Impact Leaders Must Unite or Risk Being Shut Out of Brussels, Warns Impact Finance Belgium Co-Founder
Steven Serneels, co‑founder of Impact Finance Belgium, warns that Europe’s impact‑investing ecosystem is too fragmented to influence EU policy effectively. He cites a six‑month mapping exercise that shows the sector’s voice is muted in debates on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the revised Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. Serneels argues that internal debates over impact definitions further alienate large asset owners. He proposes a unified coalition, led by the Impact Investing Consortium, to coordinate advocacy and avoid duplication of effort.
Asset Owners Underestimating Physical Climate Risk, Greenbank Warns
Greenbank’s investment director warned that asset owners are severely underestimating physical climate risk, which is already materialising through floods, droughts and supply‑chain disruptions. He argued that adaptation can no longer be treated as a niche sustainability issue but as a...
Franklin Templeton Garners €151m for European Social Infrastructure Strategy
Franklin Templeton has launched a Europe‑focused social‑infrastructure fund, securing €151 million (about $165 million) from institutional investors led by the European Investment Fund. The vehicle targets a total capital raise of €500 million ($545 million) to invest in healthcare, education and housing assets serving...
New Partnership Delivers ‘Most Expansive’ Nature Positive Initiative Pilot Globally
New Forests, a Sydney‑based investment manager, partnered with biodiversity‑intelligence platform NatureHelm to deliver the world’s most expansive Nature Positive Initiative pilot. The six‑month project applied seven state‑of‑nature metrics to over 400,000 hectares across Australia, the United States, Tanzania, Mozambique and...
IFC, ILX Provide $40m Financing for Uruguayan Sustainable Wood Products Firm
The International Finance Corporation and Amsterdam‑based asset manager ILX have jointly provided a $40 million financing package – $20 million from IFC’s own account and $20 million mobilised from the ILX Fund – to Arboreal, a Montevideo timber‑processing firm certified by the Forest...
UK’s Better Futures Fund Moves Step Closer to First Funding Round
The UK government‑backed Better Futures Fund, a £500 m (~$635 m) outcomes‑based initiative, is moving toward its first funding round. A competition to select a delivery partner will close on 12 June, after which the fund will open for project bids later this...
Impact Investor Forum: One Week to Go
The Impact Investor Forum will convene at The Conduit in London on 14 May, gathering institutional investors and ESG practitioners to explore how impact strategies can boost portfolio resilience. Speakers from the Impact Investing Institute, London Pensions Fund Authority and other...
Refugee-Focused Impact Investment Vehicle Backs Kenyan Water and Recycling Company
The Refugee Investment Facility (RIF), a Europe‑based impact‑investment vehicle, has committed capital to LIFTA Kenya, a local water‑treatment and recycling firm. The funding aims to expand safe drinking‑water infrastructure and create jobs for more than 300,000 refugees and asylum‑seekers living...
Venture Studios Outperform Incubators and Accelerators in Africa – Report
A new report from FMO, GIZ SAIS and Briter finds that venture studios in Africa are delivering markedly better outcomes than traditional incubators and accelerators. Studio‑backed startups secure roughly 30% more follow‑on funding and post revenue growth exceeding 45% year‑over‑year,...
Prioritise Wellbeing Outcomes in Public Sector Accounting, Say Impact Groups
Two impact‑focused organisations are calling on European public‑sector bodies to embed wellbeing outcomes into their accounting frameworks, moving beyond the traditional focus on pure expenditure. They argue that measuring the social and health benefits of public spending will create more...
Danish DFI and Major Pension Funds Back Paraguayan Green Fertiliser Project
Impact Fund Denmark announced that Project Villeta, a new industrial facility in Paraguay, will become one of the world’s first commercial plants to produce green fertilizer at scale. The venture is financed by Denmark’s Development Finance Institution (DFI) together with...
“Even if You’re Entirely Right Today, that Doesn’t Mean You Will Be Tomorrow” – Evalinde Eelens
Evalinde Eelens, a senior Dutch pension‑fund trustee, explains how sustainability definitions are fluid and must align with members' values. She stresses that impact allocations should stem from rigorous member engagement and be integrated into the fund’s risk‑budget, not treated as...
Impact Investors Pile Into One of World’s Largest Ecosystem Restoration Projects
Impact investment platform Imperative has raised $91 million in blended project financing to expand its ecosystem restoration initiative in South Africa. The second‑phase effort will restore native shrubland across a large landscape, aiming to sequester more than 35 million tonnes of CO₂....
Danish Impact VC Announces Second Close of Fund II
Danish impact‑focused venture capital firm announced the second close of its Fund II, adding new capital commitments and moving closer to its fundraising target. The fund targets pre‑seed and seed‑stage technology companies founded by underrepresented entrepreneurs, including women, people of colour...
ILX Invests $40m in AfDB Financing for Egyptian Wind Project
Impact investment firm ILX has pledged $40 million toward financing an Egyptian wind farm, joining a broader $140 million loan being structured by the African Development Bank (AfDB). The wind project, one of the continent’s largest, also enjoys backing from...