Author: Tami Pashtan

Vital completes Independent Verification for alignment with the Operating Principles for Impact Management

Posted on by Tami Pashtan

Vital Capital is pleased to share the results following the independent verification of our alignment of our impact management practices with the Operating Principles for Impact Management.

 

 

Vital engaged BlueMark, the industry’s foremost verifier, to perform the independent verification and benchmarking process. Their report reveals that Vital matched – and in many cases outperformed — against both the median ratings and a peer group of impact-only asset managers, across all aspects.

As industry standards continue to evolve in the ESG and impact investing space, this verification validates Vital’s commitment to deliver impact at scale in line with impact management best practices. We invite you to read the verification report here.

 

 

Vital Capital Highlights Opportunities for Impact in Agriculture Investments

Posted on by Tami Pashtan

Vital Capital’s Vice President of Investments, Francisco Machado, spoke to Agri Investor about the outlook for investors looking to make an impact through agriculture investments against a backdrop of increasing global food insecurity and a growing urgency to curb emissions and the environmental degradation from agriculture.

 

Drawing from Vital’s extensive experience in the sector, Francisco shared how investments in agriculture can act as an impact multiplier in local economies: “From an impact perspective, it meets our goal… increased availability and affordability of basic nutrition leads to improved health,” Francisco explained. “And the fact that we rely on the smallholder farmers also then taps into increased financial resilience.”

As part of our focus on agriculture we aim not only to produce positive outcomes for the environment, but also to prioritize improvements in health and incomes for the farmers and local communities we work with. This follows our underlying investment thesis of maximizing impact for every dollar invested.

Read the full article to learn more about different approaches to cultivating impact in agriculture: https://www.agriinvestor.com/cultivating-impact-in-agriculture/

 

Why the Climate Crisis Demands Investors Rethink Impact: Environmental Finance Features Vital Capital Opinion

Posted on by Tami Pashtan

As we enter a new year that will be critical in the fight against climate change, Vital Capital’s Head of ESG & Impact, Tamar Pashtan, shares her views on why investors must not underperform on impact with Environmental Finance. The climate emergency is having a disproportionate effect on emerging economies so, as climate investment reaches record levels, it’s imperative that capital is directed towards the most impactful solutions and most underserved communities to ensure a just climate transition.

Our experience of investing in businesses and solutions that create transformational impact and tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing the planet, has taught us that intentionality from the outset is key. The article reveals how our impact rating tool, the Vital Impact Diamond, enables us to “look for transformational outcomes: big leaps forward, not small steps” and calls on investors to embed impact goals in their decision-making processes.

 

The article is available here.

Vital Capital Listed to 2022 Real Leaders of Impact Investing List as Game-Changing Fund Manager

Posted on by Tami Pashtan

Vital Capital is pleased to have been named as one of the most innovative impact fund managers in the 2022 Real Leaders of Impact Investing list.

The list, a collaboration between Real Leaders and ImpactAssets, recognizes the firms leading the way in how capital is deployed to transform the health of our planet and its people. It includes some of the most innovative private equity and debt fund managers in impact investing, who bring unique approaches to solve challenges associated with climate change, poverty, inequality, sustainability and more.

The listing references how we use our “unique operational expertise to identify overlooked opportunities to build successful, scalable businesses that transform lives” and the fact we have transformed the lives of more than five million individuals since 2011.

The full list is available here: https://real-leaders.com/winter-2022/

Vital Capital Partners with Humanitarian and Resilience Investing (HRI) Initiative for Humanitarian Impact and Resilience Challenge

Posted on by Tami Pashtan

Vital Capital is pleased to be participating as a supporting partner in the World Economic Forum’s Humanitarian and Resilience Investing (HRI) Initiative to support the Humanitarian Impact and Resilience Challenge. The challenge is a global call for commercially viable and scalable efforts that benefit the recovery of local communities at heightened risk or have suffered from conflict, natural disasters and forced displacement. Over one billion people live in fragile settings around the world and 274 million people will need humanitarian assistance this year. As the impact of conflict, hunger, and natural disasters grows around the world, the initiative recognizes the critical need for solutions that increase the self-reliance and resilience of affected and at-risk communities.

The challenge invites organizations, entrepreneurs and partnerships from both the private and public sectors to make their submissions by 17 November 2022. Winners of the challenge will receive mentorship and guidance from the World Economic Forum’s Humanitarian and Resilience Investing (HRI) Initiative and supporting partners—including Vital Capital—to help them become investor-ready and advance their impact.

 

Visit the challenge page on Uplink to learn more: https://bit.ly/3y4t9kx

Vital is glad to support this challenge in partnership with IKEA Foundation, Deloitte, British International Investment (BII), the European Commission, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank Group, and the World Food Programme (WFP).

ImpactAlpha Showcases Vital Capital’s Perspective on African Venture Capital, as New Funding Floods the Continent

Posted on by Tami Pashtan

Vital Capital Managing Partner Nimrod Gerber recently shared insights on how to make successful – and impactful – investments in Africa with ImpactAlpha. The article, “Three lessons impact investors can offer venture capitalists looking for deals in Africa,” looks at the opportunity for the influx of VC funding into the continent, which topped $5.2 billion in 2021, to drive social, environmental and economic progress.

Based on Vital’s deep experience of building scalable businesses that transform lives across emerging markets, Gerber offers three pieces of advice to newer investors in the region: “First, ask who will really benefit from an investment. Second, consider the investment’s potential negative impacts. And third, question whether the problem can truly be leap-frogged.”

The article is available to subscribers of ImpactAlpha, here.

Vital Capital’s Head of ESG & Impact Joins BlueMark Panel discussing Alignment in Impact Performance Reporting

Posted on by Tami Pashtan

Vital Capital’s Head of ESG & Impact Tamar Pashtan recently joined a panel of impact investing leaders to discuss one of the industry’s most pressing topics: alignment in impact performance reporting. The discussion, hosted by impact verification firm BlueMark, was based on research from the firm’s latest report, ‘Raising the Bar: Aligning on the Key Elements of Impact Performance Reporting.’

High-quality, standardized impact performance reporting is critical for ensuring industry integrity. However, the lack of widely-accepted standards or guidelines for reporting on impact performance makes it difficult to meaningfully analyze and compare impact results. 

BlueMark’s analysis of 31 GP impact reports and interviews with 57 diverse industry stakeholders found that impact objectives vary considerably in their specificity; reported impact results are often cherry-picked; impact reports are rarely forthcoming about risks or failures; and reporters often overlook the stakeholder perspective.

The panel, moderated by BlueMark Managing Director Sarah Gelfand, featured Tamar; Fran Seegull, President of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and Executive Director of the Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing; Elizabeth Seeger, Managing Director, Sustainable Investing at KKR; and Bhavika Vyas, Managing Director at StepStone Group. They delved into the current state of impact performance reporting among GPs and fund managers, best practices, and potential pathways to improve the quality and usefulness of impact reports going forward.

Listen to the full discussion here.

PwC’s Experience Consulting Interviews Vital Capital’s Head of ESG & Impact

Posted on by Tami Pashtan

PwC’s Experience Consulting hosted Vital Capital’s Head of ESG & Impact Tamar Pashtan on its PreWork Walk virtual interview series for a conversation focused on aligning profit and purpose through impact investing.

The session, entitled “Driving profit for purpose: How to successfully invest for impact,” explores Vital Capital’s impact investing origins and some of its most innovative portfolio companies. PwC’s Anjali Multani and Elise Harper also talk with Pashtan about measuring and managing impact, and about what is exciting her most about Vital Capital’s recent work.

The PreWork Walk interview series, which features insightful conversations with leaders from a variety of fields, encourages the audience to start their day outside on a walk, rather than in front of a computer, while listening to engaging and thought-provoking discussions.

 

Listen to the full PreWork Walk interview here.

 

Infrastructure Investor Interviews Vital Capital Managing Partner

Posted on by Tami Pashtan

Vital Capital Managing Partner Nimrod Gerber recently spoke to Infrastructure Investor about the need to build and improve basic infrastructure in emerging markets and the role private capital can play in spurring that development.

Highlighting the inextricable link between economic development and infrastructure, Gerber commented: “Businesses that provide basic goods and services rely on basic infrastructure – roads, ports, affordable and reliable energy, water, healthcare and education, telecommunications and the internet. If you’re an impact investor and you look at emerging markets, you have to take infrastructure into account.”

The article is available to subscribers of Infrastructure Investor, here.

Vital Capital Achieves Emeritus Manager Status on IA50 2022

Posted on by Tami Pashtan

Vital Capital has again received recognition as an Emeritus Manager on ImpactAssets’ IA50 listing for 2022, an achievement that reflects the firm’s pioneering role in the impact investing industry.

The IA50 is the most recognized free database of impact investment fund managers. The annually updated list is considered the gateway into the impact investing world for investors and financial advisors, offering an easy path to identify experienced and emerging impact fund managers and illustrating the industry’s breadth around the world. As such, the IA50 is an invaluable resource for institutional and private investors, as well as their advisors and consultants.

2022 marks the eighth consecutive year that Vital Capital has been included on the IA50 list – an accomplishment in which our firm takes tremendous pride as we continue to generate positive impact by building successful, scalable businesses that solve critical social and environmental challenges and transform lives.

The IA50 2022 list is available on the ImpactAssets website, and Vital Capital’s profile can be found here.