WaterEquity has for nearly a decade moved capital to the stubbornly underfunded water sector. Through five funds, the organization founded by actor Matt Damon and Gary White has directed more than $460 million to financial institutions that on-lend to families and businesses adopting clean water and sanitation systems and technologies.
It’s out with its first evergreen fund, the WaterEquity Everspring Fund, to “serve as a perpetual source of funding for our borrowers.” WaterEquity is looking to mobilize and deploy $1 billion through the fund.
The organization is also deploying capital from its Water and Climate Resilience Fund, which makes both debt and equity investments in providers, rather than financiers, of water, sanitation and hygiene systems. The fund finances water supply and distribution and wastewater treatment and reuse.
Also new to the Liist:
The newly renamed Miller Center for Global Impact at Santa Clara University has been incubating and accelerating social enterprises in emerging markets for more than 20 years. Three years ago it launched Miller Center Capital to provide early and growth-stage debt financing on concessional and flexible terms to its alumni. The center says the $1.1 million it has invested has catalyzed more than 10 times that amount in additional investments. The center is partnering with Beneficial Returns to manage its Innovation Fund and is looking to raise $5 million through a mix of recoverable and nonrecoverable grants.
Switzerland-based AlphaMundi Group is in the market with a planned $50 million fund to support climate adaptation and resilience in Latin America through a mix of equity and mezzanine financing. The fund manager is looking to back 12 to 15 companies addressing climate impacts on communities while supporting social and economic inclusion of women, youth and other underserved populations. Its capital will be paired with technical assistance from the AlphaMundi Foundation; the fund’s fees are linked to both financial returns and impact outcomes. The Alpha Latin America 2030 Fund is domiciled in Ontario and has a team based in Bogotá.
When Alitheia Capital launched in 2009, it was perhaps the first private equity fund manager in Africa with an explicit strategy for gender inclusion. The Lagos-based firm is in the market with its second fund and an expanded strategy that addresses the impact of climate change on African businesses and women. Alitheia Amplify Fund is looking to raise $200 million, primarily from development finance institutions and institutional investors.