ImpactAlpha Podcasts

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 some private equity giants. Why biochar is having a moment (09:00). And, how global superstar Rihanna is investing in women-led ventures in Africa via her Nairobi-based investment fund Gather Ventures (17:40).Story links:“Coalition for Green Capital places $2.65 billion in green bank funds with Apollo, Brookfield and Energy Capital Partners,” by Amy Cortese and David Bank“Beyond storing carbon, biochar’s co-benefits give it early customers and revenues,” by Lucy Ngige“With Gather Ventures, Rihanna expands her toolkit for investing in women-led ventures in Africa,” by Lucy Ngige

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: New urgency around investments in climate adaptation and resilience in the wake of the tragic flooding in Texas. How Community Development Financial Institutions in Indian country are positioned to step up – with or without promised federal funding (09:02). And, highlights from David's recent interview with Blue Haven Initiative’s Liesel Pritzker Simmons about the ways that family offices are engaging with impact investing during these perilous times (14:15).“Investments in adaptation and resilience acquire new urgency as the climate future arrives,” by Amy Cortese“Native CDFIs are positioned to step up, even without promised federal funds,” by Erik Stein“Blue Haven’s Liesel Pritzker Simmons on family office impact investing in perilous times (Q&A),” by David Bank

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: Doing more with less – the blended finance fallout from shrinking development aid and a shuttered USAID. A call for responsible investors to invest in… defence companies (09:30). And, remembering B Lab’s Andrew Kassoy, an Agent of Impact who launched a movement to align capital with purpose (14:40).Story links: “Blended finance at a crossroads: The fallout from shrinking aid and a shuttered USAID,” by Convergence’s Joan Larrea“Development finance institutions lag on transparency and disclosure around capital mobilization,” by Jessica Pothering“Calling responsible investors in Europe to invest in… defense,” by Venture ESG’s Susan Winterberg and Johannes Lenhard“⁠Declaration of Interdependence: Reconciling profit and purpose⁠,” by B Lab’s Andrew Kassoy

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor Jessica Pothering. Up this week: Teeing up November's Global Climate Summit COP 30 in Brazil with inclusive nature-based, Indigenous-led and catalytic climate capital. A new tool that helps direct scarce concessional capital for adaptation finance to where it's most needed (09:45). And why more investors are taking an aging-lens to their impact investments (13:38).Story links:"Teeing up COP30 in Brazil with inclusive, nature-based and catalytic climate capital," by Gilberto Lima.“⁠Fund managers center Indigenous communities to drive capital to the Amazon⁠,” by Erik Stein."New tool for adaptation finance directs concessional capital where it's needed most,” by Erik Stein.“A market hiding in plain sight: The case for aging-lens investing,” by SCAN Foundation's Brendan Ahern and Xenia Viragh.

Hopelab’s Margaret Laws and Amy Green join ’s David Bank on the latest episode of the Agents of Impact podcast. See all of ImpactAlpha's Healthy Youth coverage: https://impactalpha.com/browse/inclusion/healthy-youth/

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: What the $785 billion private equity giant Apollo has learned in the five years since launching its $1 billion private impact fund; from MasterCard Foundation's Africa Growth Fund to local African funders, a look at the small business investing landscape on the continent (07:45); and to mark this year’s Juneteenth commemoration, contributing editor Napoleon Wallace makes the case for shared prosperity his new remix, ‘The Reconstruction Will Not Be Televised’ (15:20).Relevant links:⁠RSVP for next week's Call⁠.“⁠Ownership, collinearity and KPIs: Apollo’s impact strategy turns five⁠,” by Amy Cortese"⁠Mastercard Foundation knows how stakeholders feel about its Africa Growth Fund⁠," by Jessica Pothering“⁠‘The Reconstruction Will Not Be Televised’ remixes a classic to build the movement for shared prosperity,⁠” by David Bank. Listen to the song on ⁠YouTube⁠.

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: Turning the stranded pipeline of green loans into investable deal flow for private capital. Plus, for European investors, material risks are still… material (10:30). And, Taylor Swift, Ryan Coogler, and the emerging ownership economy in music and film (15:10).Story links:Green lenders are all dressed up and ready to rollFor European LPs, material risks are still material, and American GPs come callingTaylor Swift, Ryan Coogler and the emerging ownership economy in music and film

In this special episode of This Week in Impact, Brian Walsh discusses the evolution of ImpactAlpha with editor-in-chief David Bank and newly named CEO Dennis Price. The discussion centers on the leadership transition and the new teams and tools being developed at ImpactAlpha to support Agents of Impact. Read the full announcement.

David catches up with Navajo Power CEO Brett Isaac and COO Michael Cox to learn how the indigenous-owned company is building out utility-scale solar projects, not just in Navajo Nation but on tribal land across the country.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Navajo Power and Its Mission03:11 The Transition from Fossil Fuels to Clean Energy05:45 Community Engagement and Project Development09:11 Navigating Regulatory Challenges12:10 Financing the Future of Navajo Power14:57 Building a Sustainable Economic Ecosystem18:08 The Role of Indigenous Sovereignty in Energy Projects20:55 Future Prospects and Community Impact

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: Pegasus Capital’s contrarian play for orphaned climate projects in emerging markets. How a Ugandan pension fund is creating its own new savers with investments in small business and agriculture (07:45). And, should impact have a veto in investment decisionmaking (12:20)?Story links:“Ever contrarian, Pegasus Capital eyes orphaned climate projects in emerging markets,” by David Bank and Amy Cortese“Uganda’s pension fund is creating new savers with investments in small business and agriculture,” by Lucy Ngige and David Bank“Should impact have a veto in investment decisions?” by Blink’s Ana Pimenta