The Brief

ImpactAlpha LP/GP: Pegasus Capital takes a page from the Apollo playbook

ImpactAlpha · May 27, 2025

Greetings, Agents of Impact! 

📞 Get PluggedIn: How mobility tech is reshaping cities from the ground up. “Smart city” projects in Detroit, Miami, San Francisco and other cities are pointing to a future that’s cleaner, faster and better connected. On the next PluggedIn, mobility investor Raggeria Goddard joins ImpactAlpha’s Sherrell Dorsey to map the mobility landscape, from EV charging and “digital twins,” to advanced sensors and smart corridors. Goddard, ​​founder of Detroit-based Crowned Venture Capital, previously handled mergers and partnerships at GM Ventures, the corporate VC arm of General Motors. “I envision a world where car ownership is no longer necessary for everyone,” she told Dorsey in an earlier interview. “I see an opportunity to rethink how we use transportation, from peer-to-peer models to shared mobility services that are more efficient and accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy.” Get PluggedIn, Tuesday, June 3 at 10am PT / 1pm ET. RSVP today.

In this week’s ImpactAlpha LP/GP newsletter:

  • Pegasus embraces risk and complexity in emerging markets 
  • Seizing opportunities in the electron economy
  • Fujitsu’s corporate VC fund
  • Giving impact a voice in investment decisions 

Ever contrarian, Pegasus Capital eyes orphaned climate projects in emerging markets. How is buying distressed corporate debt in the 1990s like investing in emerging market climate projects in the 2020s? Craig Cogut was a co-founder of Apollo Global Management, which rose to prominence 30 years ago by snapping up high-yield bonds from failed insurance and savings and loans companies. At Pegasus Capital Advisors, Cogut is again embracing complexity and risk perceptions that scare away many other investors – this time with clean energy, waste management and water resilience, particularly in Latin America and Africa. Like Apollo, Pegasus looks for orphaned assets, with the additional lens of social impact and environmental sustainability. “We’ve applied the same approach – creating funds that let investors lean into underinvested emerging markets while structuring their risk,” says David Cogut, Pegasus’s co-managing partner and Craig’s son. “Risk exists in every market, but unfamiliar investors can view emerging markets as especially risky, which softens valuations. The perception arbitrage is our opportunity.”

  • On ice. In Morocco, Pegasus has helped one of its investees, Ifria Cold Chain Development Company, acquire Lotraf, a logistics company. Lotraf has warehouses for frozen, chilled and ambient storage to keep food fresh, extend shelf life, and strengthen food supply chains. Ifria aims to reduce food waste, boost farmers’ incomes, and build local economies. Emerging market risks, or at least the perception of them, have only grown with volatile interest rates and currency fluctuations, as well as trade wars sparked by US President Donald Trump’s chaotic tariff announcements, which have roiled supply chains and tanked some projects. “There are compelling orphaned deals,” David Cogut tells ImpactAlpha. “Geopolitical issues in the developed world can have knock-on effects in emerging markets, which compound the investment opportunity that we originally identified with our funds.”
  • Institutional exposure. Doubling down on private equity talent, Pegasus this month added as a senior operating advisor Jean Rogers. Most recently with Blackstone, Rogers earlier founded the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board, or SASB, now part of International Sustainability Standards Board, which defined material risk factors for a variety of industries with the aim of simplifying sustainability reporting. Rogers will serve on the investment committee of both the Subnational Climate Fund and Pegasus’ Global Fund for Coral Reefs, which has raised more than $250 million in grants and equity toward its $750 million target. Pegasus expects 75% of global energy demand to be in emerging markets by 2050. “What’s interesting now is that, relatively speaking, emerging markets look more attractive and look like diversification that institutional investors want exposure to,” Rogers tells ImpactAlpha.
  • Below B+. Pegasus, founded in 1996, has leaned into both climate solutions and emerging markets, particularly since it received certification from the Green Climate Fund in 2018. The UN-backed facility approved up to $150 million as a junior tranche of first-loss capital to help Pegasus attract up to $600 million in more commercial capital. The risk mitigation helps make the Subnational Climate Fund acceptable to institutional investors, many of which won’t touch investments in countries with Moody’s ratings below B+ – three-quarters of all emerging markets. Pegasus’s blended-finance fund structure, Rogers says, is “attractive to a broad range of investors, including the pension funds that typically don’t go into emerging markets.”
  • Keep reading, “Ever contrarian, Pegasus Capital eyes orphaned climate projects in emerging markets,” by David Bank and Amy Cortese.  

Dealflow: Electrify Everything

Montauk Climate spinout Clear Current raises $4 million to manage data in ‘the electron economy’ (exclusive). Albuquerque-based Clear Current is the seventh venture launched by Montauk Climate, a venture studio and investor. Clear Current uses AI to bring transparency to reams of fragmented energy data to help companies incorporate clean energy into their mix and manage and optimize their energy usage. Beer maker AB InBev and a data center REIT are piloting Clear Current’s energy management software, which helps smooth energy procurement, forecasting, consumption and reporting. Artificial intelligence “is now good enough that it can consider all that information,” said Clear Current’s John Reuter. Clear Current has raised over $4 million in seed funding led by Rho Ignition, with participation from Coreline Ventures and Avesta Fund.

  • Spinouts. “We’re focused on building out what we view as a once in a generation opportunity to capitalize on the electron economy,” Montauk’s Sharo Atmeh told ImpactAlpha. Over the past year, Montauk has launched five businesses from scratch generating just under $100 million in equity value for investors, said Atmeh, including drone-based monitoring startup Raad and parametric insurance provider Adaptive Insurance.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Electricity, Montauk says, will become as programmable as software; adding intelligence to the grid will create “entirely new business models and market opportunities that dwarf the commodity value of the electrons themselves.”
  • Gift this article.

Fujitsu invests $104 million for its corporate and impact investing strategy. Japanese IT services and equipment maker Fujitsu is investing 15 billion yen ($104 million) in its second corporate venture capital fund, which includes an impact focus. The company launched its corporate venture strategy in 2021 with a 10 billion yen first fund to invest in startups in Japan, the US, Europe and Israel. The venture group, Fujitsu Ventures, expanded its mandate last year to include impact investing. Its first impact investment was in Tokyo-based microfinance Gojo & Company, which serves small businesses and individuals, 96% of whom are women, in 14 countries in Asia, the Caucasus and Africa. 

  • Japanese impact. Japan’s impact investing market grew 150% last year over 2023, reaching 15.7 trillion yen. Propelling the growth: capital from eight major banks and life insurance companies. Venture funds account for 28% of market players by number of firms. The scope of issues Japanese impact investors focus on remains narrow: 75% of Japanese impact capital goes to investments in climate change mitigation. 

Dealflow overflow. Investment news crossing our desks:

  • Natixis Investment Managers is merging two of its affiliates: Mirova, the French asset manager’s €32 billion impact unit, and Thematics Asset Management, which manages €3.1 billion in AI and robotics, water, health and other sectors. The merger is part of a move “to meet the varied needs of investors while adhering to high sustainability standards,” says Natixis. (Mirova)
  • French private equity investor Ardian acquired a majority stake in MasterGrid, which manufactures high-voltage equipment for retrofitting and maintaining critical electrical infrastructure. (Ardian)
  • EQT’s fourth infrastructure fund will acquire Seven Seas Water Group, which operates water treatment plants in the US, Latin America and the Caribbean, from Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners. (EQT)
  • New Summit Investments, a Massachusetts-based investor focused on climate innovation, human health and economic opportunity, will merge with sustainable investment firm Arjuna Capital. (New Summit)
  • Paradigm Infrastructure, through Paradigm Tower Ventures, acquired IHS Rwanda in a $274.5 million deal to invest in shared wireless infrastructure in Africa. (Africa Private Equity News)

Impact Voices: Family Offices

Should impact have a veto in investment decisions? Impact investing has scaled to $1.5 trillion-ish in assets under management – but who’s really calling the shots? In a sharp critique, Ana Pimenta of the Amsterdam-based family office Blink CV argues that impact remains sidelined in most investment decisions. “Bringing more capital doesn’t necessarily mean more impact,” she writes. “It is more complex than that.” At the heart of the issue, she says, is governance. Even in funds with an ESG or impact lead, those voices often hold no voting power. “If impact can’t say no,” Pimenta cautions, “we can’t expect impact investing to drive real meaningful and lasting positive change.” When she asks asset managers whether they’ve walked away from a deal because the impact wasn’t strong enough, “very few say yes.”

  • Executing impact. “If you never define what you’re aiming for, anything can look like a win,” Pimenta observes. She proposes funds make three critical changes: Give impact a formal vote or veto in investment decisions. Define outcome goals upfront, not retroactively. And align incentives – like compensation and carry – to impact outcomes, not just financial returns. “If compensation and career progression are based only on financial performance, that’s what people will focus on,” she writes. At Rubio VC, for example, impact is baked into the investment process, with carried interest tied to both financial and impact performance. At Catalyst Fund, every opportunity is screened for its potential to drive climate resilience and equity from the outset. And Beneficial Returns waives loan payments when borrowers exceed impact targets – a model that Pimenta says is rooted in trust and humility.
  • Keep reading, “Should impact have a veto in investment decisions?” by Blink’s Ana Pimenta.

Agents of Impact: Follow the Talent

Don’t miss these upcoming ImpactAlpha partner events:

First Nations Foundation appoints Leah Bennett as managing director… Norrsken VC welcomes Viola Theresa Stadler, previously with Project A Ventures, as director… Alma Gutierrez, previously with Elevar Equity, joins Regenera Ventures as an investment principal… Global Partnerships seeks a content director in Seattle… Strada Education Foundation is hiring a summer associate for strategic investments in Washington, DC… Also in DC, Open Road Alliance is looking for an analyst… 2X Global has an opening for a fundraising and partnership lead.

FMO is on the hunt for a private equity analyst for agrifood and forestry investments in The Hague… The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is recruiting a water investment officer in Beijing… The Lyme Timber Company wins the 2025 Sustainable Forestry Initiative’s Leadership in Conservation award… Blackstar Stability’s latest impact report reveals its $100 million distressed debt fund has helped 100 families unlock over $3.9 million of home equity (see Q&A with Blackstar’s John Green).

👉 View (or post) impact investing jobs on ImpactAlpha’s Career Hub.

Thank you for your impact!

– May 27, 2025