The Silicon Valley Podcast Impact Investing with Elizabeth Funk
Elizabeth Funk
I work at the intersection of profit and purpose: harnessing the power of capitalism to solve the world’s most pressing problems. I believe that capitalism and entrepreneurial spirit are incredibly powerful forces that can be harnessed to create impact with magnitude.
I was there at the very beginning of the impact investing movement. In 2004 I started the Dignity Fund, one of the first for-profit funds investing in high potential microfinance institutions. With very small loans of $500 or $1000, we enabled over 35,000 aspiring poor entrepreneurs in developing countries to start businesses and build their own way out of poverty.
The Dignity Fund was revolutionary at the time: people didn’t think it was possible to make money while doing good. I am now a frequent public speaker and avid evangelist for changing that thinking. I love to inspire investors to think consciously about the impact their money can have, people with good ideas to structure them for profit so they can be sustainable, and corporate leaders to integrate their values into their business strategies.
After business school I joined a tiny start-up called Yahoo! where I had the honor of playing an early hand in designing how the world would experience and use the internet. I helped create and grow several of Yahoo!’s products but my favorite was Yahoo! Shopping, a pioneer in shaping e-commerce.
I am currently the Senior General Partner of Dev Equity, an impact fund focused on low-income housing, urban revitalization, and sustainable agriculture in Latin America. I serve on the boards of portfolio companies ranging from a hot chili pepper company in Ecuador (with a female CEO) to a cacao-based snack company in Costa Rica and Peru.
I have recently turned my attention closer to home and the enormous crisis of homelessness in California. I have started a social enterprise, DignityMoves, to build innovative interim housing for the tens of thousands individuals and families facing homelessness.
On today Show we Talk about:
What is the difference between Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) investing vs Impact investing?
Where are the greatest opportunities for microlending?
What are the pros and cons of a venture being for profit or nonprofit?
What are typical questions that an impact board asks themselves?
Connect with Elizabeth Funk
https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-funk/
Website dignitymoves.com