old struggle: labor vs capital, workers vs. owners. But what happens when employees get a stake in the …
ImpactAlpha, August 25 – A growing ecosystem of Native-led entrepreneurs, lenders, financial intermediaries and nonprofits are driving Indian Country’s emerging economy. “It’s kind …
ImpactAlpha, July 28 – Most historically Black colleges and universities were formed during the Reconstruction era. In the more than a century since, Spelman, …
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 22 – Even as some politicians ramp up anti-ESG rhetoric, asset owners and allocators are signaling an appetite for investment strategies …
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 31 – The search for a universal metric to guide investments in racial justice and equitable wealth-building was…aspirational. “We are still a …
ImpactAlpha. Feb. 24 – “A labor market where workers have more opportunities and have more power and have more leverage is a good …
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 9 – The fatal beating by police of Tyre Nichols in Memphis last month exposed risks to the city’s finances that have …
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 18 – Cities around the U.S. are raising low-cost capital in the municipal bond markets by highlighting intentional efforts to address long-standing …
ImpactAlpha, September 30 – Capital to support women’s economic growth and financial inclusion is flowing – finally! – in many advanced economies. In emerging …
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 19 – Investors, entrepreneurs, corporate executives and world leaders have descended on New York for Climate Week, the annual gathering alongside the …
Pension funds, with hundreds of billions in long-term assets, can be a key source of capital for impact investors and entrepreneurs. Black, Indigenous, …
The Wilmington coup of 1898 is not as well known as the Tulsa massacre of 1921. But the events of that day changed …
ImpactAlpha’s Dennis Price catches up with María Hollan, a second-generation steward of her family’s assets at Timke Ventures in Mexico City. Hollan was …
David Bank catches up with Courageous Capital Advisors’ Laurie Spengler to talk about what the mainstreaming of impact investing means for smaller impact …
Graham Singh shares the financing mechanisms that Trinity Centres Foundation is developing for repurposing churches. And, David Bank shares ImpactAlpha’s big news. Plus, …
Unicef USA’s Cristina Shapiro joins David Bank to introduce child-lens investing, a framework for considering investment harms and benefits to children, who have …
Roraj Pradhananga and Jane Swan of Veris Wealth Partners join host Monique Aiken to discuss how the wealth manager is rethinking due diligence …
Host Brian Walsh shares highlights from this week’s agents of impact call, “The employee-ownership edge,” which explored the range of opportunities for investing …
David Bank is joined by Marjorie Kelly of The Democracy Collaborative to explore the ways that impact investors both help and hinder systemic …
🎧 Impact Briefing. Host Brian Walsh chats with Amy Cortese to set the stage for the UN General Assembly and Climate Week NYC. …
David Bank catches up with Robert Munson, President of SOCAP and Managing director at the Sorenson Impact Center, who is putting together next …
Pro Mujer’s Carmen Correa joins host Monique Aiken to share how the pioneering Latin American microfinance institution’s bonds are democratizing gender lens investing …
The impact-first philosophy that Ceniarth has championed has had its fair share of challenges. But we remain convinced that it is critical to …
Private equity has a significant opportunity to create financial and societal value through sustainability. PE firms that invest in improving the management and …
Climate tech investment is booming. Since 2013, there have been more than 6,000 investors (private, public and philanthropic) in climate tech startups, and …
When UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak watered down the UK’s commitment to its Net Zero targets earlier this fall, he at least started …
Pump it up until you can feel it. Pump it up when you don’t really need it. – “Pump it Up,” Elvis Costello …
In the US, venture backed investments are failing at rates not seen since the Great Recession. The market forces slamming these companies are …
California just enacted a set of bills that together represent a huge leap forward in tackling the climate crisis. Under SB 253, about …
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 …
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 19 – Just a year after its passage, the Inflation Reduction Act has helped kickstart new battery and EV manufacturing plants …
Hi there, Agents of Impact! Welcome to ImpactAlpha Open, our free weekly roundup of top news and opportunities in impact investing and sustainable finance. ImpactAlpha’s Cesar …
Small businesses are the growth engine for inclusive and resilient development in Africa. Yet the $330 billion annual financing gap remains stubbornly sticky …
After the US Supreme Court decision curtailing affirmative action in college admissions, 21 Democratic attorneys general powerfully came together to take a stand: …
Sustainable development? “More of the same.” Forest carbon credits? “Outside-imposed extraction.” Impact investing? “Are we really going far enough? Or are we just …
ImpactAlpha, September 8 — In 15 years in impact investing, Christopher Bentley noticed “a lot of for-profit companies focused on the criminal justice …
ImpactAlpha, August 18 – Monica Brand Engel’s advice to impact investors is this: Imperfect execution is ok. “Authentic impact is about accepting imperfection …
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 11 – Samuel Yeboah isn’t discouraged by the economic storm battering his home country of Ghana and many other emerging economies. “As …
Many investors look at promising new climate solutions and say, ‘Great, come back to me when you have traction.’ Azolla Ventures is more …
ImpactAlpha, June 30 – The first thing that Katherine Stodulka does when you meet her is suggest you meet someone else. Then she’ll …
ImpactAlpha, May 26 – A decade ago, investors pushed back against the loan products Jessica Espinoza was designing for female business owners as …
ImpactAlpha, May 12 – Nigeria-born climate entrepreneur and “professional nomad” Aina Abiodun is bullish on place-based climate innovation. “There is nothing more urgent than …
ImpactAlpha, May 5 – John Moore quit his corporate gig and moved to Philadelphia two decades ago. He found a city rich in …
ImpactAlpha, April 28 — A first generation Nigerian-American, Su Sanni grew up in East New York, Brooklyn and Jamaica, Queens. The low-income neighborhoods, …
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 21 – Attorney and academic Lourdes Germán recognized early the power of public finance. She has spent years working at firms including …
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 14 – “Net zero is not going to get us anywhere,” Ariane Mahler of Veridien Global Investors tells ImpactAlpha’s David Bank. “You …
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