David Bank joins Monique Aiken to discuss the politics of ESG and the importance of flexible financing for startups and small businesses. Plus, the headlines.
May 12, 2022 | Podcasts
The Politicization of ESG and Some Alternatives to VC
ImpactAlpha Editor
Isaac Silk
Stay up to date with what matters to you...
Choose beats that you're interested in, and we'll show you more of them as you explore...
{{beat.name}}Climate Finance
SunColombia
Impact Management | September 29, 2022
To understand the impact of electrifying schools in Colombia, ALIVE Ventures listens to parents and teachers
At Acumen Latam Impact Ventures (or ALIVE Ventures), one of our solar energy investments has reached over 100,000 beneficiaries with their solar installations …
Photo by Moxion Power.
Clean Energy | September 29, 2022
Moxion Power secures $100 million to decarbonize mobile power
ImpactAlpha, September 29 — Construction sites, outdoor events, film productions and disaster response teams need temporary power generation. “There’s enormous demand for cleaner …
Impact Voices | September 28, 2022
Move over New York: Clean energy action shifts to industrial Pittsburgh
The spotlight may have been on Climate Week NYC last week, but 370 miles away, Pittsburgh was the site of additional high-level climate …
Photo credit: Kenyan EV maker Equator Mobility, a Maris portfolio companie
Frontier and Growth Markets | September 27, 2022
Maris raises $12 million from Proparco for climate resilience in Africa
ImpactAlpha, September 28 – Maris invests in renewables energy, agriculture and forestry, as well as gold mining, real estate and services. French development finance …
Impact Investing | September 27, 2022
A dozen charts that map the uneven but hopeful path to a carbon-free economy
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 27 – Transitions are rarely a straight line. That is especially true of the massive global shift underway to a low-carbon economy. …
Photo by Mirova.
Clean Energy | September 27, 2022
Mirova raises $1.5 billion for fifth energy transition infrastructure fund
ImpactAlpha, September 27 — Paris-based Mirova is the $27 billion impact unit of French asset management firm Natixis Investment Managers. The B Corp …
Climate Finance | September 27, 2022
AXA’s €500 million initiative to invest in reforestation and land conservation
ImpactAlpha, September 27 – AXA has launched a €500 million ($482 million) Natural Capital Strategy that will make equity investments and offer project financing …
Photo: Cédric Frixon, Pixabay
Impact Investing | September 25, 2022
Barbados debt-for-nature swap unlocks $50 million for marine conservation and ‘blue economy’
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 25 – Barbados is the latest nation to restructure its high-priced debt to free up funds for conservation. The Caribbean island …
Climate Week NYC. Photo: Luiz C. Ribeiro for the Climate Group
Climate Finance | September 23, 2022
Trillions are the talk of Climate Week, as opportunities drive climate action.
ImpactAlpha, Sept.23 – The energy transition is moving from talk to action. Those not moving fast enough are finding themselves on the hot …
Photo by Jingming Pan on Unsplash
Climate Finance | September 22, 2022
A safe, low-carbon way to store your gold: Leave it in the ground
What’s the most eco-friendly way to mine gold? Not to mine it. Nature’s Vault, a blockchain-based finance company headquartered in Singapore, is buying …
Photo by Jacoblund/iStock.
Low-carbon transition | September 22, 2022
Future scores $5.3 million to reward consumers for reducing their carbon footprint
ImpactAlpha, September 22 — More U.S. consumers are looking to make climate-friendly purchases to reduce their carbon emissions. “There’s a common misconception that …
Photo credit: The Good Roll
Climate Finance | September 21, 2022
How The Good Roll and Wangara Green Ventures are saving trees and creating green jobs in Ghana
ImpactAlpha, September 21 – A startup in the Netherlands is teaming up with a fund manager in Ghana to demonstrate the green, resilient, local …
Muni Impact
Muni Impact | September 14, 2022
To manage climate risk, municipal bond insurer taps data on community vulnerability
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 14 – Public finance investors buy hundreds of billions of dollars in municipal bond issuances each year, providing much needed capital for …
Photo by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
Dealflow | September 6, 2022
Equitable Facilities Fund closes $230 million in social bonds for underserved charter schools
ImpactAlpha, September 6 — The New York-based nonprofit social impact fund aims to lower funding costs for high-performing and impact public charter schools …
The Inner Loop East being filled in. | Photo source: Stantec
Muni Impact | August 31, 2022
Tear down this road: Cities start to remove highways that divide and disadvantage communities
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 31 – Tearing down part of a freeway was such a boon that Rochester, New York, is planning for removal of more …
Impact Voices | August 18, 2022
How community investors are creating equitable approaches to climate finance
When it comes to climate change the stakes for all of us are high. But the evidence is clear that lower-income and communities …
Photo by Ting Internet.
Muni Impact | August 11, 2022
Ting Internet secures $200 million from Generate for communication infrastructure in communities
ImpactAlpha, August 11 — Cable internet versus fiber optic, you ask? A lower-waste footprint and lower-energy consumption makes fiber technology the more eco-friendly …
Policy Corner | August 10, 2022
“Green Bank” in climate bill to provide catalytic capital for renewable energy and community resilience
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 10 – It’s not the national green bank that advocates have pushed for more than a decade. But the $27 billion …
Photo by BlocPower.
Catalytic Capital | July 26, 2022
BlocPower secures a $3 million guarantee from Kresge Foundation to green and electrify buildings
ImpactAlpha, July 26 — Troy, Mich.-based Kresge Foundation has committed a $3 million guarantee to BlocPower. The foundation’s commitment supports a loan-loss reserve …
Baymiller Row Houses in Cincinnati. Photo: The Port
Muni Impact | July 25, 2022
How ‘The Port’ is drawing private investors to redress Cincinnati’s racial wealth gap
Driving through Cincinnati, Ohio’s Bond Hill neighborhood, Tony Jones pointed out the street his grandmother used to live on, and the corner where …
Return on Inclusion | June 2, 2022
Catalyzing capital and sizing solutions to homelessness: A blueprint for Los Angeles
(Editor’s note: This story is being co-published with The Giving List.) ImpactAlpha, June 2 – As a parting challenge to his successor, outgoing …
Impact Voices | May 11, 2022
Fixed-income and municipal-bond strategies for direct climate impact
Investors are pouring money into environmental, social & governance and green bonds. Green bond issuance alone is expected to reach up to $1 …
(left to right) Eugene Cornelius (Milken Institute), Kweilin Ellingrud (McKinsey) and Kimberley Reid (Future Fund Management Agency) at Milken Global Conference 2022 | Photo credit: Milken Institute
Capitalism Reimagined | May 5, 2022
Overheard at the Milken Global Conference: Mission and margins
How to understand and harness the recent influx of capital into ESG products was the conversation at the center of this week’s 25th …
Athens, Georgia
Community Finance | March 3, 2022
Social bonds direct proceeds to racial equity as the “S” gains prominence in ESG
When it comes to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, the “S” has long been viewed as the more complicated piece of the …
Dealflow
Photo by Moxion Power.
Clean Energy | September 29, 2022
Moxion Power secures $100 million to decarbonize mobile power
ImpactAlpha, September 29 — Construction sites, outdoor events, film productions and disaster response teams need temporary power generation. “There’s enormous demand for cleaner …
Photo by Numida.
Inclusive Economy | September 29, 2022
Numida raises $12.3 million to provide loans to small businesses in Uganda
ImpactAlpha, September 29 — Kampala-based Numida provides unsecured working capital loans, ranging from $100 to $5,000, to micro and small enterprises in as …
Photo by MDIF.
Democracy and Peace | September 28, 2022
Nearly a dozen independent news organizations in Nigeria get support from Media Development Investment Fund
ImpactAlpha, September 28 — Last year’s youth-led uprising against police brutality spurred Nigeria’s biggest anti-government protests in a generation. MDIF launched a three-year …
Photo credit: Kenyan EV maker Equator Mobility, a Maris portfolio companie
Frontier and Growth Markets | September 27, 2022
Maris raises $12 million from Proparco for climate resilience in Africa
ImpactAlpha, September 28 – Maris invests in renewables energy, agriculture and forestry, as well as gold mining, real estate and services. French development finance …
Photo by Mirova.
Clean Energy | September 27, 2022
Mirova raises $1.5 billion for fifth energy transition infrastructure fund
ImpactAlpha, September 27 — Paris-based Mirova is the $27 billion impact unit of French asset management firm Natixis Investment Managers. The B Corp …
Climate Finance | September 27, 2022
AXA’s €500 million initiative to invest in reforestation and land conservation
ImpactAlpha, September 27 – AXA has launched a €500 million ($482 million) Natural Capital Strategy that will make equity investments and offer project financing …
Image by standret on Freepik
Women Rising | September 26, 2022
African Women Impact Fund secures initial $60 million for gender-lens investments
ImpactAlpha, September 26 — South Africa’s Standard Bank Group and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa are looking to raise $1 billion …
Photo by Hedgeweek.
Return on Inclusion | September 23, 2022
ImpactAlpha Deal Spotlight: Inclusive fund managers
ImpactAlpha, September 23 — First-time impact fund managers tend to outperform more experienced peers. This week, VC Include selected a dozen impact-oriented venture …
Photo by Pie Insurance.
Inclusive Economy | September 22, 2022
Pie Insurance raises $315 million to provide workers’ comp coverage for small businesses
ImpactAlpha, September 22 — Most U.S. businesses are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance, which covers medical expenses, lost wages and rehabilitation costs …
Photo by Jacoblund/iStock.
Low-carbon transition | September 22, 2022
Future scores $5.3 million to reward consumers for reducing their carbon footprint
ImpactAlpha, September 22 — More U.S. consumers are looking to make climate-friendly purchases to reduce their carbon emissions. “There’s a common misconception that …
Photo by Skoll Foundation.
Inclusive Economy | September 21, 2022
Common Future acquires Community Credit Lab for combined community wealth-building
ImpactAlpha, September 21 — Oakland-based Common Future earlier this year merged with nonprofit impact accelerator Uncharted. Now, the organization led by Rodney Foxworth …
Photo credit: Hero Future Energies
Clean Energy | September 21, 2022
KKR leads India’s Hero Future Energies’ $450 million raise to expand into battery storage and green hydrogen
ImpactAlpha, September 21 — New Delhi-based independent power producer Hero Future Energies was launched a decade ago by industrial equipment giant Hero Group. …