Impact investors can be effective partners to governments around the world, and government policy can be a helpful tailwind for impact opportunities. Why? Because the impact investing industry's main objectives align with those of any (sensible) government.
This month IE Partner Roger Liew illustrates how recent government policy headwinds and tailwinds have affected three of our real life portfolio companies in an article for Impact Alpha.
With our 2023 Limited Partner Meeting now in the rear-view, we're feeling energized for an impactful autumn ahead. We want to especially thank all our LPs who attended and we look forward to sharing more updates about our investments publicly in the future.
This month we want to congratulate Sophia Friedman on her promotion to Vice President!
As our in-house expert on Health Equity, Sophia has helped lead several investments since leaving Goldman Sachs' healthcare group to join our firm in 2021. Read her full bio on our website.
The Atlantic | Despite Everything You Think You Know, America Is on the Right Track
IE CEO Jessica Droste Yagan writes: "I love this effort to put things in perspective and help people see the positive. Believing in the positive and the possible is what gives me energy to get up and work hard every day doing my little part to make things better. It doesn't mean ignoring the problems, it's about framing them in a way that we can and should do something about them. We need more media to help us with this view, but just like everything else, the demand has to be there. Please show demand for constructive news!"
RMI | Unleashing the Potential of Limestone Calcined Clay Cement
IE Vice President Chris Wu says: "This article is both an encouraging environmental impact development and a cautionary tale around the speed of adoption of green building materials. A new type of cement called LC3 was developed by French/Swiss labs in 2005. It produced some amazing results.40% fewer GHG emissions and up to 25% lower costthan traditional Portland cement, all while delivering concrete that was more durable. Yet the cement industry didn't begin to launch pilot production plants and projects, and governing bodies didn't create the necessary updated building standards, until ~2022. So basically it took 17 years to begin adopting it."
CancerIQ is one of several Chicago-area companies to recently sign on to President Biden's "cancer moonshot" initiative. So far over 90 companies and health systems have joined the effort to address the second leading cause of death in the United States, working to research, prevent, and treat a variety of cancers. Beyond health, this project also has unique economic impact potential, with cancer survivors 2.5 times more likely to declare bankruptcy.
Elvie, the under-clothes breast pump maker, has been named a winner of the 2023 Good Housekeeping Best Parenting Awards. "Elvie’s wireless pump goes inside a bra so moms can collect breast milk without being tied to an outlet," says Good Housekeeping in their article which labeled the mom-tech solution a game-changer. "It is quiet and pairs with an app to control and monitor the device. Mom testers said the ability to multitask was the best benefit. They found it relatively discreet and easy to use and appreciated the app’s instructions."
Wasoko, an early Economic Opportunity investment of ours based in Nairobi, Kenya, has once again expanded their e-commerce footprint across the African continent, adding Democratic Republic of the Congo to their roster of more than half a dozen countries served. "Despite a rapidly growing population of nearly 100 million people with increasing purchasing power, the country’s significant infrastructural challenges have placed huge limitations on its e-commerce sector, which presents a vastly untapped opportunity,” the company's CEO and founder Daniel Yu said.