ImpactAlpha Open

Searching for solutions in Davos + institutional appeal of affordable housing

Dennis Price ¡ January 27, 2026

Greetings Agents of Impact! Welcome to ImpactAlpha Open, a free weekly sampling of the top news and views from ImpactAlpha.

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In this week’s Open:

  • Davos watch: Searching for solutions amid uncertainty
  • The institutional appeal of keeping housing affordable
  • The Call: Impact-first fund managers get practical
  • Spotlight: International Rescue Committee’s impact investments

Let’s jump in. â€“ Dennis Price

Must-reads on ImpactAlpha

  • Raising permanent capital to keep housing affordable, permanently. Dual commitments from Steve Ballmer’s family office into funds at The Vistria Group and Avanath Capital Management underscore the maturation of affordable housing investors and operators, report ImpactAlpha’s Roodgally Senatus and David Bank. The managers of such funds are finding that institutional investors – including a growing number of European investors – are as interested in the steady returns and low risk that these investments offer as they are in social utility. Learn more.
  • Uncertainty reigns, impact investing shines, as Davos searches for solutions. From great power brinksmanship to real-time dealmaking, the signals from the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps were clear: challenges are mounting, governance structures are straining, and instability is opening space for new solutions. Is it impact investing’s moment to shine? Read on.
  • Lendable returns to asset-backed lending for the green transition. In a tough year for fundraising, the emerging markets fintech lender Lendable said it has raised $300 million across two funds to provide capital to digital financial services providers in emerging markets and to finance commercial solar, electric vehicles and electric cooking, reports ImpactAlpha’s Jessica Pothering. The commitments suggest investors remain optimistic about the growth of business and consumer demand for fintech. Check it out.

Agents of Impact

🏃 On the move

  • Long associated with San Francisco, SOCAP, the annual fall gathering of impact investors and entrepreneurs, will relocate to Chicago for at least two years. “Chicago is a world-class destination, and the Midwest is where some of the most important work in our field is happening anywhere in the world,” said SOCAP’s Robert Munson. This year’s gathering is set for Oct. 12-14 at the Convene Willis Tower downtown (early bird tickets are available now). 
  • Theresa Taylor and David Miller were re-elected as board president and vice president respectively at California pension CalPERS.
  • Andrew Garrett of Impact Capital Managers was promoted director of member experience.

The Week’s Podcasts

🎧 This Week in Impact

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: Soundbites from this week’s star-studded call on the real returns of impact-first managers; how permanent capital can keep affordable housing affordable, permanently; and Lendable’s model for asset-backed lending in emerging markets.

😎 Agents of Impact: Building affordable cities with MSquared’s Alicia Glen

Former New York City Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen is financing mixed-income housing developments as a way to tackle economic segregation. Her firm, MSquared, has raised $139 million, towards its target of $250 million, to finance more than $1 billion in mixed-income housing developments using sustainable designs and energy-efficient systems. On the podcast, she explains how mixed-income developments can drive upward mobility for low-income families – and attractive risk-adjusted returns for institutional investors.

The Week’s Spotlight

⛑️ With Airbel Ventures, International Rescue Committee adds impact investing to its humanitarian toolkit

The global humanitarian NGO has spent five years looking for long-term funding for people displaced and affected by conflict and natural disasters. With global aid in steep decline, and climate and geopolitical crises on the rise, “We are looking at financing new models that have more sustainability potential and are less grant dependent,” the IRC’s Anne Partridge told ImpactAlpha. The newest tool in its toolkit is Airbel Ventures, an Africa-focused impact fund for startups serving the humanitarian sector (for background see, “New tools for humanitarian relief in crisis zones: blended finance, offtake contracts and debt swaps”). The venture fund, launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is the latest impact fund from a humanitarian organization seeking ways to support crisis-affected communities for the long-term. UNICEF, Save the Children and Mercy Corps also have venture funds. “We’re looking at where we can leverage new models, technology and innovation to replace outdated technologies and infrastructure,” Partridge said. 

The Week’s Call

☎️ Starting with the problem, impact-first managers are returning impact investing to its roots (video)

After two decades spent coaxing cautious capital off the sidelines with the promise of “market rate” returns, some impact fund managers are going back to basics: impact first. This week’s Agents of Impact Call transcended the time-worn debate over “concessionary” capital by focusing first on the impact side of the ledger. “I would posit that impact-first investing is really just impact investing,” said Caroline Bressan of Open Road Impact. “Perhaps it’s time for us to reclaim that term.” 

Get in the Game

💼 Step up

  • Spring Point Partners is hiring an investment associate in Philadelphia.
  • Dalberg Advisors seeks an associate consultant in Mexico City.
  • Save the Children Global Ventures is looking for an impact investing principal in Singapore.

🤝 Meet up

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