Investing for Impact

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.

In this episode of the IMPACT = podcast, we talk to Jessica Espinoza, Chief Executive Officer of 2X Global – the leading organisation championing the growth of gender lens investment.

2X Global works together with the full spectrum of investors, capital providers, mobilisers, and influencers, with the aim to transform international finance systems through the deployment of gender-smart capital across asset classes and markets.

Jessica has a track record in originating, structuring and executing debt, mezzanine and equity deals in emerging and frontier markets with a strong focus on inclusive innovation. Prior to joining 2X Global, Jessica was Vice President for Private Equity & Venture Capital Investments at DEG/KfW. She was also a Member of the Management Board at ProCredit Bank Nicaragua responsible for the Business Clients Division and managed the Africa Regional Office of MicroFinance Transparency.

In this conversation, Jessica talks about the evolution of gender lens investing over the last five years, the policies and regulations needed to help accelerate this type of investing and the challenges and opportunities for investors.

In this episode of the IMPACT = podcast, we talk to Kieron Boyle, Chief Executive of the Impact Investing Institute - an independent, non-profit organisation with a vision of transforming capital markets for a sustainable future, where impact investing is an effective tool for deploying capital.

Kieron joined the Institute following seven years as Chief Executive of Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation, one of the world’s oldest foundations, and itself a pioneer in incorporating impact investment into the investment strategy of its £1 billion endowment. At Guy’s & St Thomas’, Kieron has led some of the UK’s most innovative and impactful alliances to reduce health inequalities.

He was an early leader in impact investing, having joined Guy’s & St Thomas’ from the Cabinet Office, where he was Director of Impact Investment and the key architect, starting in 2012, of the UK Government’s strategy to make the UK a global hub for impact investing. That catalytic work included the creation of Big Society Capital, the world’s first wholesale social investor, and putting impact investing on the agenda of the G8 during the UK’s presidency, in particular through the creation of the Social Impact Investment Taskforce.

In this wideranging conversation, Kieron reflects on the evolution of impact investing over the last two decades and the UK's place in the global industry. He also share his thoughts on the pushback on ESG and the role of impact investing in creating the conditions for growth.

In this episode of the IMPACT = podcast, we talk to Sapna Shah, a partner at Novastar Ventures, one of the first and largest VC firms in Africa that focuses on entrepreneurs building transformative businesses in Africa.

Originally from Kenya, Sapna started her career in London in international banking, initially at Lloyds TSB and later at HSBC, working with entrepreneurs and SMEs at various stages of their business lifecycle in the UK, US, Europe and the Middle East. 

She returned to Kenya in 2012 to continue her passion for working with entrepreneurs, this time as an investor at Acumen and co-founder of a food start-up. She joined Novastar in 2015. 

In this conversation with our host Andrew Murray Watson, Sapna shares her insights on the transformation of Africa’s venture ecosystem over the last decade and its future potential growth. She also discusses the role of entrepreneurship in helping solve complex problems, as well as the opportunities and challenges for investors on the African continent.

In our next episode of the IMPACT = podcast, we talk to Jacqueline Novogratz, impact investment pioneer and Founder and CEO of Acumen.

Jacqueline shares her inspiring journey of creating Acumen in 2001, with a vision of changing the way the world tackles poverty by providing patient capital to support businesses and entrepreneurs. She also talks about some of the early successes and failures of Acumen, and how they shaped the organisation’s strategy and culture. 

To date, Acumen has invested over $150 million into over 150 companies across Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and the United States. These companies have leveraged an additional $746 million and brought basic services like affordable education, health care, clean water, energy and sanitation to more than 308 million people.

Prior to Acumen, Jacqueline founded and directed The Philanthropy Workshop and The Next Generation Leadership programs at the Rockefeller Foundation. Jacqueline serves on boards of the Aspen Institute and 60 Decibels and sits on the Advisory Councils of the Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative, the Oxford Said Global Leadership Council, the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, and UNICEF.

In this conversation with our host Andrew Murray Watson, Jacqueline discusses the constant need for the impact investment industry to learn and adapt to the changing needs of the communities it serves - leveraging data, technology, and partnerships to measure and improve its impact where possible. She also shares some of the principles and practices of moral leadership within impact investing and discusses the importance of bringing in the right kind of capital to help companies scale.