The Impact Investing Podcast

Modern media is both wonderful and scary. It represents both the best of what people have to offer and the worst. It can include beautiful works of art by independent artists that tell stories to lift the human spirit and pass along cultural lessons and values or, as is so often the case today, is a mindless clickbait article or listicle about “10 celebrities who don't wash their hair every day.“ That's because modern media content is increasingly being determined by finely-tuned algorithms optimizing for clicks, engagement, and ultimately profitability, rather than any higher purpose.Meanwhile, an increasing number of studies are demonstrating strong links between our consumption of digital and social media with an increased risk for depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-harm, and even suicidal thoughts. Continuing to allow companies to A/B test on us at scale for the sole purpose of optimizing their profitability, without regard for the toll it takes on our physical and emotional well-being, is a recipe for disaster.Enter today's guest Charlene SanJenko, founder of reGEN Media. This 100% Indigenous-owned and female-led media partnerships organization matches progressive impact investors with purpose-driven brand advertising dollars to fund transformative media projects that deliver both social and financial returns. Charlene is a national marketing manager, competitive athlete, digital media arts professional, and Indigenous storyteller.In this episode, we discuss Charlene's journey to launching reGEN Media, the problems she sees with modern media, her vision for the field of impact media and reGEN in particular, and examples of indigenous-led media projects she has begun supporting, including her own documentary about her journey to reconnect with her Indigenous roots as an adult adoptee. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end when Charlene shares more about the opportunities for how Brands and impact investors can support these amazing media projects.Resources from this episode:reGEN Media's website and LinkedIn page.Charlene's LinkedIn Profile and Twitter page.

Real estate as an asset class has had an absolutely remarkably run since the 1980's when we entered a several-decade period of economic prosperity, stable inflation, and declining interest rates. Add to that, more than a decade of quantitative easing that continued to ensure cheap financing was available for consumers and homebuyers alike.But as with every good story, it eventually must come to an end, as it has for real estate and the economy more generally in 2022. As inflation has reared its head, we've been left rising interest rates on top of high prices for goods and real estate, thereby dramatically straining housing affordability.Enter today's guest, Mazyar Mortavazi, President & CEO of TAS Impact, an unconventional impact company that uses real estate as a tool to tackle climate change, broaden affordability and equity, and build social capital to create neighbourhoods– and ultimately cities – where people thrive and belong. TAS Impact is a Certified B Corporation, a signatory to PRI and a member of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), TAS pursues opportunities that create value for investors and generate measurable social and environmental impact.During this episode, Mazyar and I discuss the current state of the real estate market and how we got into the affordability predicament we're in, the institutionalization of residential real estate investing, the ESG and impact issues with conventional real estate development, new investment models addressing housing affordability, TAS Impact's impact measurement framework, and the importance of inviting communities into the property development process. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end when Mazyar discusses where he sees the real estate industry headed in the next decade.Resources from this episode:Tas Impact FrameworkInaugural Annual Tas Impact Report 2022Mazyar's TwitterResources from the episode announcements:Check out Criterion Institute's new podcastDiscussion of Employee Ownership Trusts

Climate change is widely recognized as an existential threat to humanity. Chief among the contributors to climate change is our food systems. The advent of modern industrial farming brought with it a sharp increase in our ability to feed the planet. Yet this industrialization has been so rapid and so extreme that we're now recognizing how unhealthy and unsustainable our practices have become.Despite these advances, the system will crack under the pressure of our expected population growth (the UN predicts the global population to hit 10 billion by 2050). This is because animal agriculture is a wildly inefficient food source. The time and resources it takes to provide land, food, and water produces far fewer calories for consumption than the investment required to simply grow plants for us to eat.Recently though we've seen an explosion of demand for healthier and more sustainable food choices along with a flourishing of innovation. Enter today's guest, Elysabeth Alfano, Founder & CEO of VegTech Invest; provider of the world's first pure-play ETF investing in plant-based innovation. Launched in Dec 2021, the VegTech Plant-Based Innovation & Climate ETF (ticker: EATV) invests in “a portfolio of high growth global equities in a pure-play plant-based innovation and technology category. VegTech™ companies are those that are innovating with plants and plant-derived ingredients to create animal-free products for sustainable consumption.”During this episode, Elysabeth and I have a wide-ranging conversation on all things related to our food systems and the innovation we're seeing in plant-based foods. Our conversation runs the gamut from discussing the size and scope of the problem with industrialized factory farming to more sustainable alternatives such as plant-based burgers like Beyond Meat, popular non-dairy alternatives like Oatmilk, advances in cultured (aka lab-grown) meat and cheese, and all sorts of other fascinating innovations. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end when we talk about how the VegTech ETF works and what companies the fund is investing in now.Resources from this episode:Elysabeth's Twitter and LinkedInVegTech Invest's ETF websiteViolife Parmesan Style plant-based cheeseThe Oatmilk and Oatbutter Dave loves.

Gender lens investing is a field that is far more robust and complex than most people realize. Often gender considerations are reduced to a check-box exercise where investors count the number of women being served, women-led businesses being financed, or women sitting on boards. More ambitious gender lens investors may expand the scope of their analysis to consider issues such as pay equity, parental leave policy for workers, and forced arbitration. Yet even the most ambitious gender-lens investors do not think much about the diverse range of factors that can affect gender equality and social inclusion across the globe, not just a given company, project, or industry. Most often this analysis is considered too complex and the gathering of high-quality, standardized data, far too onerous. That's because the range of issues on a global scale is mind-bending and covers disparate areas such as financial inclusion, unpaid care work, land & property ownership rights, education & literacy rates, nutrition & food security, sexual & reproductive health rights, and the list goes on. In short, there isn't an area of our global social fabric that gender equality doesn't touch. Enter today's guest, Jessica Menon, who is solving this challenge as Founder & CEO of Equilo. Jessica is a gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) specialist with 20 years of experience conducting gender analyses, crafting gender action plans, managing organizational change management with a gender lens, and implementing systems-level change to advance GESI globally. She has experience working across development, humanitarian, finance, and private sectors in a wide range of industries. She also holds a Master of Public Policy from the Georgetown Public Policy Institute. During this episode Jessica and I discuss Equilo's work bringing together data, analytics, and tools to inform better gender-transformative decision-making across government, non-profits, and for-profit businesses. We discuss in detail two of Equilo's tools, the GESI Contextual Analysis, and the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Risk Score, the methodology underpinning them, the challenges around data collection and comparability, and some of the surprising results of how various countries score on GBV Risk, and how investors should interpret and integrate this data. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end where Jessica discusses the exciting new predictive modelling work they are doing now. Resources mentioned during the episode: Equilo website (where you can sign up for the GBV Risk Score and GESI analysis for free)GESI Contextual AnalysisGBV Risk ScoreJessica's LinkedIn ProfileUNICEF and Criterion InstituteEpisode 30 of the Impact Investing Podcast, A deep dive into gender lens investing with a true OG of the movement, with Joy AndersonEpisode 33 of the Impact Investing Podcast, Challenging the Nobel-prize-winning theory that stands in the way of impact investing with Jon LukomnikOpen positions/opportunities to work with Equilo

In an era already notable for remarkable technological innovation, we are approaching a precipice that could potentially make the last 30 years of progress seem quaint by comparison. The dawn and convergence of artificial intelligence, genome sequencing, robotics, energy storage, and the blockchain threaten to fundamentally disrupt the status quo as we know it.The advent of the blockchain, for instance, has led to a paradigm shift - known as Web3. This paradigm shift is seeing a move away from the closed protocol that has dominated software development over the past 20 years — where the Twitter's, Facebook's, and Google's of the world own their user data and collect the lion's share of the economic value — and moving to a world of open sourced development where creators and communities share the economics and users own their data.Already terms like DeFi (Decentralized Finance), DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations), and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are entering the common vernacular, even if many of us still don't quite understand them. At their best, innovations like this are allowing people to work collaboratively in ways that allow communities to form, share ownership, establish good governance, and operate transparently. But already there are those who worry that the potential of web3 is being co-opted by big business.Enter today's guest, Michael Lewkowitz, Co-Founder and General Partner at Possibilian Ventures; a pre-seed / seed investor in companies building a better future across the transition and cooperation economies. What makes Possibilian particularly interesting is that it is focused on supporting founders who are leveraging these converging technological breakthroughs to unlock true systems change to address the two biggest existential threats we face: climate change and inequality.During the episode, Michael and I discuss Possibilian's unique thesis, five areas of transition we're currently experiencing, the definition of terms like Web3, DeFi, NFTs, and DAOs, why Web3 could massively disrupt the status quo, and examples of investments Possibilian is making in companies leveraging these technologies for systemic change. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end where Michael shares his outlook for what possibilities these new technologies could enable over the next decade.Resources from this episode:Possibilian Ventures WebsitePossibilian's Perspective on Venture & TransformationKlima DAOConstitution DAOs bid to buy the US ConstitutionEpisode #542 of the Tim Ferris Podcast discussing Web 3 with Chris Dixon and Naval RavikantChris Dixon's TwitterNaval Ravikant's TwitterAndreesen Horowitz Web3 Learning ResourcesFrom the Episode Announcements: i2 Impact Investing (Columbia)

When you consider that the traditional investment industry can be traced as far back as ancient Mesopotamia in 1700 BCE, the field of impact investing is a baby. Indeed the term itself wasn't coined until 2007. Since then the industry has been evolving and growing rapidly. Yet much of that growth has been occurring among a relatively small group of investors and concentrated heavily in a relatively small number of markets. Even today most of the world's aspiring entrepreneurs do not have access to the capital they need to grow their small businesses. And the ordinary investors who might like to provide that capital are barred from doing so due to investor protection regulations. Herein lies one of the most significant criticisms of impact investing. Much like the traditional investment world, the impact investment industry is still dominated by a small number of investors and institutions supplying capital to a select group of entrepreneurs. Enter today's guest, Sarah Burns, Founder, and CEO of Nia Crowdfund. Nia is an online investment platform serving up opportunities to make impact investments in small businesses across Africa. Nia aims to address the missing middle of finance (a problem we've discussed at length on this podcast) to provide between $100,000 and $1M of capital to early stages businesses. What further distinguishes Nia Crowdfund is that not only are they supplying this critical early-stage financing but they are focused on allowing ordinary investors to also participate in supplying that capital. During this episode, Sarah and I discuss her fascinating background of volunteering, researching, and working through the developing world, her doctoral thesis on impact investing as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, and now her work founding Nia Crowdfund to address the missing middle of finance while also democratizing access to impact investing. Through the conversation, we discuss why the missing middle of finance is a challenge, the importance of democratizing access to impact investing, the well-intended regulations that exclude retail investors from it, and how Nia Crowdfund was designed to address the problems Sarah encountered during her work advising an ultra-high-net-worth impact investor. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end where Sarah and I discuss whether impact measurement is beneficial or harmful to drive real impact. Resources from this episode: Nia websiteLearn about and register to join monthly live impact investment pitch events hosted by Nia.Sarah Burns LinkedIn ProfilePaul Collier's The Bottom BillionKIVA Microlending website*** We've been nominated for the Quill Podcast Awards in two categories, Best Business Podcast and Best Finance Podcast. We would appreciate your support, vote for us here!

For all the good that impact investors claim to be doing, it behooves us to consider what harm we might be causing in the process and whether, ultimately, we're doing more damage than good. After all, impact investing is still investing. It exists within the current framework of free-market Capitalism. And as the deep fractures in that system have been laid bare, it only makes sense to ask ourselves what systemic changes are required to bring about true and lasting equality.And while many people are beginning to discuss how Capitalism can be improved, or even whether it is salvageable, today's guest is exploring even more fundamental questions about our understanding of economics. After all, it shouldn't surprise us when our financial systems fail us if those systems are built off a flawed understanding of economics.Enter today's guest, thought-leader, advisor, and author, Denise Hearn. Denise joins us today to discuss her new blog Embodied Economics, which is, in her own words, an exploration of “economic paradigms and financial systems through, Nature, Body, Power, Care, and Interconnectedness”.In Denise's first blog post, she asks us to consider “What is life? What is economic value?” On the surface, these are easy questions to answer yet the better we understand these terms, the more difficult they become to define. Denise argues that economics for too long has operated in the theoretical realm, divorcing itself from the realities of life. If economics is to serve us better, it must be understood in the following context:(once again in Denise's words) “to be human is to be a living, embodied person, embedded in nature and a complex tapestry of relationships.”In this episode, Denise and I discuss the intellectual, philosophical, and spiritual inquiry that is Embodied Economics. We discuss how we can better understand economic value, what she calls the Forgotten Five of Economics (body, nature, care, power, and interconnectedness), a simple way to grow global GDP by 10% overnight, her book The Myth of Capitalism, and her work on anti-competitiveness. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end when Denise and I discuss her thoughts on how she and each of us can affect meaningful change.Resources from this episode:Denise's websiteEmbodied Economics blog (you should definitely subscribe!)Denise's book The Myth of CapitalismDenise's LinkedIn Profile*** A message from our episode sponsor, Spring Activator: On a mission to change the world through innovation, Sring Activator is working to make impact investing mainstream. Their signature Impact Investor Challenge program exists to grow the size and diversity of the impact investor community, and also to stimulate funding for innovative solutions across impact-oriented industries. Think climate solutions, health tech, food innovation, gender lens approaches, and more.The program empowers and equips individuals to invest in what they value, catalyzing the flow of impact capital and accelerating the success of purpose-driven entrepreneurs. This in turn helps solve pressing global and local challenges. It also builds a community of like-minded changemakers. Are you looking to be part of such a community, meet impact startups, and be guided into making impact investments? If so, I invite you to visit www.spring.is today to learn more about the comprehensive and value-packed Impact Investor Challenge program.***

While some might argue that the world is a much better place than it was thousands, hundreds of years, or even decades ago, it's hard not to feel like the world's problems are greater than ever. In the past five years alone we've experienced a string of heart-wrenching global crises that have come fast and furious.Haiti, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic have all been hit by terrible natural disasters. We've seen the Syrian civil war, Venezuelan and Afghanistan refugee crises', and the Rohingya genocide to name a few. Exacerbating these catastrophes is the COVID-19 global pandemic. So despite our progress, it often feels as if the world's needs are greater than ever and we have a long way to go before approaching anything resembling true equality.Enter today's guest, Natasha Freidus, Co-Founder and CEO of NeedsList; a Public Benefit Corporation creating human-centred solutions for communities displaced by climate change, conflict, and poverty worldwide. The idea for NeedsList was sparked in 2015 at the height of the refugee crisis in Europe when Tasha was in France trying to help local Syrian refugee families, and her co-founder Amanda Levinson was in Philadelphia trying to figure out how more quickly and effectively gets goods and services across the globe to those in need.The challenge is that the needs of people in crises are overwhelming and constantly changing, and it is difficult to keep track of what is needed and which organizations have the products, services, or expertise to meet those needs. In short, matching supply and demand has been incredibly difficult. That's when Tasha decided to hack an online wedding registry as a way to solve the problem; in the process, the idea for NeedsList was born.During this episode, Tasha and I discuss how and why it's so difficult to match supply from well-meaning groups and organizations with the needs of people on the ground who are suffering through crises. Our conversation spans the gamut from the original problem Tasha experienced first hand, the journey to founding and funding NeedsList, the evolving nature of global crises over the past decade, and the challenges around impact measurement & management. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end when Tasha discusses the opportunities she's seeing to use machine learning and AI to gain new insights into the nature and causes of global crises so that we can address the problems before they happen.Resources from this episode:NeedsList website: www.needslist.coNeedsList TwitterNeedsList FacebookNeedsList LinkedInNatasha's LinkedIn Profile

Churches across the globe are in crisis. The arrival of COVID-19 served to dramatically accelerate a decades-long systemic decline in church attendance as the expectations and preferences of congregants have changed across generations. Falling church attendance has meant declining revenue and mounting financial pressure to maintain expensive real estate and buildings that sit increasingly idle. Ultimately these churches may face closure and even demolition. In Canada, it is estimated that nearly one in three churches is on track to close in the next decade.And while we live in an increasingly secular society, as today's guest will articulate, churches represent an incredibly important social infrastructure that a vast number of social programs rely upon. In Toronto alone, over 100 non-profit organizations operate from church buildings or land. Losing these churches (which are often rented out at below-market rates to non-profits) would be catastrophic for many secular social purpose organizations and the vulnerable communities they serve.Enter today's guest, Graham Singh, Founder & CEO of Trinity Centres Foundation, who joins us today to talk about his innovative work using impact investing to finance the transformation of idle church properties into thriving places of sustainable community impact. Over the past 15 years, Graham has led four historic building and community renewal projects in the United Kingdom and Canada. Graham is an ordained minister in the Anglican Church and has a long line of academic credentials that include a Master's from the London School of Economics, a Bachelor of Ministry from the University of Cambridge, and a BA in political science from Huron University.During this episode, Graham and I discuss the crisis that the church in Canada is facing, the role churches play as important social infrastructure, the role of blended finance in solving the financial challenges churches face, and the types of investors and organizations that are suitable partners in this work. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end where we discuss the importance of the church in placemaking; the process of co-creating quality places that people want to live, work, play, and learn in.Resources from this episode:Graham's LinkedIn profileTrinity Centres Foundation (TCF) websiteWhere you can donate to support the work of Trinity Centres Foundation.

Investing in emerging markets isn't easy. Investing in emerging markets when you want to make a positive social and environmental impact presents even more challenges. For instance, raising capital is more challenging because you have to overcome both the typical investor belief that positive impact will come at a cost to returns and the tendency to write off unfamiliar markets as far too risky.Today's guest co-founded an asset management firm that has successfully navigated these challenges on its path to growing its asset base to over $300M USD. Serge LeVert-Chiasson is Managing Director of Impact & COO at Sarona Asset Management; an asset manager investing in private equity & private debt in frontier and emerging markets around the world.What's especially interesting is that Sarona was born out of a relatively small, but highly respected charitable organization known as MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates); which itself got its start in 1953 as a social enterprise when 7 North American Mennonite business people began running a dairy farm with Ukrainian Mennonite refugees in Paraguay who had escaped the 2nd world war.During this episode of the podcast, Serge and I discuss Sarona's unique history and how that shapes its culture to this day; the way Sarona invests in and alongside financial intermediaries in emerging & frontier markets; its approach to impact measurement & management as a fund of funds, the role that faith plays in many communities across the globe, examples of the types of direct and indirect investments that Sarona makes, and Serge's involvement in CAFIID (Canada Forum for Impact Investment & Development). And be sure to stay tuned to the very end when Serge shares his thoughts for what is necessary for unlocking more impact investment dollars into emerging and frontier markets.Resources:Sarona Asset Management WebsiteSarona's 2020 Impact ReportSarona's Twitter and LinkedIn accountsSerge's Twitter and LinkedIn accountsCanada Forum For Impact Investment & Development (CAFIID) Website

While the field of social finance and impact investing has blossomed in recent years, most people still tend to think about donating or impact investing as discrete activities with discrete approaches or strategies.Say the word "philanthropy" and most people think of oversized cheques at black-tie galas where your donations are spent by organizations on goods, services, and programs. Say the words "impact investing" and most people think of rigorous due diligence where your money can be leveraged far more through investment and reinvestment.But what would happen if we combined the two approaches? That's what today's guest is here to discuss. Farahnaz Karim is the Founder & CEO of Insaan Group; a non-profit raising donations which the organization uses to invest in innovative businesses and solutions for the poor, a term they call "catalytic philanthropy".Farahnaz is a social entreprenur, political scientist, and humanist. She has worked with the OSCE, the United Nations, the World Bank and non-profits across a wide range of developing countries across multiple continents. Farahnaz was previously a teaching fellow at Harvard University and a faculty member at Zayed University in Dubai lecturing on global history and humanities. She holds an MPA from Harvard, a Diplôme d'Etudes Supérieures from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Switzerland) and a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University (Canada). And if all that wasn't enough she is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Exeter (UK).During this episode, we discuss Insaan's unique approach, the contexts in which it is most effective, how Insaan makes investment decisions, the unique ways they engage donors through the process, examples of entrepreneurs they've invested in, and their current fundraising campaign. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end where we discuss how Insaan measures and manages impact.Resources from this episode:Insaan Group Website, Instagram, Facebook, and TwitterFarahnaz's BioFarahnaz's Alliance Magazine article "The Nature of Capital and Other Threats to Impact"

Today there is a growing recognition that we need to get far more capital into the hands of people who have been systematically excluded from entrepreneurship. Historically capital has disproportionately been allocated to a very narrow slice of entrepreneurs who are ivy league educated, white men. Meanwhile, women, people of colour, LGBTQ and Indigenous communities, and many others have been systematically excluded.And while today there is a growing number of funds, incubators, and accelerators that have been established to get capital into the hands of a much more diverse group of entrepreneurs, we still have a long way to go.According to RateMyInvestor and Diversity VC's second "Diversity in U.S. Startups" report, "VC-backed startups in the United States are still significantly male (89.3%), white (71.6%), based in Silicon Valley (35.3%) and Ivy-educated (13.7%)."Part of the problem is that those who allocate capital to entrepreneurs (e.g. fund managers) are still mostly represented by wealthy white men. According to our next guest's research, of the roughly $70 trillion of investment assets in the United States, just about 1% is managed by diverse asset managers.In this episode, we're joined by Bahiyah Yasmeen Robinson, Founder & CEO of VC Include. What distinguishes Bahiyah's efforts are that while others are focused on supporting diverse entrepreneurs, Bahiyah's efforts are focused on supporting diverse fund managers. Bahiyah's expertise in leading technology, investment, and social impact initiatives since the early 2000s culminated in her creating VC Include in 2018 to build platforms and programs for diverse emerging managers globally. VC Include was established to meet the market opportunity by building an ecosystem of women, Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ fund managers.During the episode, we discuss who and why certain groups of people get systematically excluded from the private equity industry, conscious vs unconscious bias, the moral imperative, structural inequalities, and how VC Include supports diverse emerging fund managers to overcome the hurdles that prevent them from raising and managing more capital.Resources from this episode:VC Include website, Twitter, and LinkedInGender Lens Investing In and By Private Market Funds, During the Global COVID-19 Pandemic: a View from Capital Connect written by Bahiyah and Suzanne Biegel

As much as investing for both purpose and profit is in vogue these days, there's still a wide gap between the number of people talking about impact investing and those doing it. The fact that impact capital doesn't flow nearly as freely as traditional investment capital, makes scaling a social enterprise or raising an impact fund all the more difficult. My guest today is Keith Ippel, CEO and Founder of Spring Activator in Vancouver, British Columbia. Spring Activator works with purpose-driven entrepreneurs at an early stage by providing incubation, acceleration, and investment readiness programming. The organization also works on the demand side of the impact investing equation by helping train impact investors to find and due diligence deals. Keith founded the organization nearly eight years ago and is still incredibly passionate about building the entire impact investing ecosystem. Keith is a reformed Management Consultant who, after being raised by entrepreneurs, was dragged back into entrepreneurship through the opportunities he was seeing for technology to solve real-world problems. After a successful run leading a variety of technology-based businesses, Keith began seeing the opportunity to nurture the field of impact investing and launched Spring Activator. During the episode, Keith and I discuss the state of the impact investing space globally and in Canada, what support early-stage social entrepreneurs need to scale their businesses, how to reduce the talk-action gap in impact investing, and how his organization helps investors learn how to become impact investors. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end where Keith discusses his outlook for impact investing over the next decade. Resources from this episode: Spring Activator Website Spring Impact Investor Challenge

Mining is an inherently challenging industry from an impact perspective since it's all about the removal and consumption of the earth's limited natural resources. The manner in which we have historically mined these resources has caused great harm to people, communities, and our planet. At the same time, our existence (as it stands today) absolutely depends on mining to provide everything from the minerals we use in virtually all of our toiletries (makeup, vitamins, toothpaste, soap, etc.) and the fertilizer we use to grow food, to the metals we use essential to necessities like cars, buildings, roads, mobile phones, and medical equipment. Plus, mining is a massive industry that contributes greatly to wealth creation for an exceedingly large number of people globally. In Canada, nearly 700,000 people work either directly or indirectly in mining and receive the highest average wage/salaries of any industry in the country. Since it isn't possible in the foreseeable future to stop mining entirely it seems abundantly clear we need to shift our focus to reducing demand and improving mining sustainability. Enter today's guest, Elizabeth Freele, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Sympact Advisory, based in Vancouver, Canada. Liz, is a passionate social sustainability strategist and futurist entrepreneur, supporting everything from pre-seed to mature enterprises in challenging operational environments across the Americas, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. She holds an MBA from IE Business School, a certificate in Sustainable Business Strategy from Harvard Business School, and a BA in Political Science and Global Development from Western University. Liz and her colleagues at Sympact work with companies to help improve their social performance to foster both company and community resilience. And given Liz's long background in the mining industry, the organization has quickly established a stronghold there. In today's episode, I sit down with Liz to flesh out the nuances of the ESG impacts of the mining industry from an ESG perspective and the practical opportunities for improving its sustainability. During the episode, we discuss the state of mining today, just how dependent we are on the industry, the most harmful practices that need to end, how mining companies can do better, and which organizations she sees as leaders in the space. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end when Liz discusses her views on where there is the most opportunity for impact investing in the mining industry. Resources from this episode: Sympact Advisory Website Liz's Podcast: Prospecting Purpose Summit Nanotech (Alberta company extracting Lithium from old oil wells) Liz's book recommendation: Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond

In a meeting hosted by the Rockefeller Foundation in Italy in 2007, the term impact investing was coined. Yet seven years prior to that, in 2001, Sir Ronald Cohen (just Ronald Cohen at the time) was requested by the UK Treasury to establish the Social Investment Task Force (SITF). The SITF was tasked with exploring the ways in which the UK could create wealth, spur economic growth, and improve the lives of its most vulnerable people at the same time. It was his work here where he and his colleagues developed much of their thinking on impact investing. Only a year after establishing the SITF, Ronnie (as he prefers to be called) would become Sir Ronnie, not for his work in impact investing but for his three decades of work essentially bringing venture capital to the UK. Ronnie was only 26 years old when he co-founded Apax Partners, a private equity firm that would grow to manage $50B in assets with offices across the globe. By 2013, then Prime Minister David Cameron asked Ronnie to lead the G8 Social Investment Task Force (G8T) in order to "catalyze a global market in social impact investment." Not long after that he was then asked by the British Government to lead an effort to expand the G8T further globally and resulted in him establishing The Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG) in 2015. During this time, Sir Ronnie also contributed to creating the world's first Social Impact Bond which aimed to reduce recidivism rates at the Peterborough Penitentiary in the UK. He and his colleague's findings on SIBs were articulated in a now-famous report "Impact Investment: The Invisible Heart of the Markets" which kicked off a movement to spread the idea of impact investing across the world. All of that amounts to one hell of an impressive career by any standard but especially for a refugee who fled Egypt as a result of the Suez Crisis in the 1950s. At 11 yrs old, Ronnie and his parents arrived in the UK with just a single suitcase each and Ronnie clutching his precious stamp collection in his arms. Therefore, it is my great honour to welcome Sir Ronald Cohen to the podcast. Show Notes: Sir Ronald Cohen, Impact: Reshaping Capitalism to Drive Real Change (Ebury Press, November 3, 2020) Harvard's Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative Yuka mobile app (deciphers product labels and analyzes the health impact of food products & cosmetics) Episode 5 of this podcast where we discuss: "Following the birth of the Social Impact Bonds" *** Enter our giveaway to win a $500 impact investing prize pack by visiting www.davidoleary.ca/giveaway ***

Access to safe and affordable housing is absolutely essential to meeting humanity's most basic needs. Housing not only protects us from the elements but provides security and stability that's so important to our physical, emotional, and mental health. Yet even in the world's most developed markets, housing affordability is approaching crisis levels. For nearly 40 years now - with the exception of a few dramatic market corrections (e.g. in the early 1980s and 2008) - housing prices have soared, far exceeding the asset class's long-term expected returns. For instance, according to The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price NSA Index, real estate has doubled since 1980. Meanwhile, in Canada, home prices have nearly quadrupled over the same period. The problem is particularly acute in cities like Toronto, Munich, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Vancouver, Paris, and Zurich which all top the charts of the UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index 2020. As the global pandemic has taken hold, housing prices have only continued to surge in many markets across the globe, furthering the already staggering wealth gap between the rich and poor. Today's guests Garth Davis and Andy Broderick are Managing Partners at New Market Funds based in Vancouver, British Columbia, where they structure high-impact investments that provide affordable housing in vulnerable communities across Canada. During the episode Garth, Andy, and I discuss just how bad housing affordability is getting, some of the additional barriers vulnerable communities face in accessing affordable housing, the economics of affordable housing, the importance of community-based non-profit partners, and the various ways New Market Funds is tackling the problem. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end when Andy and Garth discuss the opportunities and challenges for the industry over the next decade. Resources from this episode: New Market Funds line up: Affordable Housing Equity Community Real Estate Development Community Lending Co-operative Enterprise Investment *** Enter to win a $500 impact investing prize-pack! Entry is free. The deadline is Sept 4th, 2021. Visit www.davidoleary.ca/giveaway to enter!

In 1952, Harry Markowitz published a now-famous article where he proposed that investors should optimize portfolio expected return relative to volatility. Markowitz helped investors realize that by owning a diverse basket of investments, they could significantly reduce their risk without suffering a commensurate reduction in their expected return. This insight marked the birth of Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) and, by the late 1960s would come to change how investors across the globe thought about investing. The trouble is, some of the assumptions underpinning MPT are keeping more investors from embracing ESG and impact investing. Today's guest Jon Lukomnik joins us to discuss his new book Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory: Investing That Matters. In the book, which is co-authored by James Hawley, Lukomnik and Hawley give a thorough accounting of how many of the assumptions underlying MPT are unrealistic or mistaken. For instance, MPT dictates that investors can mitigate systematic risks (the risks inherent in specific investment) through diversification but cannot influence large systemic risks (threats to the entire system) such as climate change or massive geopolitical instability. Lukomnik and Hawley argue that investors can and do affect systemic risks. For evidence, one need look no further than the 2008 financial crisis where investors fueled the rise of Mortgage-Backed Securities and other collateralized securities that eventually threatened to topple the global financial system. Similarly, MPT is wrong to assert that investors cannot mitigate systemic environmental or social risks like climate change. They can. But doing so requires investors to utilize tactics that aren't part of their traditional toolbox (e.g. shareholder engagement, policy & advocacy, etc.). Jon is well-positioned to write this book. He is currently Managing Director of Sinclair Capital, a consultancy to institutional investors and formerly was a senior city official running New York City's pension funds where he oversaw $80 billion in assets. He also co-founded the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN), which now represents investors from 43 countries, overseeing some $42 trillion in assets. Jon has been a board member of public, private and not-for-profit companies. He is a three-time recipient of the NACD's Directorship 100 award for being one of the 100 most influential people in US corporate governance. He has also been honoured by the ICGN, Ethisphere, Global Proxy Watch and others. In this episode of the podcast, Jon and I discuss the major arguments from his book including; the importance of MPT; some of the flaws in its underlying assumptions; how the very success of MPT has further undermined the assumptions that underpin it; and why MPT apologists who argue that ESG and impact investing will underperform have it wrong. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end when Jon responds directly to a conversation from an investment podcast where the experts argue that ESG and Impact Investing is doomed to underperform. ENTER OUR GIVEAWAY - for a chance to win an awesome impact investing gift pack that includes a $250 Patagonia gift card, a 60 mins impact investing coaching call with yours truly, and two great impact investing books (including Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory). Visit www.davidoleary.ca/giveaway to enter to win. Resources from this episode: Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory: Investing That Matters by Jon Lukomnik & James Hawley Jon Lukomnik's firm Sinclair Capital Ep 124 of the Rational Reminder Podcast with Professor Lubos Pastor

When we think about impact investing, art isn't the first thing that comes to mind for most of us. Yet investors have used art to store and grow wealth for millennia. And few of us would deny the incredible power that art possesses to change hearts and minds and to motivate us into action. Who among us wasn't touched deeply by Amanda Gorman's spoken word poem, “The Hill We Climb” at Joe Biden's inauguration earlier this year? But few of us, artists included, consider carefully how we might use our artistic talents to create, or our capital to finance, art as a force for social and environmental impact. In this episode of the podcast, I sit down with art activist and changemaker Benjamin Von Wong. Von Wong's work lies at the intersection of fantasy and photography and combines everyday objects with shocking statistics. His work has attracted the attention of corporations, like Starbucks, Dell, and Nike and has generated over 100 million views for causes like ocean plastics, electronic waste, and fashion pollution. Most recently, he was named one of Adweek's 11 content-branded masterminds. He is also the host of the Impact Everywhere Podcast. During the episode, we discuss how Benjamin chooses causes to tackle, how he conceives of his installations, the logistics that goes into creating them, how he finances his projects, and how he thinks about impact measurement. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end where Benjamin touches on how he thinks about the new world of NFTs which are changing the economics for artists the world over. Resources from this episode: You can reach Benjamin and view his amazing work at https://www.vonwong.com/ or inquire about commissioning him at https://unforgettablelabs.com/ Von Wong's art installations that we discuss during the episode: Strawpocalypse Truck Load of Plastic Toxic Laundry Fast Fashion E-Waste Walking on Air for Nike 10,000 plastic bottles, a mermaid, and a single wish Underwater Shipwreck in Bali Benjamin's Podcast: Impact Everywhere Follow Benjamin Von Wong on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and LinkedIn.

I have spent well over two decades working in the investment management industry. For the vast majority of that time, ESG and responsible investing toiled in obscurity and dismissed as the pursuit of impractical idealists. However, in recent years we reached a tipping point and the industry is racing to get in on the action by overhauling its marketing and sometimes even its investment processes. These days you would be hard-pressed to find an investment manager that isn't claiming to be incorporating ESG considerations into its processes. And there are plenty of investment managers quick to claim to be doing impact investing. The trouble is, there's a big difference between making investments that have an impact (all investments have some impact) and doing legitimate impact investing. The reason so few large money managers are doing real impact investing is because it's harder, more time-consuming, often offers less liquidity, and doesn't have the necessary scale. In this episode of the podcast, I sit down with Andrew Parry, Head of Sustainable Investing and Newton Investment Management out of London, U.K. With roughly $60 billion in assets under management, Newton is a boutique investment management business that is one of eight asset managers owned by BNY Mellon Investment Management. Under Andrew's leadership, the firm has put responsible and impact investing at the heart of its philosophy and approach. Andrew has spent his career in investment management across a variety of respected asset managers including Hermes, Lazard Brothers, and Julius Baer, and Baring Asset Management. Parry is also a member of the CFA UK's Committee for Diversity & Inclusion. During the episode, we discuss how Andrew sees ESG investing versus impact investing, how he weaves an SDG focus into the firm's investment process and product creation, the change in demand for responsible investments in recent years, and why he views every business as a de facto social enterprise. We also get into the age-old debate of whether responsible investing leads to lower future returns. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end where Andrew discusses his outlook for the investment industry headed over the next decade Resources from this episode: Newton Investment Management's Website Newton's Statement of Purpose Newton's Responsible Investment Policies & Practices Follow Andrew on LinkedIn Episode Sponsor: Help make wishes come true for families in need! Become a co-owner of Geenees today for as little as $250 by visiting the Geenees FrontFundr crowdfunding page

If impact investing requires us to address systemic inequalities, and it does, then you can't claim to be an impact investor and ignore gender equality. Consider that women, girls and gender-diverse people represent half of the earth's population and that in virtually every culture across the globe, for all of human history, they have been systematically oppressed. In this episode of the podcast, I sit down with Joy Anderson, the Founder and President of Criterion Institute and a true OG of gender lens investing. Criterion Institute is a non-profit think tank that works with social change-makers to demystify finance and broaden perspectives on how to engage with and shift financial systems. The core mission of Criterion Institute is to expand the demographic of those who see themselves as able to use finance as a tool for social change. This is achieved by providing resources such as blueprints and toolkits to bring people to the table who normally would not feel welcome. Criterion Institute challenges the structural inequities that create barriers in the finance world, especially as it pertains to women. Joy's interest in social change and systems of power was formulated through her experiences in academia during her undergraduate studies and in her work as a high school teacher in the New York public school system. Joy has since worked in finance for 20 years and was listed in Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business in 2011. In founding Good Capital alongside Timothy Freundlich and Kevin Jones, Joy experienced first-hand the opportunities and challenges involved in impact investing. During this episode, Joy and I discuss how highly complex jargon creates barriers in the finance industry; the importance of understanding context when moving money to create social good; and the link between increased political risk in investments and rates of gender-based violence. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end where Joy addresses the problem of keeping the finance field binary and the cultural shifts she hopes to see in the future. Resources from this episode: Criterion Institute's Website Criterion's latest publication: Disrupting Fields: Addressing Power Dynamics in the Fields of Climate Finance and Gender Lens Investing Criterion's Toolkit for Finance as a Strategy for Social Change Criterion's Blueprints for Social Change for Women's funds, Grassroots organizations, International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs), and Faith-based organizations Follow Criterion on LinkedIn and Twitter Follow Joy on Twitter and on LinkedIn

This is a special edition of the podcast. It is a recording of live a conversation we had on Clubhouse about the ways in which wealth inequality happens that no one is talking about. It features two guests from previous episodes whose work has some loose intersection points. I was excited to bring them together to discuss this important topic. It was a long episode but well worth the listen! Jon Shell is Managing Director & Partner at Social Capital Partners, a non-profit organization dedicated to scaling market-based solutions that address wealth inequality. Jon is a former McKinsey consultant and social entrepreneur. Jon was a guest on episode 25 where we discussed the work his firm, Social Capital Partners, is doing pioneering work in financing employee buyouts as a way to increase employee ownership and fight wealth inequality. Delilah Rothenburg is Founder and Executive Director of The Predistribution Initiative, a multi-stakeholder effort to improve investment structures that share more wealth and influence with workers and communities, provide stronger incentives to invest responsibly, and ultimately address systemic risks including income inequality and climate change. Delilah has worked as a strategic advisor across ESG integration, impact strategy, and stakeholder engagement. Delilah was a guest on episode 27 of the podcast where we discussed the work she is doing with The Predistribution Initiative.

The emphasis of this podcast is the very first word: impact. We're constantly exploring how organizations and individuals can invest more responsibly, in a way that makes a real difference for people, communities, and the environment. That sounds simple enough. But when it comes time to measure the impact that an investment has made, that's where most initiatives fall short. It's difficult to understand what impact really means, especially with such a wide and diverse set of potential criteria. Some might even call it a riddle. In this episode of the podcast, I sit down with Jenelle Sobey, the CEO and Co-Founder of Riddl. Riddl is an organization that helps companies and nonprofits of all sizes track, analyze, and share their social and environmental impact data. One of their biggest goals is to show organizations the many different types of impact, and how they can reach the ones that matter most to their mission. They do this through in-depth software that allows companies to manage their goals, activities, and collaboration all in one place. Jenelle's interest in solving social problems started in childhood and led her to study political science in an attempt to solve problems through politics and government. But her work experiences - which range from Academia to Social Entrepreneurship - would lead her to the belief that technology could also be a key lever to drive social impact. It was this belief that ultimately led her to start Riddl with co-founders, Derek Hatchard and Jessica Peters. During this episode, Jenelle and I discuss how the Riddl software works, what types of companies are currently using it, and the power of industry data in measuring impact. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end where Jenelle dives into the social return on investment calculator they're in the process of developing! Resources from this episode: Riddl website The Riddl podcast Follow Riddl on LinkedIn Follow Riddl on Twitter Follow Jenelle on Twitter *** Episode Sponsor Info: Help make wishes come true for families in need! Become a co-owner of Geenees today for as little as $250 by visiting the Geenees FrontFundr crowdfunding page. ***

Private equity can be a wonderful thing. The combination of capital and expertise provided by private equity investors can help companies to grow and create jobs. This is particularly true for smaller and mid-sized companies which tend to be engines of job growth. But at the same time, traditional private equity structures have contributed to wealth inequality. Not just for executives of the portfolio companies, but for their employees and the communities they operate in. In this episode of the Impact Investing Podcast, I caught up with Delilah Rothenburg, Founder and Executive Director of The Predistribution Initiative. The Predistribution Initiative is a multi-stakeholder project designed to co-create improved investment structures, particularly for mainstream markets. Their goal is to share more wealth with workers and communities, incentivize investment teams for environmental, social, and governance (or ESG) integration, and ultimately make sure that systemic risks - like income inequality and climate change - are addressed. In our conversation, Delilah and I discuss the many challenges within traditional private equity structures, from outsized influence to unfair profit distribution and market instability. Plus, what investment professionals at all levels of the playing field can do to solve them. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end where we discuss how The Predistribution Initiative is exploring new solutions to these traditional private equity issues. Resources from this episode: The Predistribution Initiative website Follow The Predistribution Initiative on LinkedIn Connect with Delilah on LinkedIn Follow Delilah on Twitter

For decades, Sub-Saharan Africa has been a hotspot for foreign investment and international aid. It has also been subject to the kind of philanthropy that is often more destructive than helpful. As an impact investor, it's imperative to understand what that type of philanthropy looks like and how to avoid it. Africa has also been facing funding challenges in recent years. Even before the pandemic, the continent was seeing a decline in FDI. In fact, investment flows were expected to drop 25% by the end of 2020. Today, the majority of the available funding is streamlined to large corporations or small microenterprises, leaving a major gap for the companies in between. So what does it mean to start an impact fund that makes a real impact for African communities? To find out, we sat down with David Harlley, Jonathan Wilson, and Kwabena Owusu-Adjei - the minds behind Third Way Capital. Launched in 2020, Third Way Capital is an early-stage impact fund investing in African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Their strategy is to invest in financial structures that make lasting change, alleviating some of the funding challenges that African SMEs and entrepreneurs face. During this episode, we discuss what goes into starting an impact fund. Since David, Jonathan, and Kwabena have all lived or grown up in Africa, we talk about the importance of truly knowing the environment you're investing in. Plus, how impact investors can identify opportunities and gaps, validate their impact with outcome-oriented measurements, and break the mould of traditional fund structures. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end where we discuss the specific kinds of companies Third Way Capital is looking to invest in. Resources from this episode: Third Way Capital's website Contact Third Way Capital by email: info@thirdwaycapital.co Our episode on Employee Ownership with Jon Shell

Welcome to episode 25 of the Impact Investing Podcast. The richest 26 people on earth own as much wealth as the poorest 3.8 billion. The wealthiest 10% control 84% of the world's wealth. Meanwhile, 4.8 billion people fight for just 2% of the world's wealth. Reducing wealth inequality is possibly the biggest moral imperative of our time. It also happens to be one of the largest threats to global peace and geopolitical stability. My guest today is Jon Shell, Managing Director of Social Capital Partners (SCP). Social Capital Partners looks to bring market-based approaches to solving complex systemic social problems like wealth inequality. The organization has tackled a variety of problems through different approaches over the years. What stands out about Social Capital Partners is its commitment to impact. The organization has made numerous radical pivots in its approach over the years, as its staff experiment, test, and learn. For a full rundown of the organization's fascinating history, listen to episode #01 of the podcast where I chat with SCP's founder, Bill Young. In this episode, Jon and I discuss the organization's latest pivot and the publication of its newest public policy discussion paper titled: Building an employee ownership economy. During our chat, we dive into the importance of employee ownership as a channel for distributing wealth more equitably, the necessary conditions for employee ownership to thrive, and the differences between the Canadian and US environments. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end when we discuss the types of organizations that are well suited to utilizing the employee ownership trust. Resources mentioned during the podcast SCP's website Jon Shell's blog post explaining SCP's latest pivot. SCP's employee ownership webpage. SCP's employee ownership discussion paper / one-page summary. Jon Shell's Twitter and LinkedIn.

Given the capitalistic societies most of us live in, we spend an inordinate amount of time focused on accumulating, growing, and deploying capital. You could fill a library with all the books dedicated to the what and how of capital. Yet, we devote shockingly little time to considering the why of capital. Much in the same way Simon Sinek asks all businesses to “start with why”, Jed Emerson would like us purveyors of capital to start with why. In other words, we would be well served to stop and ask ourselves, what is the purpose of capital? With me today to tackle this question is Jed Emerson, one of the impact investment industry's elder statesmen who literally wrote the book on this topic. In addition to his writing, Jed currently focuses on working with families exploring how to ensure a long-term legacy by managing their full net worth for impact. He also advises investment firms on the implications of an impact investing framework for their practice. He is an internationally recognized Thought Leader in impact investing, social entrepreneurship, and strategic philanthropy. During the episode, Jed and I discuss his journey through the industry from his early days as a social worker to his current work as a writer and adviser. We also dig into the major themes in his book, The Purpose of Capital including the role of spirituality in impact investing, the role of Western dualism and our separation of self and other, and how Jed's views have evolved over the years. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end where we talk about what Jed believes we're getting wrong when it comes to impact measurement and management along with his outlook for the future of our industry. You can learn more about Jed by visiting his website or following him on Twitter. Resources mentioned in this episode: The Purpose of Capital homepage The Purpose of Capital FREE E-Book The Purpose of Capital teaching notes The Purpose of Capital Guidebook The Purpose of Capital Music Video: What If?

Welcome to episode 23 of the Impact Investing Podcast. The idea of discussing ownership and legal structuring of businesses may not sound super exciting at first blush. However, it's a vitally important topic, especially for impact businesses. The issue founders must contend with is, how do they protect the purpose/values of their business as it grows and brings on new staff, clients, suppliers, and most importantly, investors? Investors are particularly problematic given the prevalence of the shareholder-primacy paradigm which dictates that company executives seek to maximize shareholder value above all else. How do we avoid the pitfalls of Capitalism's relentless pressure for profit growth from distracting us from our core purpose? That's what today's guest is here to explore with us today. Natalie Reitman-White is Ownership & Governance Design Advisor with Alternative Ownership Advisors. Natalie's firm is a Stewardship Ownership consultancy that works with impact businesses to think about alternative legal structures that can embed a company's purpose into its organization structure, governance, and financing. During the episode, Natalie and I discuss the origins of Alternative Ownership Advisors and how it got its start when Natalie was running an organic food producer and had difficulty finding answers to her questions in pursuit of a more suitable legal structure. We then dive into the details of how Alternative Ownership Advisors helps business owners. We dive into the details of various legal structures, examples of businesses that have utilized them, and discuss how these models solved the challenges of protecting their purpose and values. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end where we talk about the types of businesses that are best-suited for considering an alternative ownership model like a perpetual ownership trust. You can learn more about Alternative Ownership Advisors by visiting its website or its LinkedIn page. Also mentioned during the show were Natalie's original sustainable food business Organically Grown and the website The Purpose Economy.

If there is a lesson to be learned for investors wishing to solve real social challenges, it's that we need to do less talking and more listening. We need to make space for not only a diverse range of views and perspectives but particularly for those with lived experience. Perhaps nowhere is the need for listening and learning more pronounced than when it comes to tackling reconciliation and challenges faced by Indigenous communities. The vast majority of investment capital is held by those with very little understanding and appreciation for Indigenous ways of knowing and being. And this is problematic because those differences have a profound impact on not only how to solve the challenges Indigenous communities face but, more profoundly, what “improvement” actually looks like. In other words, we can't be true allies of any group of people if we don't understand their challenges and desired outcomes. That's why putting capital in the hands of those who have been excluded from economic prosperity is so important and why the work that today's guest today does is so important. Sara Wolfe is Director of the Indigenous Innovation Initiative with Grand Challenges Canada and her work is to provide both financial and non-financial support to drive innovation and social impact that is led by and/or created by Indigenous peoples. In this episode, Sara and I discuss the broader mandate of Grand Challenges Canada, the birth of the Indigenous Innovation Initiative, the challenges Indigenous communities face, and the forms of financial support they provide to Indigenous entrepreneurs. We also discuss Sara's fascinating journey that led her to where she is today, including her time spent working as a midwife. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end where we talk about the critical importance of the various forms of non-financial support she and her team provide. You can learn more about Grand Challenges Canada and the Indigenous Innovation Initiative by visiting their websites. You can follow Grand Challenges Canada on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. You can follow Sara on LinkedIn.

Newcomers to even the most welcoming countries, face significant challenges. From language and cultural barriers to finding affordable housing, all the way to the mental health challenges of being alone in a strange new place. And supporting newcomers during this difficult transition is not only a moral imperative but makes compelling economic sense. The better and more quickly newcomers adjust to their new home, the happier, healthier, and more productive citizens they will be. And while some of these barriers are difficult to solve, some are not. Nowhere is this more evident than the employment barriers faced by highly trained and educated newcomers. Who among us hasn't been in a cab or an Uber driven by someone who was an engineer or other high-income earning professional back home. This can happen for a variety of reasons but one is that many newcomers cannot afford the necessary certifications/licensing necessary to find employment in their field of expertise. My guest today is Claudia Hepburn, CEO of Windmill Microlending (formerly known as the Immigrant Access Fund). Windmill is a registered charity that provides loans of up to $15,000 to over 1000 newcomers to Canada each year who are unable to afford the licensing or certifications necessary to find employment in their field of expertise. In this episode, Claudia and I discuss the challenges that newcomers to Canada face, the types of places and industries newcomers come from and work in, and how the organization's efforts lead Windmill clients to see, on average, a tripling of their income and a 97% repayment rate. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end where we discuss how the organization utilizes both charitable dollars and impact investment capital to fund all of its amazing work. You can learn more about Windmill Microlending by visiting its website or by visiting its impact dashboard. You can learn about how to either donate or invest with Windmill by clicking here. You can follow Windmill on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. You can follow Claudia on Twitter.

Most people don't automatically look to the public sector for the latest and greatest innovations. However, when it comes to the world of social finance, the public sector is, in many ways, leading the private sector. In our last episode, we explored the world of blended finance – where governments are finding innovative ways to use public funds to drive private sector capital into projects that achieve impact. Another prominent example will be discussed in today's episode. Today's guests Beth Woroniuk, Policy Lead, and Bonnie Foley-Wong, Head of Investment Strategy at the Equality Fund join us to discuss the work they are doing to support grassroots women's movements in the Global South to advance gender equality. What's particularly interesting about the Equality Fund's work is both the manner in which it is tackling Gender Equality but also its genesis. The Equality Fund was seeded in 2019 by a $300 million contribution from Global Affairs Canada, in a first of its kind initiative to stand up a new type of entity that could use the government contribution to achieve not only financial sustainability but also catalyze an even larger commitment of private sector investment capital and philanthropic capital. During this episode, Beth, Bonnie, and I discuss the origin story of the Equality Fund, the problems it was conceived to solve, its granting versus investment efforts, and the unique governance structure needed to organize its audacious approach. We also discuss the organization's fundraising strategy and how it plans to crowd in private sector investment capital. And be sure to stay tuned to the end where we discuss the practical challenges of actually deploying $300 million of capital quickly. You can learn more about the Equality Fund at its website and you can donate to support their work by clicking here. You can also follow the organization on Twitter. You can connect with Beth on Twitter and Bonnie on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Microfinance is an intervention that we usually think of as being valuable in a developing world context. The world is full of hard-working people with an entrepreneurial spirit who lack access to the necessary financing to get a business off the ground. Lending to these entrepreneurs has a host of societal benefits that include creating jobs and incomes for families in their communities, a spike in local economic activity as these businesses purchase local goods and services, and generates tax revenues for local governments to afford additional public services. So one of the last places you might think microfinance is necessary is in a nation like the US which sells itself on the American Dream; a land of opportunity where anyone can be successful if they work hard enough. But in this episode we speak with Andrew Posner, Founder & CEO of Capital Good Fund who joins us to discuss why even in the US, microfinance is necessary and how his non-profit organization uses microfinance and coaching to combat a $200 billion dollar a year predatory industry that consists of payday lenders, pawnshops, rent to own stores, and subprime lenders; each offering some form of consumer loans at high double or often triple-digit interest rates. During the episode, Andy and I discuss the challenges low-income Americans face, how race factors in, the importance of coaching in addition to lending to their clients, how COVID has disproportionately affected low-income Americans, and how the Capital Good Fund has adapted its services as a result. Be sure to stay tuned to the very end where we discuss Andy's ambitious plans for the Capital Good Fund over the next 5 years and why the coming US election is so important to those plans. You can connect with Capital Good Fund on its website. You learn more about Andy on his website, or follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn.

For all the promise of Impact Investing, the amount of capital flowing into these investments still represents a tiny fraction of the overall pool of global investment capital. There is no single reason for this. However, a meaningful part of the equation boils down to the risk, or rather, the perceived risks of making impact investments. This is especially true when impact capital is financing investments in developing countries. This is where Blended Finance comes in. In this episode, we're joined by Joan Larrea who is the CEO of a non-profit called Convergence. Convergence was established in 2016 to help support the burgeoning field of blended finance and facilitate more blended finance transactions. Joan joins us to discuss how a variety of techniques can be used to de-risk impact investments, how that de-risking can attract much larger sums of investment capital, and what conditions make blended finance a viable solution for impact investment providers and investors. For the social finance nerds out there, we get into the specifics of four common blended finance transaction types: Concessional Capital, Guarantee / Risk Insurance, Technical Assistance Facility, and Results-Based Financing. Make sure to stay tuned to the very end when we discuss the trends Joan is seeing and her outlook for the future of this exciting new field. You can connect with Convergence on its website (they have lots of great stats and educational info!), Twitter, or LinkedIn. You can follow Joan on LinkedIn.

There are few people in the industry I enjoy chatting with more than Rehana Nathoo. As Founder and CEO of Spectrum Impact, and having worked across the philanthropic and impact investing landscape (including BNY Mellon, The Rockefeller Foundation, and The Case Foundation), Rehana's experiences and perspectives are endlessly fascinating. In this episode, we not only chat about Rehana's past work experiences and her most recent work with clients like Ellevest and The Equality Fund, but I also get Rehana's perspective on a range of topics such as: measuring impact, ESG vs SRI vs Impact Investing, the integration of granting and program-related investing, and some of the organizations Rehana thinks are doing really great work. You can follow Rehana on Twitter or LinkedIn. You can access Spectrum Impact's Impact Investing Toolkit (discussed during the episode) here. Also, don't forget to get your SoCap20 Virtual conference tickets now (happening this coming October). Normally ticket prices for SoCap are hundreds to thousands of dollars. Early bird tickets for this virtual conference are now just USD $149. The conference agenda is not being released until September. But you can view the conference themes and help curate conference content by voting for your favourite proposed sessions.

Commercial banking isn't exactly known for being a warm and fuzzy business. Financial institutions provide a wide range of banking services to businesses large and small. However, existing banks and financial services providers often employ very standardized approaches that don't serve all businesses equally well. This is particularly apparent in commercial lending where start-ups and early-stage businesses, especially those with non-traditional business models (i.e. social enterprises), have great trouble securing financing. In this episode of the podcast, Jay-Ann Gilfroy, CEO of Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB) joins us to discuss the challenges in traditional commercial finance and how VCIB is inventing a kind, more purpose-driven approach. During our conversation, we also discuss VCIB's recent acquisition of CoPower (be sure to listen to episode 11 from last year where I discuss CoPower's green bonds with Trish Nixon), and the launch of VCIB's newest impact investment, the Unity GIC. You can connect with Vancity/VCIB on their website, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. You can connect with Jay-Ann on LinkedIn. Also, don't forget that the Responsible Investment Association's annual conference is coming up, June 8 - 12th. You can register at www.riaconference.ca.

Jeff Baikowitz of Motherfood International and Melani O'Leary of World Vision Canada, join us today's episode. Jeff is the Founder of Motherfood which has developed a particularly interesting model to bring great tasting, low cost, fortified foods to pregnant and lactating moms to address a hyper-critical period for babies and moms known as the first 1,000 days of life. Meanwhile, Melani O'Leary is a Nutrition Technical Specialist with World Vision Canada. In her work, Melani has responsibility for how World Vision Canada's programs are designed and implemented to improve nutrition outcomes for some of the world's most vulnerable people in regions like Latin America, The Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Jeff and Melani join us on the podcast to discuss the critical importance of the 1st 1,000 days of life and why it potentially represents the best social return on investment one can make, how Motherfood is tackling this issue by working in communities to design fortified foods palatable to local tastes, how it is creating opportunities for women to sell these foods local to improve distribution and provide them an income opportunity, and how World Vision is leveraging its expertise, local presence, and community relationships to expand this model. If you're interested in learning more about Motherfood International, you can check out their website or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. If you're interested in learning more about Origin Capital and World Vision Canada, subscribe to the Good Money podcast! Or check out Origin Capital's website, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

I decided to flip the script for this episode and give listeners a glimpse into what I'm passionate about and the work that I do. My friend and colleague Anne-Marie Vettorel takes over as host. During this episode, we discuss my origin story, my early career in the investment industry, some embarrassing confessions (warning: you may learn more about me than you want to know) before we diving deeper into my work as Founder of Kind Wealth and as Managing Director of Origin Capital. This is an expansive conversation that covers a wide range of topics all the way from how and why the financial advice industry in North America is broken to the challenges of measuring impact while working in the least developed countries. We cover a lot of ground in a short period of time, so buckle up! If you're interested in learning more about Kind Wealth, you can check out the website or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. If you're interested in learning more about Origin Capital, subscribe to the Good Money podcast! Or check out our website and sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Jeffrey Cyr of Raven Indigenous Capital Partners (RCIP) joins us for today's episode. Jeff is Managing Partner at RCIP; Canada's first Indigenous financial intermediary. Its mission is to empower Indigenous entrepreneurs with the capital and expertise they need to succeed. Jeff joins us on the podcast to discuss how RCIP is making transformative investments that can generate positive financial returns while revitalizing Canada's Indigenous economy. During the podcast, we discuss a wide range of topics including the firm's quest to raise $5 million for its newly launched demonstration impact fund, why an Indigenous lens is needed, and how Indigenous ways of knowing and being tend to make Indigenous impact investing inherently more sustainable. If you're interested in learning more about Jeff, you can follow him on Twitter. You can also learn more about Raven Indigenous Capital Partners on its website or follow them on Twitter. During the episode, we referenced the book Decolonizing Wealth by Edgar Villanueva. Episode Sponsor: This episode was sponsored by the Certified Professional Impact Analyst (CPIA) certification at Queens University. If you're serious about upping your impact measurement & management skills visit www.cpia.queensu.ca.

Upkar Arora of Rally Assets joins us for today's episode. Upkar is Chief Executive Officer at Rally Assets; A full-service impact investing firm helping investors align their investments with their values. Rally is a new brand but has a rich history in the impact investment space in Canada under previous ownership under the name Purpose Capital. The firm's new owner, Upkar Arora, joins us on the podcast to discuss how he's transitioning Rally Assets from a consulting service provider to a full-service impact investing firm that is now able to fully manage client assets. During the podcast, we discuss a wide range of topics including Rally's principle of “progress not perfection”, the journey to becoming a full-service provider, and how Rally Assets measures its impact. And be sure to stay tuned until the end where we hold a mirror up to our industry and discuss potential unintended negative consequences of impact investing. If you're interested in learning more about Upkar, you can follow him on Twitter. Learn more about Rally Assets by visiting its website.

Trish Nixon of CoPower Inc. joins us for today's episode. Trish is Managing Director and Head of Capital at CoPower Inc.; an online platform allowing Canadians to access impact investments that will help accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy. Sadly the impact investment space right now is predominantly populated by private investments which are accessible only to wealthy Canadians. What's particularly exciting about CoPower is that they an early leader in democratizing access to impact investments in Canada. During the podcast, we discuss a wide range of topics including how CoPower got its start, how its Green Bonds work, what's holding impact investments back from reaching a mass retail audience, and the dirty secret in Canadians' investment portfolios. If you're interested in learning more about Trish, you can follow her on Twitter. Learn more about CoPower's Green Bonds here. And if you're interested in CoPower report we discuss at the end of the podcast, it's called “The dirty secret in your investment portfolio”.

Sharon Avery of Toronto Foundation joins us for today's episode. Sharon is President & CEO of Toronto Foundation (TF); one of the 191 community foundations across Canada which holds nearly $500 million in assets. As a community foundation, Toronto Foundation is a charity but not a cause. It exists to contribute time, leadership, and money to support communities and causes across the city to make Toronto a better place for everyone. Toronto Foundation has made early forays into impact investing in affordable housing projects and recently just launched its first social investment fund. During the podcast, we discuss a wide range of topics such as how Sharon wants to redefine Philanthropy, the value of diversity and lived experience, TF's ground-breaking Social Capital report, and it's brand new social investment fund. If you're interested in what Sharon has to say, you can follow her on Twitter. You can view the Vital Signs reports for any of the community foundations here and you can access Toronto Foundations Social Capital Study here. Episode Sponsor: World Vision Canada The Social Innovation Challenge, by World Vision Canada, is being held Wednesday June 19th at 6pm at Art Scape Daniels Launch Pad at 130 Queens Quay East, Toronto, Ontario. Learn more here. To join the event, register here.

Stephen Huddart of McConnell Foundation joins us for today's episode. Stephen is President & CEO of McConnell Foundation; Canada's second oldest private foundation which is responsible for roughly $650 million in assets. The foundation focuses on impacting a broad range of issues such as Indigenous reconciliation, the changing nature of work, food security, and mental health. McConnell Foundation is one of Canada's most sophisticated impact investors and is systematically transitioning its existing investments to impact investments. In this episode, we discuss the foundation's work beyond traditional grants and the creative ways it uses all its resources as a force for good. We also discuss the recently announced $800 million commitment by the Canadian government to establish Canada's first Social Finance Fund.  If you're interested in what Stephen has to say, you can follow him on Twitter.   

Tim Nash of Good Investing joins us for today's episode. Tim is Founder at Good Investing; a fee-only service helping Canadians invest their own money online in a sustainable manner. Tim is also a blogger who runs The Sustainable Economist. In this episode, we discuss how Tim coaches clients to take control of their investments and align them with their values. During the course of the conversation, we discuss some fascinating topics such as whether you need to sacrifice performance to make socially responsible investments, Universal Basic Income, and the environmental and social impacts of lab-grown meat. You can follow Tim on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Tal Dehtiar of Oliberté joins us for today's episode. Tal is President and Founder of Oliberté; a sustainable fair trade footwear brand supporting workers' rights in sub-Saharan Africa. Oliberté is a Certified B Corporation, is committed to 1% For the Planet, and owns the world's first Fair Trade Certified shoe factory.  In this episode, we discuss Tal's winding path to launch Oliberté, how a shoe manufacturer can contribute towards SDGs, what it means that Oliberté is the world's fist Fair-Trade Certified footwear company, and how its model differs from footwear sensation Tom's.  You can find Oliberté at www.oliberte.com and you can follow Tal on Twitter or LinkedIn.  

In this episode, David is joined by Mike Winterfield. Mike is Founder and CEO of Active Impact Investments; an impact investment fund that invests in early stage, for-profit, businesses looking to make some sort of environmental or social impact. On the podcast we discuss the exciting journey Mike is on as he is quickly approaching his goal to raise and invest $10 million for the firm's first impact fund. Mike was previously President of Randstad Professionals, a division of Randstad Canada, a leading recruitment and HR services firm with annual revenues in excess of $300 million. Mike also was COO and later President of Traction on Demand, a developer of cloud-based technology solutions. During the episode we discuss Mike's awakening moment, how his bad dreams have played into an abrupt career transition toward impact, the trials and tribulations of starting an impact fund, and the fund's first two investments: GoJava (which provides coffee for offices where they recycle all the coffee pods) and Keela (which provides software solutions that drive efficiencies for small and medium size non-profits). You can find Mike's firm at www.activeimpactinvestments.com and you can follow Mike on Twitter or LinkedIn.

In this episode, David is joined by Nadine Pequeneza. Nadine is an award-winning Director, Writer, and Producer best known for her social issue films offering unique access to character-driven stories. She is also the owner of HitPlay Productions. Nadine's most recent film, Invisible Heart, is the world's first documentary about Social Impact Bonds (SIBs). The film paints both a picture of hope around the potential for using market-based approaches to solving social problems but also challenges us to consider the unintended consequences that may result. During the episode, we discuss both the promise and pitfalls of social impact bonds, the reactions Nadine has received to the film thus far, and what the future may hold for this novel new instrument.

In this episode, David is joined by Jonathan Hera, Founder and Managing Partner of Marigold Capital. Marigold is an early stage private market investor. In other words, a venture capital firm. But Marigold has a radically new investment model that seeks social outcomes as much as financial outcomes. Jonathan discusses how his early childhood experiences shape his work to this day, recounts some of his impressive array of experiences pioneering the impact investment landscape in Canada, and talks about Marigold's Moneyball approach to venture capital investing.

Alexa Blain is COO at Deetken Impact; an impact investment firm based in Vancouver BC. During our chat Alexa discusses how the firm searches for investment opportunities in Latin America that impact communities in any number of ways, including: promoting women entrepreneurship, providing credit to micro and small businesses, promoting access to clean energy, affordable housing and/or health care. We also talk about the barriers to scaling impact investing in Canada, the risks of impact investing, and what other impact investments Alexa likes right now.

Phillip Haid discusses how his firm Public Inc. works with some of the world's largest brands to catalyze their positive impact on the world. In our chat Phil discusses the evolution of Public, how and why purpose and profit not only mix but are inseparable, and how the world's largest companies are beginning to infuse their brands with purpose. We also discuss Nike's highly polarizing Colin Kaepernick ad. 

Bill Young is one of the founding fathers of impact investing. He is Founder and Partner of a non-profit called Social Capital Partners which pursues high-risk creative solutions that tackel big real-world problems. In this episode, Bill recounts his previous career feeling like a marionette to 28 year old, red-suspender wearing investment bankers, the early days getting Social Capital Partners off the ground, how three big failures forced him to pivot several times, and the biggest social challenges he's most excited about tackling right now. This is a longer episode but it's worth listening to every minute! #impactinvesting #socialfinance #socialenterprise #investing #kindwealth #impactinvestingpodcast

A brief introduction to what this podcast is all about. We're in production now and will go live with the first episodes by September 24th, 2018.