Scaling Impact Capital Podcast

In this episode, we engage in a comprehensive discussion with Lynn Eisenhart, Deputy Director at the Strategic Investment Fund of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Lynn shares her journey to the foundation and elaborates on her work with the Financial Services for the Poor team, highlighting key achievements in promoting financial health for low-income customers. We then delve into her current role with the Strategic Investment Fund (SIF), exploring the concept of patient capital, its significance as an alternative to traditional venture capital and grants, and the innovative financing approaches that have proven effective. Lynn also shares success stories, key learnings, and exciting new investment theses that the SIF team is exploring. Tune in for valuable insights and advice for entrepreneurs seeking investment from the foundation.

In this episode, I sit down with Sana Kapadia, Senior Strategic Advisor at 2X Global, to discuss the transformative potential of gender-lens investing. Sana shares her career journey and the founding story of 2X Global, an organization dedicated to promoting gender equality through investment. We explore what gender-lens investing entails, how it intersects with ESG and impact investing, and the compelling evidence supporting its dual impact on social outcomes and financial returns. Sana also elaborates on the 2X criteria, their practical application, and the evolving landscape of gender-lens investing. Join us for an insightful conversation on how non-financial support is vital to achieving gender-focused impact and the exciting initiatives 2X Global is spearheading to shift market dynamics.

A conversation with David McKenzie, Lead Economist in the Development Research Group at the World Bank. In this episode we delve into his research on what works in training entrepreneurs and business development support programs. David shares critical insights on defining and differentiating types of training for small and growing businesses, the conditions under which these trainings are most effective, and examples of successful programs. We also explore the link between capacity building and capital, and the future directions of his research in this vital field. Don't miss this engaging discussion on enhancing support for entrepreneurs in low-and-middle income countries.

A conversation with Brian Boland, co-founder of the Delta Fund, to explore his transformative journey from tech executive to impact investor. Brian shares insights into the Delta Fund's mission to improve human agency by addressing extreme poverty, economic access, and racial justice. Drawing from his experience as a former Vice President at Facebook and his roles in entrepreneurship and product development at Microsoft, Brian discusses the critical need for aligning philanthropic investments with missions, the importance of results-based funding, and the lessons learned in impact investing. Tune in to hear about innovative investment themes and Brian's advice for those looking to make a meaningful impact through their investments.

A conversation with Diane Mak, Head of Impact, Allianz Global Investors. In this episode, Diane shares her journey into impact investing and social finance, reflecting on how the space has evolved over the past decade. She discusses her role at Allianz Global Investors as the Head of Impact Strategy and what it entails for a major asset owner like Allianz. Diane provides insights into how Allianz approaches impact measurement and management (IMM) and the significance of IMM within the organization. We explore the challenges institutional investors face in deploying capital towards intentional impact strategies that address the SDGs, and Diane highlights the opportunities that strategies like blended finance offer in unlocking more institutional investment in impact strategies. Additionally, she discusses the potential for partnering with DFIs to de-risk emerging market investments and shares valuable lessons learned from engaging in and scaling impact investing as an institutional investor.

A conversation with Arsalan Mahtafar, Head of J.P. Morgan Development Finance Institution. In this episode, Arsalan explains why J.P. Morgan started a Development Finance Institution, their unique approach to investing, and how they think about, measure and manage impact. We also delve into why it is important to differentiate intentional impact-first investing from ESG investing strategies. Additionally, we discuss as why it is important to create impact measurement and management standards and what he is doing with the impact disclosures taskforce to advance that objective. Finally, Arsalan shares his perspectives on how the impact investing landscape will continue to evolve over the coming years.

A conversation with Daniel Izzo, CEO and Co-Founder of VOX Capital. In this episode, Daniel shares why and how he started VOX Capital, a pioneering impact investment fund based in Brazil. Daniel also shares his perspectives on why a traditional venture capital approach didn't work for the types of social enterprises that they sought to support, his view on the continuum of capital and how VOX provides support to entrepreneurs beyond providing capital alone. We also discuss why funds like VOX are needed now more than ever and advice he has for social entrepreneurs on how to find a capital provider that is a good fit with impact and business goals.

A conversation with Tilman Ehrbeck, Managing Partner with Flourish. In this episode, Tilman shares his journey from journalism to venture investing with Omidyar Network and why he decided to found Flourish with a vision to back entrepreneurs working to build a fair financial system. We also discuss the critical importance of seeking financial health versus access to finance, the impact of fintech in emerging markets as well as the potential of generative AI in transforming financial services for the poor.

In this episode, Hunt Allcott, Professor of Global Environmental Policy at Stanford University, shares the learnings from his research on economic approaches to measuring social impact of companies' business activities. In the episode we explore what motivated him to investigate this topic, his unique approach to measuring impact using positive and negative externalities of enterprise activity in dollar terms as well as the surprising findings from applying this novel approach to 74 firms across 12 industries. We also discuss what Hunt believes might be the implications of his research on monetization of impact and its potential integration into social and financial performance metrics as well as what that could mean for impact investing practitioners moving forward.

A conversation with Rebecca Harrison, CEO and Co-Founder at African Management Institute (AMI). In this episode, Rebecca shares insights on why and how she started a business to provide #capacitybuilding services to African small businesses and #entrepreneurs. She also shares insights on different types of capacity-building services and which ones have proven to be most effective, as well as the role she believes these services can play in supporting more women-led or owned businesses to succeed.