Catalytic capital is “the means by which rural African entrepreneurs, often operating in fragmented markets and overlooked by conventional investors, can become more resilient,” writes Small Foundation’s Karina Wong, in ImpactAlpha. “Many constraints in rural […]
Why Catalytic Capital Matters Now Read More »
Capital gaps are often viewed in simple terms as a shortage of money. But, as Prime Coalition’s Anna Goldstein and Alban Yau write in ImpactAlpha, scarcity is rarely the whole story. “A deeper challenge often
Catalytic Capital Is a Surgical Tool to Fill Capital Gaps Read More »
“As with any overlooked and under-capitalized opportunity set, there are both rational and structural reasons why more capital isn’t flowing to support transitions to employee ownership,” writes Margot Kane, chief investment officer at Spring Point
Overcoming the Mindset Barriers that Keep Investors Away from Employee Ownership Read More »
“As the largest generational transfer of business assets in U.S. history unfolds, with more than $10 trillion expected to change hands as baby boomers retire, millions of small and mid-sized businesses employing tens of millions
Catalytic Capital Can Do More Than Fill Gaps—It Can Reshape Our Economic System Read More »
“To stand up its strategy to unlock rooftop solar financing for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises in India, New York-based Encourage Capital has found that, in addition to investing, it had to build lender capabilities,
A Case Study in Unlocking Lending to Small Businesses to Accelerate Solar in India Read More »
The Catalytic Capital Consortium (C3) is moving forward with a new chapter of work to expand the flow of catalytic capital for funds, initiatives, and enterprises addressing the world’s most pressing challenges. We are doubling
Writing in Impact Alpha, C3’s Urmi Sengupta takes a look at the future of the initiative, pointing to early indicators of success and detailing how new funders are helping extend C3’s work. “A strong catalytic
Harnessing global momentum for catalytic capital Read More »
In a new blog for Mission Investors Exchange (MIE), C3’s Urmi Sengupta takes a look at how and why philanthropic investors use catalytic capital to drive progress on key impact objectives. “While many kinds of
Catalytic Capital: An Essential Impact Driver Read More »
“Some capital gaps are transient and can be bridged with seeding or scaling catalytic capital,” writes Harvey Koh, an advisor to C3, in a commentary for Impact Alpha. “Other gaps are structural and require sustaining catalytic
Smarter targeting of capital gaps can make catalytic capital more effective Read More »
In response to the economic and health crises of the pandemic, Pacific Community Ventures (PCV) launched the Oakland Restorative Loan Fund, which deployed catalytic capital to small business owners at 0% interest and with no fees.
Investing in Beloved Community: A Playbook for Place-Based Impactful Lending Read More »
In a new piece for Stanford Social Innovation Review, Harvey Koh analyzes research from C3’s Strengthening the Evidence Base grantees to dispel five long-standing myths about capital gaps. “Without a clear understanding of these gaps,
5 Myths Preventing Catalytic Capital From Going Where It’s Needed Read More »
We all know that conference season can be an interesting but exhausting trek from one impact investing event to the next. And yet, it also can be an energizing opportunity to forge connections with new
What’s next for the field of catalytic capital? Read More »
“A tidal wave of catalytic capital is gathering. Let us not squander its force,” urges Sarah Kearney, the founder and executive director of Prime Coalition, in a new commentary in Inside Philanthropy. She outlines the
In Impact Alpha, Maoz (Michael) Brown, with The ESG Initiative at the Wharton School, talks about the results of recent research into the perspectives of impact-first investors. “Profit and purpose, mission and money, values and
Embracing the Spectrum: Investors of catalytic capital seek outperformance – on impact Read More »
Looking for a recap of this year’s Impact Minds conference in Rio de Janeiro? In a recent commentary piece, Latimpacto outlines some of the key discussions that took place during its three-day event, including the
Lessons and achievements from Impact Minds 2023 Read More »
“Wealthy individuals and family offices are an under-tapped source of catalytic capital,” writes Dario Parziale, head of investment research and analysis at Toniic, the global impact investing network, in a commentary for ImpactAlpha. “Family offices
How wealthy individuals and family offices are embracing catalytic capital Read More »
What does it mean for investors to develop a systems change strategy – moving beyond the typical impact investing focus on individual deals and outcomes to tackle deeper, underlying challenges? “Small Foundation has long observed
Leveraging catalytic capital to transform economic systems in Africa Read More »
“While much of the sector continues to embrace the hype of ‘mainstreaming’ impact, there are many of us still quizzically scratching our heads wondering when, if ever, some portion of those declared trillions of impact
Beyond the fairy tale: Investment strategies that catalyze real impact Read More »
“Development finance institutions aim to make themselves obsolete,” writes Ward Nusselder, investment officer with FMO, the Dutch development bank, as part of C3’s Scaling Impact blog series published by Impact Alpha. “We want to play
Four principles to help catalytic investors optimize allocations and scale impact Read More »
“When considering catalytic capital investments in emerging markets and specifically Africa, a persistent and material challenge is the need to increase local currency participation in deals, says Osaruyi Orobosa-Ogbeide, senior vice president of project development
How to get more international money flowing in local currency Read More »
When it comes to ‘scaling,’ catalytic capital is key “Should an impact fund or enterprise still need catalytic financing if it has already achieved proof-of-concept and demonstrated early success? Should catalytic capital investors consider such
Najada Kumbuli, head of investments at the Visa Foundation, penned a powerful blog related to conversations during C3’s Learning Labs, focusing on the use of catalytic capital in a “seeding” role. “Catalytic capital providers have
Combating bias in asset management with catalytic capital and inclusive due diligence Read More »
To maximize the potential of catalytic capital, investors should build communities that are “pragmatic, collaborative, and creative,” writes Dia Martin, managing director at U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, in a Seeding Impact blog in Impact
Impact investors collaborate to amplify the impact of their catalytic capital Read More »
How do experienced investors assess impact, financial, and non-financial parameters in defining catalytic capital? Yasmin Saltuk Lamy and Prerna Choudhury with British International Investment (BII) discuss their approach in blog that draws on discussions during
Assessing impact and risk when deploying catalytic capital Read More »
