By one estimate, there are more than a thousand private credit funds raising money this quarter. First-time and impact fund managers offering up debt strategies highlight just how wide-ranging the private credit opportunities are.

The six additions to ImpactAlpha’s Liist of impact fund managers are expanding access to credit for small businesses, nature conservation and fund managers in need of bridge loans and working capital.

“Over the last eight years, we have seen the demand for private debt consistently increase for impact-first companies,” the nonprofit Open Road Alliance said.

It is expanding beyond short-term bridge financing to social enterprises and nonprofits into bridge loans to impact fund managers, project finance, and working capital loans. Open Road’s blended finance structure includes a five-year note; investors can choose their own interest rate (within a range) or donate their interest payments to Open Road.

Impactable Investment Group in London is looking to close an initial $100 million for its blended-finance Emerging Markets Private Debt Fund, which focuses on “the most densely populated, lowest income” emerging market regions.

Woman-led Chestnut Run Capital Partners in Massachusetts launched last year to lend directly to middle-market companies in the US.

Agribusiness debt

Fount, in the Netherlands, is in the market with its Organic Development Finance fund to lend to small organic agri-businesses in emerging markets.

iGravity’s open-ended debt fund, called Balim, provides results-based financing to small agri-businesses in Africa.

Jaguar Legacy Fund is a first-time fund manager looking to support sustainable agriculture, biodiversity preservation, job creation and carbon removal in Latin America’s “jaguar corridors” – the areas in between dedicated conservation sites where jaguars roam. Its fund invests in businesses that “maintain, restore and expand essential ecosystem functions while creating jobs in ecosystem services, agroforestry and sustainable supply chains.”

Equity for impact

Also new to the Liist: MSquared, a woman-owned real estate investment firm that invests in mixed-income housing in cities across the US.

“The mixed-income model not only offers a more equitable approach to housing development, but also offers investors an opportunity to earn strong risk-adjusted returns,” MSquared says.

The firm has already raised four funds and says it has close to $3 billion in assets under management. It is expanding its investment strategy to include “transit-oriented developments” to improve communities’ commutability and environmental footprints.

In Canada, Spring Impact Capital is in the market with its first fund to invest in pre-seed and seed-stage Canadian startups, particularly those with female and diverse founders.