Greetings Agents of Impact!
In today’s Brief:
- Iungo Capital’s winding road for how to lend in Africa
- Nordic bonds back electric micro-mobility in Europe
- Recycling in Appalachia
- Responsible biotech investing
Featured: Pathways to Growth
With 100 investments, Iungo Capital is proving out the viability of small business lending in Africa (video). Iungo Capital’s Roeland Donckers tries not to use the phrase “missing middle” anymore. “It has become too fashionable,” he tells ImpactAlpha. “It kind of covers everything and nothing.” Regardless of terminology, Iungo has since 2016 made 100 investments in small and growing businesses in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda; its average ticket size is less than $500,000. That should prove that lending to such businesses can be commercially viable, he says. Iungo has raised $12 million so far in debt and equity for a permanent capital vehicle that has deployed over $24 million by recycling repayments into new loans. Iungo expects to reach $20 million in assets under management by next year. Donckers’ video interview is part of ImpactAlpha’s series, Pathways to Growth, produced in partnership with the Collaborative for Frontier Finance. “Being able to get to 100 investments is a huge milestone, showing that our model works and is needed, especially considering that within the wider ecosystem, there’s less happening [than before],” says Donckers, who is based in Kigali (Iungo is registered in the Netherlands). “Other funds that were there 10 years ago are either inactive or hardly active today.”
- Collateral requirements. Earlier on, Donckers built an agriculture-focused microfinance institution in Latin America. In Africa, he knew that most small businesses across the region were family-owned. This meant that equity investments were off the table, as these families would want to retain ownership of their businesses. Providing debt was the next best thing, but not without some iterations. Iungo initially offered flexible, low-collateral loans. The firm has had to increase their requirements in light of delayed repayments. Collateral has been necessary to establish relationships and repayment discipline, Donckers says, and is not used as an exclusionary tool as it has been by banks. “Banks are requiring 150% collateral against hard assets. In our case, we want to be 100% collateralized on the first tranche,” he says. “It gives us more time to get to know the entrepreneur, the company and their integrity.”
- Track record. Fundraising has been a challenge globally; in emerging markets, fund managers face additional hurdles, including investors’ perception of risk in small business financing and managers who may not have traditional experience and credentials. Iungo is backed by the Dutch Good Growth Fund and Ceniarth, as well as the US International Development Finance Corp. But Donckers hasn’t been able to shake the tag of first-time fund manager. “There are institutional investors that won’t invest in a fund that’s less than $50 million. The reason you’ve never deployed nor managed $50 million is that you’re still a first-time fund manager” – even after 100 deals, he says. Any risks go both ways: first-time LPs may suddenly change their strategies or make new demands. “We can be creative on how we reach our own target segment, how we bring capital to the spaces where it hasn’t gone before,” he says, “but when we deal with investors, we need to fit their boxes.”
- Keep reading, “With 100 investments, Iungo Capital is trying to prove out the viability of small business lending in Africa,” by Lucy Ngige, and watch the video interview.
Sponsored by JPMorgan Chase
Embracing employee ownership amid the silver tsunami. As a generation of small business owners retires, 12 million companies will change hands over the next decade. Yet only 30% of family businesses successfully transition to the next generation. Employee ownership offers a pathway to keep a business going while preserving good local jobs and building wealth for the next generation. JPMorganChase can help business owners eyeing retirement understand their options and guide them through transition planning, valuation and tax and estate planning. “By supporting innovative transition options like employee ownership, we can help business owners create stronger companies, establish their legacies, empower employees and drive economic growth in their communities and beyond,” writes Regina Carls of JPMorgan Chase. “Succession planning is not just a business imperative – it’s a community imperative.”
- Keep reading, “Embracing employee ownership amid the silver tsunami,” by Regina Carls of JPMorgan Chase.
Dealflow: Green Mobility
Dott uses Nordic bonds to raise $81 million for e-bikes and scooters. European electric two-wheeler companies TIER and Dott merged early last year to expand sustainable transport via shared e-bikes and scooters. The Amsterdam-based company, now under the brand name Dott, is tapping into public debt markets, raising €70 million ($81.4 million) through senior secured Nordic bonds, part of a larger €150 million effort. The four-year bonds will support the purchase of new vehicles and the refinancing of existing debt. Dott is also seeking €15 million to extend its Series D round.
- Investor confidence. Mubadala Capital and Sofina led a €60 million investment last year to support the micromobility merger. At the time, Dott said the merged companies generated €250 million in revenue. The company says it has seen a 10% increase in rides per rider between 2024 and 2025. “The issuance further strengthens our balance sheet and extends our debt maturity profile,” said Dott’s Raoul Gatzen.
Closed Loop Partners backs rural recycling in Appalachia. Closed Loop Partners extended a multi-million-dollar loan to Superior Fine Grind, a family-owned recycling plant in Connellsville, Penn. The financing will help the company expand recycling services in rural communities in Appalachia, where such infrastructure is limited. Closed Loop’s Catalytic Capital and Private Credit arm, which provides flexible and below-market loans for circular infrastructure, led the investment. Closed Loop, founded in 2014 and backed by PepsiCo, Walmart and other corporate investors, has deployed more than $500 million in 80 companies.
- Recycling. The US recycling industry supports almost 600,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributes nearly $169 billion annually to the national economy. Yet less than a third of Americans have access to curbside recycling. Rural communities’ collection rates are often less than half those of urban areas.
Dealflow overflow. Investment news crossing our desks:
- The Catalytic Climate Finance Facility, an initiative of the Climate Policy Initiative and the blended finance network Convergence, provided $870,000 in working capital grants. Grantees include the Southeast Asia Blue Innovation Facility to address maritime decarbonization, the Regenerative Capital Fund to advance adoption of regenerative agriculture in Africa, and the FTB Green Credit Facility to support Cambodian banks’ green lending. (Climate Policy Initiative)
- Macquarie Asset Management’s Blueleaf Energy, an Asia-focused developer, financier and operator of renewable energy and storage assets, raised $75 million to develop two gigawatts of clean energy capacity in India. (Machine Maker)
- Circulate Capital, Positron Ventures and bmp Ventures invested €3.3 million ($3.8 million) in Germany’s Aevoloop, which upcycles plastic waste into biodegradable alternatives. (Circular Business Review)
Impact Voices: Responsible Tech
With oversight lagging, biotech VCs must lead on safety. A venture capital-backed acceleration in biotechnology funding is fueling a revolution in pharmaceuticals, synthetic biology and therapeutics – without enough attention to biosafety and biosecurity, according to Helia Samani and Aparupa Sengupta of the Nuclear Threat Initiative. “This fact can no longer be a peripheral concern for life science investors,” Semani and Sengupta write in a guest post. “It is a source of financial, regulatory and reputational exposure.” Investors must take the material risks of accidental harm or deliberate misuse of biotechnology into account in early-stage diligence, they argue. “The stakes include pandemic-scale consequences.” While lab leaks and other biosafety incidents are rare, the effects can be catastrophic, prompting scrutiny of the company and other firms involved. “This risk is among the reasons why VCs should use the leverage they have and not leave biosafety and security solely to scientists or regulators,” say Semani and Sengupta. “Investors can influence which ideas scale and how safely they are brought to market.”
- Responsible blueprint. Some investors are starting to look into containment protocols, incident response and internal oversight as part of pre-funding evaluations. “These steps do not require micromanaging technical details; they require early engagement, expert input and clear expectations,” say the authors. A growing number of life science funders have signed the International Bio Funders Compact. Some are participating in the Bio Funders Forum, an effort to “support knowledge-sharing and coordination on risk governance and oversight.” As with AI, such steps represent a low-cost and high-impact derisking strategy (see “Investing with AI, investing in AI”). “The future of biotech will depend not only on what science delivers, but on how investment decisions shape its trajectory,” the authors write. “Those who lead on biosafety and security will not just reduce risk – they will define which innovations endure, and which investors are trusted to back them.”
- Keep reading, “With oversight lagging, biotech VCs must lead on safety,” by Helia Samani and Aparupa Sengupta of the Nuclear Threat Initiative.
Agents of Impact: Follow the Talent
Native American Bank is on the hunt for a New Markets Tax Credit asset manager in Washington state… Acumen seeks a communications manager for energy access in New York… Also in New York, Citizens Financial Group is hiring a sustainability senior associate… Doral Renewables has an opening for a senior analyst or associate of finance and strategy in Philadelphia.
The Hub for Blue Green Innovation seeks a general partner in the San Francisco area for its Select Blue Ocean Fund… Generate Capital is recruiting for an associate of portfolio finance in San Francisco or New York… The Sobrato Organization is hiring a vice president of data, impact and learning in Mountain View, Calif.
Energy Innovators Network seeks a fund manager in Berkeley, Calif… Heifer International is looking for a senior vice president in Nigeria… 100x Impact Accelerator, which supports for-profit and nonprofit social enterprises tackling climate change, inequality, democracy and other critical global issues, is accepting applications for its 2026-2027 cohort.
👉 View (or post) impact investing jobs on ImpactAlpha’s Career Hub.
Thank you for your impact!
– Oct. 30, 2025
