Investing for Impact

Joan Larrea, CEO of Convergence and a leader in blended finance, discusses the urgent need for private capital in emerging markets as public development budgets shrink. She breaks down blended finance, emphasizing its potential to align commercial and concessional funds to drive sustainable development. The conversation covers the challenges of investing in the global south and strategies to de-risk these investments. Joan also reflects on the future of international development post-USAID, highlighting the necessity for innovative partnerships and approaches.

For this special International Women’s Day episode, we are joined by Cherie Blair, CBE KC, a distinguished barrister and human rights lawyer. A passionate advocate for women’s rights, Cherie is a true champion for gender equality. In this episode we discuss with her the impactful work of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, which she founded in 2008. The Foundation empowers women entrepreneurs in low and middle-income countries by providing skills, technology, and financial resources.  They have just published a new report that highlights how digital technologies are a double-edged sword for women entrepreneurs in low and middle-income countries. While providing invaluable new ways of growing a business, the rise in online sexual harassment and misogyny aimed at female entrepreneurs is undermining the benefits of the technological revolution.   The wide-ranging conversation explores the importance of economic gender justice and how empowering women can lead to broader societal benefits. 

In this special episode of the Impact = podcast, we reflect on 10 years of pioneering catalytic capital through BII’s Catalyst portfolio. Since its launch in 2014, Catalyst has committed $1.6 billion to high-impact investments, supporting over 108,000 jobs, enabling 100% renewable power production, and reaching 7.7 million farmers. We held an event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Catalyst portfolio and share some of the lessons we’ve learnt along the way. These insights are also included in our ‘Pioneering catalytic capital’ report.  To mark this milestone, we are joined by industry leaders: Laurie Spengler, Founder, Courageous Capital Advisors  Michael Anderson, Chief Executive, MedAccess  Raghuram Talluri, Chief Executive, Loadshare  Maria Smith, Chief Impact Officer, BII Hosted by ImpactAlpha’s Jessica Pothering Together, we explore the lessons captured in our new report, Pioneering Catalytic Capital: A Decade of Learning, and discuss how investors can drive impact by embracing risk where it matters most.

Worldwide, gender inequality is deeply ingrained in systems and institutions. And women’s economic participation is limited by the discrimination and unequal opportunities they face. Despite progress, the world isn’t on track to achieve gender equality by the end of this decade. At British International Investment (BII), we are committed to making our investments work for women and, in 2018, we launched our Gender Finance Strategy. Our aim was to support companies in becoming more diverse, with more women leaders, and more high-quality jobs and products that meet women’s needs. Six years later, we’ve taken stock of our progress and what we’re learning, and we’ve shared these findings in a report, titled ‘Closing the Gap: Lessons from six years of investing in women’, which you can find on our website.  At the end of 2024, we hosted an event to delve deeper into some of the themes in the publication and ask how we can best support businesses in further advancing gender equality. 

Mohamed Nasheed, the former President of Maldives - a prominent climate activist and distinguished politician joins us for this episode of the IMPACT= Podcast.  He is Chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), an international partnership of countries highly vulnerable to climate change that advocates for stronger global climate action. The CVF works to amplify the voices of the most affected nations in global climate discussions.  In this conversation Nasheed shares his personal journey from political leader to climate champion. He also discusses the urgent need for global action on climate change, and the vital role of South-South collaboration in addressing climate challenge and promoting sustainable development Nasheed served as President from 2008 to 2012, advocating for democracy and environmental sustainability. He gained global recognition for his efforts to combat climate change, including holding an underwater cabinet meeting to highlight rising sea levels. He believes that developing countries can share knowledge, technology, and resources to build resilience against climate impacts. By working together, these nations can create innovative solutions tailored to their unique challenges and drive collective progress towards sustainability.

In this episode of the IMPACT= Podcast, we talk to Tom Hall, Head of Social Impact and Philanthropy at UBS, one of the world’s leading wealth managers. With nearly 20 years' experience working in impact and philanthropy, Tom is passionate about finding ways to catalyse scalable solutions to the pressing social and environmental problems the world is facing. In this conversation, Tom shares his experience of working with philanthropists who want to use their resources to change the world. And discusses why he believes sustainable investments with tangible impact outcomes, are key to driving real change. Tom leads UBS’s Social Impact team of over 150 professionals across the globe, who work with clients and UBS employees to maximize their impact locally and globally. Prior to joining UBS in 2013, Tom spent his career in the non-profit sector. As Director of Philanthropy and Social Investment at the Disability Charity Scope, he pioneered the use of social investment structures, including the Scope Bond which was the first listed bond issued by an operational charity in the UK. Tom also worked with the cabinet office on the development of the new Social Investment Tax Relief.

In this episode of the IMPACT= Podcast, we talk to Manfred Schepers, the founder and CEO of ILX Management, the Amsterdam-based manager of emerging market-focused private credit fund, ILX Fund. He believes that not only are development finance institutions among the best emerging market investors in the world, but pension funds should be looking to commit capital alongside them. ILX provides institutional investors access to investment opportunities of the development finance asset class, by investing in private-sector loans arranged by Multilateral Development Banks and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). The rationale for his approach? Because DFIs have a proven track record of producing solid and long-term financial results and have very low rates of investment failures, despite investing in some of the least developed markets in the world. Manfred has over 30 years’ of senior-level experience in both development finance and international capital markets. Prior to founding ILX Management, he was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and led the Bank’s Institutional Investment Partnership program. He has also worked at SBC Warburg and UBS where he was Global Head of Debt Capital Markets from 1990-2004.

In this episode of the IMPACT= Podcast, we talk to Jane Goodland, Group Head of Sustainability at the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) - a cornerstone of global finance, providing a platform for businesses and economies to access capital, manage risk, and create jobs. In this role, Jane leads a team who work in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders across the business and externally, to embed LSEG’s sustainability strategy across the full value chain including its own operations, supply chain, market engagement and customer solutions. Jane has over 25 years of experience in sustainable finance. Her extensive career has seen her at the forefront of the sustainable and responsible investment market, where she has been instrumental in designing and establishing new sustainable finance capabilities across various market segments. Prior to her role at LSEG, Jane served as the Corporate Affairs Director at Quilter, specializing in external communications, public affairs, responsible investment, and stakeholder engagement. Her tenure at Willis Towers Watson as the Global Head of Sustainable and Responsible Investment further solidified her expertise, where she developed new manager research capabilities and consulted on investment services for large institutional clients. In this conversation, we talk to Jane about her pivotal role in shaping the group's sustainability strategy on a global scale and making the most of London's position as global financial hub to drive sustainable practices and impact investment.

The climate emergency is having a devastating impact on emerging economies. Without decisive action, this will only become more severe as global temperatures rise and as countries transition toward net zero. Emerging economies are among the nations most exposed to and the least prepared for the effects of climate change. This is particularly the case across Africa, South and South-East Asia, and the Caribbean, where we invest. In this episode of the IMPACT= Podcast, we explore how the climate crisis is affecting businesses in emerging economies through the lens of our Emerging Economies Climate Report. We recently launched the report at an event with a panel of expert speakers to dig deeper into the findings, and explore how we can address climate risks and maximise opportunities in emerging economies. In this podcast, we cover some of the key contributions from our speakers: Amal-Lee Amin, Managing Director, Head of Climate, Diversity and Advisory, British International Investment Michael Jacobs, Visiting Senior Fellow, ODI Nicola Mustetea, Director, Head of Climate Change, British International Investment Shivanand Nimbargi, Chief Executive Officer, Ayana Renewable Power Benjamin Njenga, Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer, Apollo Agriculture Nick Robins, Professor of Sustainable Finance, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment

In this episode of the IMPACT= podcast, we talk to Vineet Rai, Founder and Chairman of the Aavishkaar Group – an impact investment platform that “exists to bridge the opportunity gap for the emerging three billion”. Founded in 2001 by Vineet, the group comprises of Aavishkaar Capital – the groundbreaking impact investment fund manager, Arohan – a microfinance institution, IntelleGrow – a venture debt company, Tribe3 – a technology-enabled lending platform and IntelleCap – the global impact ecosystem builder. The group also manages Sankalp – a renowned global platform for engagement around impact investing. Today the group manages assets of more than $1.2 billion, operates in over 50 countries, and employs over 7000 people. Together they serve the needs of entrepreneurs with investments ranging from debt of US $150, to equity of $15 million, while aligning the group to 13 out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals or SDG’s. Vineet, who believes that impact investing has the potential to change the world of finance irreversibly, has received numerous awards including the Impact Investor of the Year by News Corp for 2016 and the Porter Prize for Strategic Leadership in Social Space. In this conversation, Vineet shares his journey to becoming a pioneering impact leader, the challenges he faced and how he overcame them. He also shares valuable insights on investing in SMEs and start-ups, and offers advice to future impact investors.