Homepage Impact Investor

The study found that 13 out of the 17 UN SDGs are significantly underrepresented in funds available to retail investors.

The Dutch development bank FMO and Austrian DFI Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank have invested $20m into the Regional MSME Investment Fund for sub-Saharan Africa.

The Dutch institution says its largest ever syndicated loan will provide crucial support for beleaguered small businesses facing the country’s difficult economic conditions. BII and Swedfund are among the DFIs backing the facility.

The investment by the alternative business unit of AXA Investment Managers will help healthtech startup Novocuff fund a key clinical trial in the US.

The equity and bond strategies will target both social and environmental impact across nine impact themes and are being made available to both retail and institutional investors.

The loan will help NMB Bank Zimbabwe support famers and exporters in a country feeling the brunt of climate change impacts.

Spanish impact investor CREAS has raised €40m at first close for its €70m Creas Impacto II fund and announced its first two investments.

The Swedish impact investor’s inaugural venture fund was backed by European institutional investors and will back companies developing solutions to address future health and environmental challenges.

The German investor believes offering financial incentives to companies if they hit social impact targets should play a greater role in investment strategies.

The gaming sector is growing at an exponential rate. For impact investors, there are a number of pathways forward, but also key considerations around how to affect social change through gaming.

LUMO Labs is planning to support tech companies that make a positive contribution to society in areas including social care, education, climate and sustainable living.

Plus BII’s $20m loan to improve remittance flows into Africa | GRI /UN Global Compact update SDG reporting tool.

The fund will provide unitranche funding to French and European SMEs, while encouraging the companies they finance to take account of environmental and social concerns.

State-owned commercial company COFIDES will manage the fund, which will finance and invest into businesses and projects addressing social challenges across Spain.

There are challenges and opportunities for Austria’s nascent but evolving impact investing ecosystem, according to Alexandra Bolena, one of the three co-founders of Bundesinitiative Impact Investing’s Austria Chapter.

From our ‘Impact Investing and the Just Transition’ report: There is a dire need for more affordable housing across Europe. Can investors help address this demand, while also navigating changing regulations and generating strong returns?

The Polestar Capital Circular Debt Fund is now closed with €240m in capital which will be used to finance 30 circular projects in the Netherlands.

Seaya’s founder Beatriz González is optimistic about prospects for the sector, despite the current tough investment environment and political uncertainties surrounding the pace of the energy transition.

‘Impact Investing and the Just Transition’ report: Infrastructure investors are playing a central role in funding the energy transition but sustainable infrastructure strategies are increasingly encompassing social impact and factoring in a just transition.

In a new report, the consultancy highlights how private debt funds continue to support growing companies in emerging markets, with the total target size of funds currently open for investment standing at €44bn. 

The new fund is focused on emerging markets and made its first two investments into social enterprise One Acre Fund and into a blue bond issued by the International Bank of Ecuador.