The Brief

The Week in impact investing: Defying gravity

ImpactAlpha ¡ July 18, 2025

TGIF, Agents of Impact! 

  • Roundup: Market forces trump short-term policy
  • Podcasts: This Week in Impact, Community Capital Live and Criterion Institute 
  • Pop Impact: Sticking up for scientists in “Toxic” and “Twisters”
  • Signals: Biodiversity, carbon credits and climate’s impact on outdoor music

🗣Force field. The Trump administration is trying to bend the world to its will. Market forces may prove stronger in the long run. Take solar power. Even after the Big Beautiful Bill phased out most solar and wind incentives, solar stocks have been on a surprising tear, as Carbon Collective’s Zach Stein and James Regulinski detail in their new ImpactAlpha column. The takeaway: Interest rates and the economics of low-cost, abundant solar energy trump short-term policy shifts. And it turns out, the Coalition for Green Capital was able to move nearly $2.7 billion to some of the world’s biggest investment firms before the rest of the $20 billion in Greenhouse Gas Reduction Funds became frozen at Citibank by the Trump’s EPA, as David Bank and I scooped. The dedicated vehicles created by Apollo Global, Brookfield Asset Management and Energy Capital Partners will try to prove out private credit and equity strategies for distributed energy and storage, particularly in low-income neighborhoods. In the face of the political backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion, Jessica Pothering reported, TPG Next is reframing its emerging manager strategy with the au currant pitch, “GP stakes”. 

Capital most often flows to bigger, better-connected companies and fund managers. Intentional pathways are shifting that trajectory. Singer and self-made billionaire Rihanna is investing in women-led ventures in Africa and creating ownership opportunities through Gather Ventures, as Lucy Ngige reported. British International Investment seeded a fund aiming to mobilize $300 million in flexible, local currency financing for 150 small businesses in Zambia, Jessica detailed. I wrote about finance and policy leaders calling on Brazil to elevate small and mid-sized businesses – often on the sidelines of the climate discussion – at the COP30 climate talks in November. Lucy explained how age-old natural techniques, such as biochar, are finding new currency as low-cost fertilizers that also store carbon. These small triumphs can add up to lasting impact. As RiRi herself sings, “They can say whatever, I’ma do whatever, no pain is forever.” – Amy Cortese

Also on ImpactAlpha this week:

The Week’s Podcasts

🎧 This Week in Impact. Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor Amy Cortese and senior reporter Lucy Ngige. Up this week: How nearly $3 billion in Biden era climate financing, thought to be frozen in legal limbo, made it out to private equity giants. Why biochar is having a moment. And, how global superstar Rihanna is investing in women-led ventures in Africa via her investment fund Gather Ventures.

🏘️ Community Capital Live: Empowering local economies with FarmWorks. FarmWorks Investment Co-op’s Linda Best joins hosts Joel Skene and Michael Shuman to share how Nova Scotians are reclaiming their local food system by investing in community-rooted enterprises. FarmWorks has raised over $6 million from more than 500 investors and lent $10 million to 173 food and farm businesses. Best, a microbiologist by training, shows how local capital can regenerate regional agriculture, revive food processing infrastructure, and reduce reliance on ultra-processed imports. Watch now.

📯 The Criterion Institute Podcast: Investable hope. Host Joy Anderson is joined by Criterion’s Susie Pan to explore the concept of “investable hope.” They discuss the importance of hope in times of crisis, the shift from individual to collective hope, and how investments can be a pathway to creating a more equitable society. Listen in.

Weekend Watching: Pop Impact

Sticking up for scientists. Science is under attack. Between US budget cuts to critical agencies, the weaponization of research grant funding, and the elimination of important regulations, the Trump administration seems intent on cutting the legs out from under the scientific community. In his latest Pop Impact review, Dmitriy Ioselevich looks at this year’s “Toxic Town” series and last year’s film, “Twisters,” which illustrate the role of scientists in society. Ioselevich assigns ratings on a 15-point scale, with five each for accuracy, impact and entertainment. 

  • Toxic Town (2025): What’s the worth of a finger or toe? Netflix’s “Toxic Town” is a gripping four-part dramatization of a real-life environmental scandal in Corby, England. Cost-cutting measures in the cleanup of toxic industrial waste led to a shocking spike in birth defects. The show traces Corby’s economic rise and fall – from its steel-making heyday during World War II, to the rushed redevelopment of a brownfield site in the 1980s. The subsequent public health crisis culminated in a (spoiler alert!) landmark 2009 court victory for affected families. The series doesn’t just recount a local tragedy, it delivers a broader warning about the risks of deregulation, the power imbalance between profit-driven industry and public health, and the need for environmental protections that can prevent tragedies before they unfold. Total score: 14 (Accuracy: 4.5, Entertainment: 4.5, Impact: 5) Read the full review.
  • Twisters (2024): We should listen to the scientists. This high-octane sequel to the 1996 classic combines blockbuster tornado thrills with a timely message about the vital role of science in public safety. Centered on NOAA scientist Kate Carter, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones, the film dramatizes her quest to develop a storm-neutralizing technology – while highlighting the pressure scientists face amid budget cuts and commercialized disaster-chasing (IRL, budget cuts have hobbled the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). The plot ventures into speculative science, but underscores real-world stakes: as climate change intensifies extreme weather, the need for robust science is more urgent than ever. From YouTube fame-seekers to opportunistic land speculators, “Twisters” illustrates the tug-of-war between private interests and public good – and reminds us, as Ioselevich says, “we would all be better off if we listened to the scientists.” Score: 12.5 (Accuracy: 3.5; Entertainment: 5; Impact: 4). Read the full review.

The Week’s Short Signals

📈 Five impact investing trends to watch. To advance shared goals, impact leaders surveyed by Sorenson Impact Institute pointed to opportunities in nature-based solutions, food system innovation, and bipartisan solutions. Among the highlights: Enabling women with climate-smart practices and diversified income sources “builds the truly sustainable solutions we need,” says Grameen Foundation’s Zubaida Bai. Private entities must “engage with policymakers to share what solutions are being developed, where roadblocks are being encountered, and what supports would make a difference,” says DBL Partners’ Nancy Pfund. (Sorenson Impact Institute)

🌞 No songs of the summer. Steve Miller Band will not be playing music in the sun. The band has cancelled the remainder of its tour for this year, citing “the combination of extreme heat, unpredictable flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes and massive forest fires [which] make these risks for you, our audience, the band and the crew unacceptable.” Extreme heat and other impacts of climate change have caused scores of performers to cancel shows and tours in recent years. (Rolling Stone)

🛣 Europe’s nature credits roadmap. The EU’s Green Assist program supports pilot projects with potential to unlock private capital for nature-based solutions, including wetlands restoration in France and forest management in Estonia. The bloc has released a “roadmap” for building a market for nature credits to mobilize private finance for nature at scale. “We have to put nature on the balance sheet,” said European Commission’s Ursula von der Leyen. (European Commission)

🌳 Carbon market lessons for the ‘biodiversity credit boom.’ How can the emerging biodiversity credits market avoid the pitfalls of the voluntary carbon market? An analysis of 34 projects offers insights for unlocking capital for biodiversity protection and restoration. The researchers call for more robust crediting baselines, standards, governance and impact evaluation. As with carbon markets, they warn, “quality credits will be more expensive than those cutting integrity corners, which may dampen the expected biodiversity credit boom.” (Business Strategy and the Environment)

The Week’s Dealflow, Talent and Jobs

💼 See and share more than a dozen new impact jobs posted this week on ImpactAlpha’s Career Hub and view hundreds of more jobs in impact investing and sustainable finance. Have a job listing to post? Submit it here. And catch up on all of this week’s dealflow reporting.

Jovitus Rutakinikwa, previously with SME Impact Fund Tanzania, joined Balloon Ventures where he will lead Balloon Ventures Tanzania… Jack Warning, formerly with Cerity Partners Ventures, joined Supply Change Capital as platform senior associate… Jordan Henault, previously with the US Department of Energy, joined BlueHub Capital as a grants and compliance analyst.

Impact Capital Managers promoted Rafe Monteiro to head of finance and operations… Aqua-Spark tapped Glenn Flanders, previously at Tidal, and Bert van den Hoek, previously with Hook Impact Capital, to become partners… Variant Investments tapped Drake Hicks, previously with Manifest Climate, to become vice president of impact. 

ICA Fund promoted Dennise Estrada to chief financial officer… The Good Economy welcomed Samantha Semanek Renninger, previously with the US International Development Finance Corp., as a senior impact analyst… Army Armstead of Emergent Works, Briane Cornish of Finequity, and Darren Liddell of Vesta are among the 20 fellows in Camelback Ventures’ latest cohort tackling challenges in education, health, finance and the future of work.

That’s a wrap. Have a wonderful weekend. 

– July 18, 2025