ImpactAlpha

Today in #impinv news: ?? The state of impact investing. ?? Nuveen’s $170 million global impact credit strategy. ?? Solar energy for Nigeria’s small businesses. ??The Market Makers with Troy Duffie and Lenore Champagne Bearne.

Reporting from Amsterdam....

It has been an honor to serve on the SOCAP Global DEI, Ownership & Impact Track’s curation council, and I’m excited to share more on Monday 10/28 at the conference opening panel at 1 pm with Smitha Das, Carmen Correa, and Adam Kiki-Charles and David Bank as moderator. Looking forward to seeing impact investing friends in person next week – please reach out if you’d like to meet up!!

“...But being an impact-first investor should not mean being an undisciplined or undiscerning investor.” Yes. In ImpactAlpha , Diane Isenberg and Greg Neichin from Ceniarth succinctly and rigorously articulate that difficult balance that impact investors are aiming for - one of a somewhat unprecedented nature. They offer a range of thoughtful takeaways from a decade+ of having to have the same conversation:: ?? Impact-first doesn’t mean undisciplined - investing (lending or otherwise) is done with the expectation of repayment (and even upside).? ?? Collaboration not coercion – Mission-alignment creates the perfect conditions for collaboration, if pursued authentically.? ?? Diligence isn’t predatory – Asking tough questions makes enterprises investment-ready. Reducing due diligence, ignoring red flags, or skipping it all together sends the wrong message about whether impact investing can work (it can).? ?? Financial and impact reporting are essential, not nice to have – professional reporting builds trust with investors. There are lots of tools available (many of them reasonably priced) to integrate these important controls into the cost of doing business. ?? More than capital – Beyond loans, impact-first investors are a part of the bench: fostering co-investor relationships, structuring covenants to ensure sustainable scale, making connections and offering support. #impinv #ESG Dig in: https://lnkd.in/gGHGAXCE

American communities and consumers have $27 billion for clean energy upgrades, from solar panels and efficient heat pumps to green affordable housing and EV fleets. Private capital is expected to increase the funding seven-fold. Now community lenders and nonprofits have to get people to bite. My look at how the #GreenhouseGasReductionFund, one of the largest climate initiatives in US history, is unfolding. Special thanks to Michael Swack at The Center for Impact Finance at the UNH Carsey School of Public Policy and Arturo Garcia-Costas at New York Community Trust. ImpactAlpha #cleanenergy #climate #InflationReductionAct #solar #EVs

Today in #impinv news: ?? Balancing supply and demand for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. ?? Sustainable aquaculture. ?? Agri-lending in Brazil. ?? Renewable energy tipping points in the Global South. https://hubs.li/Q02Vhc-l0

Impact Investing Family Good To Be Back I Missed You ??Thank You ImpactAlpha! Shawn Lesser, The REAL: A new path for men’s mental health By Roodgally Senatus Shawn Lesser was long a familiar sight in baseball caps branded “Big Path Capital,” the impact investment banking and advisory firm he co founded in 2007. These days, he sports caps emblazoned with “The REAL,” short for THE REAL Mental Health Foundation Mental , the Atlanta nonprofit he launched last year to use conversation and community to improve the mental health of men and their families. Returning to his impact investing roots, he’s rolling out a fund of funds he hopes can attract $200 million for emerging mental health funds and companies. “We are building the mental health ecosystem by applying the same approach that succeeded in impact investing,” Lesser said this week at The REAL Summit, which convened several hundred financial executives at Deutsche Bank HQ in NY. Lost productivity due to depression and anxiety costs the global economy an estimated $1 trillion a year. Teletherapy, AI-based treatments and other healthtech innovations are fueling a global mental health market that is projected to reach $560 billion by 2030. The fund, which Lesser plans to pitch to global leaders in Davos this Jan, will co-invest alongside venture funds in mental health startups. “There is a pipeline,” Lesser says, “and a lot of them are here right now.” When Big Path Capital launched, “Impact investing was just a concept. People didn’t know where to start, but we created a roadmap,” Lesser told ImpactAlpha. “With The REAL, we’re doing the same for mental health.” Two years ago, the father of two was admitted to the psychiatric ward at Emory in Atlanta after a three-month battle with depression and anxiety attacks. His breaking point came during a work Zoom call. “I had a full mental breakdown where I was not functioning correctly,” Lesser recalls. “I couldn’t speak and I was suicidal. I was telling my wife: ‘I don’t want to be here anymore.’” Lesser, 55, fell deeper into depression at the beginning of last year when his Big Path partners bought him out of the firm. “I got some money. But like a lot of people, my company was my whole existence,” he shared. With support from his friend and mental health sponsor Brent Hert and others, Lesser checked into a treatment center and eventually made progress. He hopes to inspire others to take their mental health seriously. “Mental health affects everybody,” he says. “It doesn’t matter if you’re young, old, Black, green, white, or orange. Mental health doesn’t discriminate, and every human is affected.” The Global Impact Investing Network Toniic Confluence Philanthropy Alisa Wood Nancy Pfund Ken Mehlman Deval Patrick Jed Emerson Chintan Panchal Gratitude Railroad Tim Bubnack Dave Kirkpatrick Impact Capital Managers Jennifer Kenning Ron Cordes SOCAP Global Liesel Ford Foundation Rachel Jon Tilli Ronald Diamond Richard Zimmerman Howard Fischer

Thank you napoleon wallace! We can't wait to share with all the agents of impact a peek into the work that you and your team are doing to bring financial inclusion and prosperity to all.

Today in #impinv news: ?? Napoleon Wallace’s model for racial wealth building. ?? TPG Rise Fund’s edtech unicorn. ?? Microfinance for fragile countries. ?? Institutional investors drive growth in impact investing. https://hubs.li/Q02V3KyD0