Greetings Agents of Impact!
In today’s Brief:
- Green energy and impact investing in Nepal
- Expanding credit for Brazil’s small businesses
- Impact job candidates take nontraditional paths
Featured: Sustainable Development
How the greening of Nepal’s energy sector laid a foundation for investment and growth. Less than a decade ago, a typical day in Nepal included up to 16 hours without electricity. The instability of the country’s energy supply was crippling to businesses operating in the country, and to potential investors. Massive investment and favorable policy-making in Nepal’s ample hydropower resources has turned the country into a net exporter of electricity and effectively eliminated scheduled blackouts. Nepal now boasts one of the greenest energy sectors in the world. The success of Nepal’s energy transition is giving private capital an entryway into the Himalayan country, and fostering investor confidence in core economic sectors. A nascent private equity sector is emerging to invest alongside local banks and development finance institutions in renewable energy, manufacturing and small businesses. Dolma Impact Fund, for example, has investments in the energy, healthcare and communications sector and is looking to expand to agri-processing and other types of manufacturing. Private equity firm Business Oxygen has made 16 investments – and notched five exits – in businesses like biomass pellet maker Bakas Renewable Energy and vaccine producer Meera Biotech. “The ecosystem is really evolving – really fast,” says Business Oxygen’s Siddhant Raj Pandey.
- Hydro power. The case for green development is strong for Nepal, given its high vulnerability to climate change. The country is nestled amid the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush mountain ranges, which, outside of the poles, together store more ice than any part of the world. Nepal’s ample hydropower potential means the country’s clean energy transition is vulnerable to the same climate risks it aims to address. Rising temperatures are accelerating glacier melting, which is intensifying flooding incidents and risk. But the rush of water also means cheap, low-carbon energy generation. Nepal has more than 90 listed hydropower projects on its local stock exchange. “There is a clearer path to exits in hydropower,” says Shabda Gyawali of Dolma, which has three hydropower projects in its portfolio. Climate Action Tracker has rated Nepal’s climate-transition efforts as “nearly sufficient” – seemingly faint praise, except that the climate efforts of most of its neighbors, along with the US, are considered insufficient or highly insufficient.
- Policy push. Changes to vehicle import and ownership taxes by the Nepalese government have made electric vehicles cheaper than many gas-powered cars, giving Nepal one of the highest EV sales rates in the world. The government is also working to build the private equity ecosystem. In 2019, the securities regulator allowed the creation of “specialized investment funds” akin to private equity or venture funds. More than a dozen such funds have since launched. Dolma, Business Oxygen and others have primarily raised capital from European development finance institutions like British International Investment, Swedfund and Netherlands-based FMO. But even the quasi-public DFIs are reluctant to make riskier and longer-term equity investments in Nepal’s nascent market. “If you’re trying to move the needle, you need equity,” says Pandey. “The market has proven that returns are there for your investment, and impact is there. What more do you want?”
- Keep reading, “How the greening of Nepal’s energy sector laid a foundation for investment and growth,” by Shefali Anand.
Dealflow: Small Business Finance
IDB Invest backs small business credit in Brazil and Honduras. The private investment arm of the Inter-American Development Bank backed Brazilian fintech Stone with 295 million reais ($50 million) to expand its credit offerings for small businesses in Legal Amazonia. The Amazon region spans nine states and more than half of Brazil’s territory, but limited access to formal financial services and weak digital infrastructure have constrained its economic potential. The deal is part of IDB Invest’s $455 million Amazonia Forever initiative for Brazil and neighboring countries. Other deals include $130 million to expand clean water and sanitation in Manaus, a $36 million sustainability-linked bond with Natura to support regenerative sourcing and bioeconomy development, and Bolivia’s first gender social bond.
- Small business finance. The Stone deal is one of several recent IDB-led efforts to expand access to finance for small businesses across Latin America. In Honduras, IDB Invest approved a $30 million short-term credit line to BAC Honduras to scale international trade finance for small and medium-sized enterprises. Separately, the Inter-American Development Bank extended a $50 million sovereign-backed loan to Barbados to strengthen the country’s small business sector, which makes up over 90% of businesses and 60% of private-sector employment.
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Dealflow overflow. Investment news crossing our desks:
- Helios Sports and Entertainment secured $50 million from the International Finance Corp. and Proparco to invest in Africa’s growing sports and entertainment sector. (People of Color in Tech)
- Rome-based AlterEco Pulp secured €3.5 million ($4 million) in a round led by Eureka Venture SGR to make bamboo, hemp and other plant-based packaging as an alternative to plastic. (EU-Startups)
- Atlanta-based Wattch raised $6 million in a round led by Spero Ventures for its solar and battery monitoring systems. (FinSMEs)
Impact Voices: Impact Careers
Who lands the jobs in impact investing? Successful candidates take nontraditional paths. Top MBA programs are brimming with student demand for impact investing careers. New research shows a narrow funnel to success in their job searches. “Just one in 400 graduates of top US MBA programs are currently working in impact roles,” write Shawn Cole, Jonah Zahnd and Marcus Sander of Harvard Business School’s Project on Impact Investments in a guest post on ImpactAlpha. Their team analyzed nearly 350,000 career profiles and found that while 31% of impact professionals had previously held jobs in finance, and 6% in consulting, the majority of professionals in the space come from what might be considered nontraditional backgrounds, including nonprofits, government and tech. Surprisingly, pre-MBA impact experience was not a strong predictor of post-MBA impact careers, with just over 6% of such graduates returning to the sector.
- Narrow pathway. The data paints a sobering picture for aspiring impact professionals. The researchers found that internships at impact investing firms rarely convert into full-time positions, with only 6.3% of interns returning to the same employer – less than half the conversion rate in mainstream finance or consulting. Geography plays a major role: Washington, DC, accounts for more than one-quarter of all roles, followed closely by California and New York. “The current pathways into the field are narrow and often unclear,” the authors note, calling for employers and funders to professionalize and expand early-career opportunities. For MBA students and graduates, the findings are both a reality check and a roadmap. The authors’ advice: Be strategic, flexible and realistic about how, when and where to enter the field.
- Keep reading, “Who lands the jobs in impact investing? Successful candidates take nontraditional paths,” by Shawn Cole, Jonah Zahnd and Marcus Sander on ImpactAlpha. Find job openings and a guide to impact investing careers on ImpactAlpha’s Career Hub.
Agents of Impact: Follow the Talent
Yehia Houry steps up to the role of CEO for Flat6Labs… ImpactAssets promotes Dana Cotter as chief growth and impact officer… Jack Warning, previously with Cerity Partners Ventures, joins Supply Change Capital as senior associate… Social Finance adds Shane Mulligan, previously with Abt Global, as director of impact investments… Julie Greco, previously with Energy Capital Ventures, joins Climate Adaptive Infrastructure as a senior associate.
Cayden Hercules, a graduate student in architecture at Morgan State University, joins Parity as a real estate development fellow… FSD Africa seeks an investment manager… ImpactAssets is looking for a senior associate of portfolio management and monitoring… Boston Impact Initiative is recruiting a program manager… East Bay Community Foundation has an opening for a program director.
LISC is hiring an asset manager of innovative investments… Proofing Station seeks an investment manager in Chicago… Kapor Center is looking for a staff accountant… Project Equity launches an employee ownership policy database, an interactive map of federal, state and local policies supporting employee stock ownership plans, employee ownership trusts and worker-owned cooperatives.
👉 View (or post) impact investing jobs on ImpactAlpha’s Career Hub.
Thank you for your impact!
– Aug. 7, 2025
