ImpactAlpha Open

Rethinking aid at Skoll + gender-lens opportunities in Africa

Dennis Price ¡ April 15, 2025

Hi there, Agent of Impact! Welcome to ImpactAlpha Open, a sample of the top news and views from last week on ImpactAlpha.

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In this week’s Open:

  • Caroline Bressan shares how funders are rethinking aid
  • How Tokunboh Ishmael is building gender-lens opportunities in Africa
  • Three new podcasts from ImpactAlpha, Activest and Criterion Institute

Let’s dig in. â€“ Dennis Price

Must-reads on ImpactAlpha

  • Rebuilding global aid was (mostly) the talk of the town at Skoll World Forum. “This is not a blip but a long-lasting paradigm shift,” reports Open Road Alliance’s Caroline Bressan from Skoll. Funders are being more cautious than in previous emergencies, such as Covid, but others are stepping up, she says. Read more.
  • Gender-lens strategies in rural Africa advance from ‘inclusion’ to ‘agency.’ As organizations bring more women into financial systems and economic opportunities, they are taking on the systemic issues that prevent women from having the right services, jobs and resources, reports ImpactAlpha’s Lucy Ngige. See how.
  • With $1.5 trillion in assets, private investors plan to boost climate allocations. Shifting policies in the US and EU are creating uncertainty. At least one group of investors is playing the long game. “Rather than pulling back, many private investors are stepping up, adjusting their approaches to capitalize on new opportunities,” write Dalberg’s Kusi Hornberger and Nadia Ralston in a guest post. Check it out.

Agents of Impact

🌍 Tokunboh Ishmael, Alitheia Capital: Building Africa’s gender-lens opportunities from fundraise to exit

Tokunboh Ishmaelisn’t dispirited by the rocky forecasts for private equity fundraising amid market volatility. “Difficult” is nothing new for Ishmael, who spent more than five years trying to raise one of Africa’s first gender-lens private equity funds. Her firm, Alitheia Capital, is working to launch its second fund with a goal of $200 million – double its predecessor. “We’re growing assets in a very hostile environment,” Ishmael tells ImpactAlpha. 

🏃🏽‍♀️ On the move

  • Dao Nguyen of The New York Times joined the board of directors at Media Development Investment Fund. 
  • Neil Bose, previously with White Star Capital, joined Convergence Blended Finance as a senior associate.
  • Katherine Hernandez, previously with Impactual, joined Ownership Works as a senior associate.

The Week’s Podcasts

🎧 This Week in Impact: Live-ish from the Re:Construction spring tour 

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: What this tariffying week for Wall Street and global trade means for impact investors. Foreign aid after USAID. And what goes into assembling a playbook for shared prosperity. Listen to the new episode of This Week in Impact. Get the podcast in your feed by subscribing on Apple or Spotify.

🗺️ The Activest Podcast: PILOTs in New Jersey

In episode three of the Activest Podcast, Micah, John, Homero and Ellen discuss the impact on communities of the tax incentive scheme called “payments in lieu of taxes,” or PILOTs. In Asbury Park, NJ, $19.6 million in PILOTs have led to huge increases in property value, benefiting developers without boosting educational outcomes; only 10% of third graders read at grade level. Spoiler alert: There are alternative funding mechanisms to achieve equitable development. Check it out.

📯 The Criterion Institute Podcast: Shaping the narrative 

For its 50th episode, Criterion’s Joy Anderson and ImpactAlpha’s David Bank welcome the Criterion Institute Podcast to the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network with a lively conversation about the “power of voice” in impact investing and the role of media in shaping narratives. Listen now.

Get in the Game

💼 Step up

  • The Climate Solutions Fund is recruiting a managing director in Washington, DC.
  • Morgan Stanley Inclusive and Sustainable Ventures is hiring an associate in New York.
  • Village Capital is looking for an investment analyst in Kenya.

Dozens of job opportunities are available to subscribers each week on ImpactAlpha’s Career Hub.

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