Plus, 2X Global in new partnership with social impact careers platform | BII’s social enterprise accelerator programme | EdenTree expands fixed income team.
Impact investor Mirova has appointed Sébastien Duquet as head of relations with development finance institutions (DFIs), in a new position designed to accelerate its development in emerging markets, the firm said.
The appointment comes as Mirova seeks to double its unlisted assets by 2030 and speed up the financing of solutions with a high environmental and social impact in Africa, Latin America and the Asia Pacific region. Its focus will be on developing blended finance strategies aimed at financing energy transition infrastructures projects and projects to restore and conserve natural ecosystems.
Duquet joined the firm in 2022, following the acquisition of Mirova SunFunder, a specialist in climate investment in emerging countries, where he was head of business development.
Earlier this month Mirova announced that its Gigaton Fund 1, a blended finance vehicle targeting energy transition investments in the developing world, had received $282m (€261m) of commitments, bolstered by $75m from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
2X Global partners with The Bloom
The membership and field-building gender finance organisation 2X Global has announced a new partnership with social impact careers platform The Bloom aimed at bridging the knowledge divide for those aiming to get into or progress within the social impact sector.
The partners said they would achieve this by collaborating on the production of content that would highlight the various pathways, resources and opportunities leading towards a social impact career, through the lens and stories of 2X Global team members.
2X Global is the new name for the 2X Collaborative, the global industry body promoting gender lens investing which oversees the 2X Challenge, a G7-backed initiative to promote lending that specifically benefits women, and GenderSmart, a global gender finance field-building initiative, which merged in 2022.
Stella McKenna, 2X Global’s director of people and programmes, talked about the commonality between the two partners: “We’re focused on creating access to capital, while The Bloom’s goal is to create access to meaningful careers in social impact. For both organisations, it’s about bringing more people into the fold, dismantling systems that privilege the few and creating a more inclusive economy and society. We’re excited to be working with them to share stories and insights from our team!”
BII opens second round of investment programme for social enterprises
Big Issue Invest (BII) has opened up the second round of its investment programme for applicants from up to 20 new and early-stage social enterprises in London.
Aptly named Power Up London, the programme is being delivered by BII with funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which aims to provide £2.6bn (€3bn) of funding for local investment across the UK by March 2025.
The accelerator programme is aimed at London-based, diverse-led, early-stage socially impactful organisations addressing social and/or environmental issues and providing services to underrepresented communities and will provide successful applicants with a fully-funded package of non-financial support valued at £10,000 (€12,000). This includes a mix of mentoring, business support, training workshops and networking opportunities delivered weekly over four months.
Participants will also benefit from introductions to other founders in the cohort, mentors, and investors and on successful completion of the programme, will have the opportunity to apply for a social enterprise grant of up to £22,000 (€26,000) to be used in the launch of new products or services, expansion to new markets, or creation of new jobs in their local communities.
The year-long programme launched in November 2023 and the second cohort will have until the 22 March 2024 to apply. Applicants should be based in Greater London, from initiatives, charities and social enterprises with annual income below £500,000, registered within the last 5 years and led by or working with people from marginalised communities.
EdenTree expands fixed income team
UK-based sustainable asset manager EdenTree Investment Management (EdenTree) has appointed Michael Moir as senior credit analyst to its fixed income team.
Moir will report to David Katimbo-Mugwanya, head of fixed income and work closely with him and with Michael Sheehan, co-manager of EdenTree’s responsible and sustainable fixed income strategies. He will be responsible for contributing to the formulation of the overall fixed income investment strategy and continued growth of the funds, including the Global Impact Bond Fund which the company launched in 2022.
He will also lead the credit analytical research function for the fund range and collaborate with the responsible investment team to further ongoing debt issuer engagement initiatives. Moir joins from Fitch Ratings where he was senior analyst, responsible for assessing issuer ratings of UK, Swiss and Greek banks.
