Today, I’m joined by Eric Collins, Co-Founder and General Partner of Impact X Capital Partners and a serial entrepreneur, investor, technology executive, host of award-winning Channel 4 business show,The Money Maker, which is based on the highly successful US show The Profit on CNBC, and author of the award winning book We Don’t Need Permission - How Black Business Can Change the World.In 2018 he co-founded Impact X Capital Partners, a UK domiciled VC fund that has closed 2 funds with 49 investments including Europe’s 2nd Black unicorn, insurtech innovator, Marshmallow. Impact X also invests in select creative projects with the animated series IYANU which launched to commercial and critical success on HBO Max and Cartoon Network in April 2025.
Key topics:

• Urgency vs. Incrementalism in Systemic Change
• Access to Capital and Representation in Venture
• Culture as a Vehicle for Change
• Navigating Relationships, Conflict, and Complexity
  

Episode breakdown:Welcome - 00:00:00Origin & Perspective - 00:04:33The Relationship At Core - 00:08:14Tensions, Lessons & Tools - 00:33:34Flash Round - 00:38:13

Today, I’m joined by Laure Wessemius-Chibrac, a seasoned investment professional with nearly three decades of experience in the financial sector, specialising in sustainability, impact investing and the mobilisation of institutional capital. Based in the Netherlands, she has built a solid exposure to emerging markets. She currently serves as the Founding Managing Director / CEO of Netherlands Advisory Board on Impact Investing (NAB). In this role, Laure has been driving the agenda to scale up impact investments from pension funds, insurance companies and asset managers and alter structural investment patterns.
In this episode we talk about:

• how culture is a key factor to achieve change in finance
• how risk is a mix of facts and perception, which therefore can be shifted

Episode Breakdown:Welcome - 00:00:00Origin & Perspective - 00:02:46The Relationship At Core - 00:10:23Tensions, Lessons & Tools - 00:28:40Contrarian Thoughts - 00:44:13Your go-to person - 00:45:03Flash Round - 00:45:59

Today, I’m joined by James Burrows. James currently looks after the social lending team at Better Society Capital (BSC), which includes work on Blended Finance, Ethical Banks, and Social Outcomes Partnerships. These are all ways of connecting capital to communities that need it most. He is also actively involved in shaping and building out the practice looking at investing for more transformative systems change. Previously, he led on the Places strategy, looking at ways investment might play a role to support places and communities to thrive.
In this episode, we’ll explore:

• Trust and Stewardship in Finance
• Impact Investing and Systems Change
• Poverty Premium and Financial Inclusion
• Place-Based Investing and Local Agency
• Humility, Feedback Loops, and Hope in Systems Work
  

Episode Breakdown:Welcome - 00:00:00Origin & Perspective - 00:03:08The Relationship At Core - 00:04:56Tensions, Lessons & Tools - 00:21:55Contrarian Thoughts - 00:41:39Your go-to person - 00:42:48Flash Round - 00:44:21

Today I'm joined by Tess Dury, Director of Impact and ESG at Extantia, a deep tech climate fund, known for not shying away from hardware tech, as well as first of a kind industrial investments. At Extentia Tess works with investors in climate startups to support them in the difficult journey of both designing and delivering sustainable growth that is part of the solution, not the problem. Today's episode is honestly quite surprising for me because not only did we explore the usual personal journey into sustainability and impact, but Tess managed to uncover so many difficult and interesting questions around colonial history and how it should be interconnected with a general systems approach, which I found particularly fascinating, and she did not shy away also from approaching power and relationships in venture capital.
In this episode, we dive into:

• Colonial History & Systems Thinking – how her Belgian-Portuguese background and family history in the Congo shape her understanding of capital, systems, and justice
• Power & Relationships in Venture Capital – the dynamics between investors, founders, and LPs, and how trust and relationship-building help navigate tensions
• Navigating Complexity & Impact Frameworks – insights into balancing systemic thinking with practical decision-making
• Contrarian View on Capital – Tess argues that climate tech doesn’t just need more capital, but less extractive capital, emphasizing fairness, non-exploitation, and systemic responsibility

Episode Breakdown:Welcome – 00:00:00Origin & Perspective – 00:02:13The Relationship at the Core – 00:10:35Tensions, Lessons & Tools – 00:13:04Contrarian Thoughts – 00:26:13Your go-to person – 00:29:44Flash Round – 00:32:41

Today, I’m joined by Krisztina Tora, a global leader in impact investing and impact markets, known for shifting capital flows toward real impact in over 70 countries.Krisztina has advised financial institutions, governments, and civil society on building inclusive impact economies, while also creating partnerships that help diverse stakeholders co-design systemic solutions. Her work is driven by a conviction that finance must serve equality, dignity, and sustainability — and by a willingness to challenge entrenched belief systems.In this episode, we’ll explore what it takes to transform finance from within, and why breaking out of our bubbles is essential for real systems change.
Episode Breakdown:Welcome – 00:00:00Origin & Perspective – 00:01:44The Relationship at the Core – 00:07:14Tensions, Lessons & Tools – 00:21:20Contrarian Thoughts – 00:25:10Your go-to person – 00:27:52Flash Round – 00:29:24

Welcome to Alaqa — a podcast about the relationships shaping systems, capital, and the climate transition.Today, I’m joined by Laura Ortiz Montemayor, Founder of SVX México and Managing Partner at Regenera Ventures Fund, where she works to finance regenerative transitions in Mexico and Colombia.Through SVX and Regenera, Laura has educated thousands of investors and entrepreneurs in Latin America, challenging conventional finance and promoting social entrepreneurship, gender lens investing, and nature-based solutions. Her mission is to ensure capital works in service of life — not the other way around.In this episode, we’ll dive into why redefining success, rebuilding trust, and resisting reductionist narratives are key to financing truly regenerative systems.
Episode Breakdown:

• Welcome – 00:00:00
• Origin & Perspective – 00:02:04
• The Relationship at the Core - 00:14:11
• Tensions, Lessons & Tools - 00:33:41
• Contrarian Thoughts - 00:40:09
• Your go-to person - 00:49:20
• Flash Round - 00:52:35

Today, I’m joined by Roberta Benedetti del Rio, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Radia Capital, a specialised firm scaling industrial transformation and decarbonisation solutions in Europe.At Radia Capital, Roberta focuses on bridging the funding gap for scale-ups in hard-to-abate sectors like steel, cement, and heavy transport — industries that are both urgent and often overlooked. Her work, from co-chairing the Deep Transitions Lab to shaping climate impact standards, has influenced how investors think about systemic change and measure impact.In this episode, we’ll explore how systems thinking reshapes industrial decarbonisation — and why the future of investing calls for humility, plurality, and community.
Episode Breakdown:Welcome - 00:00:00Origin & Perspective - 00:01:34The Relationship at the Core - 00:08:58Tensions, Lessons & Tools - 00:19:47Contrarian Thoughts - 00:26:42Your go-to person - 00:28:26Flash Round - 00:29:18

In Arabic, ALAQA means relationship — a word that invites us to look deeper at what connects (and sometimes disconnects) the parts of a system.
In the age of climate urgency, economic uncertainty, and social fragmentation, relationships — between people, portfolios, institutions, sectors, and generations — are no longer soft infrastructure. They are the levers of change. And yet, they’re often overlooked in strategy rooms, investment decks, or governance models.
ALAQA explores the structural, strategic, and human dimensions of relationships in the world of capital — particularly for those seeking to finance solutions in a complex, interdependent world.Each episode unpacks a relationship that matters:

• between investors and founders
• between different assets in a portfolio
• between public and private capital
• between next-gen inheritors and established wealth
• between theory of change and deal execution

We speak with investors, ecosystem builders, capital allocators and change agents working at the intersection of finance, sustainability, and systems thinking — and ask:What does it take to build, repair, or evolve the connections that drive resilient and just transitions?