Vital Selected as Prestigious “Private Equity Manager of the Year” by Environmental Finance

Vital Capital is pleased to once again be named as Private Equity Manager of the Year by Environmental Finance’s Sustainable Investment Awards. These awards recognize the work of the world’s leading impact investors and, according to the judges, “highlight emerging pockets of best practice.” This prestigious recognition underscores Vital’s leadership and innovative approach to impact investing, particularly in the emerging markets of sub-Saharan Africa.

“A growing number of investors today are aligning their activities to the Sustainable Development Goals – not just to generate positive impact, but also to maximize the performance of their investments. So, this recognition for the second consecutive year as Private equity manager of the year by Environmental Finance’s prestigious Sustainable Investment Awards is a true honor,” Nimrod Gerber, managing partner at Vital Capital, expressed.

“From delivering first-time household tap water access in India’s drought-plagued Karnataka region to unlocking the potential of local smallholder farmers in East Africa, everything we do has the potential to transform millions of lives.

 

“With this win, we reaffirm our focus on impact-led value creation, so that we can build more future-proof companies that will bring transformative impact to the underserved communities who need it most.”

Read more about Vital’s win here.

Vital receives two Environmental Finance IMPACT awards

The Vital Capital team is delighted to receive two Environmental Finance IMPACT awards: one for Asset manager of the year – mid-size and the second for impact measurement and metrics (in-house IMM framework). These awards recognize the work of the world’s leading impact investors and, according to the judges, “highlight emerging pockets of best practice.” At a time when investors across the globe are increasingly seeking to align profit with purpose, these honors are all the more meaningful.

 

 

The recognition is testament to Vital’s dedication to our investees and to ensuring their future sustainability – as well as our thoughtful impact measurement and management, which drives tangible outcomes for our investors, communities and the environment.

We are proud to continue to move the dial forward towards greater accountability and standardization. Find more information on our award wins here.

 

 

Vital Capital Publishes Learnings from Beneficiary Studies with Vital Capital Environment in Insights from Karnataka Report

At Vital Capital, we believe that understanding the challenges facing our end users is key to developing sustainable solutions that deliver maximum impact.

That’s why we don’t engage only with investors and our portfolio companies as part of the investment process – but also with the communities directly served, through beneficiary studies conducted at the outset of projects. The findings provide a baseline to help quantify the potential impact of an investment. They also help us to refine our approach and develop better, more relevant solutions that build community trust.

We’re pleased to share the key outputs and learnings from the beneficiary studies conducted by our environmental infrastructure platform, Vital Environment, with our support, for two water projects in Karnataka, India. The Raichur Water Project will provide the necessary infrastructure to deliver tap water to 1.77 million people, 64% of whom will be receiving first-time household tap water access. The study findings indicate that the impact of the infrastructure is expected to disproportionately benefit women and girls, 78% of whom are fetching water 2-3 times per day. The Karnataka Irrigation Project involves the construction of piped irrigation infrastructure for 12,000 farms in the severely drought-stressed region, benefitting over 60,000 people, where 32% of the population participates in seasonal climate-induced migration for basic income.

We invite you to review the special feature below and welcome your feedback. We look forward to sharing the results of our impact assessments as the project develops in the years ahead.

Insights from Karnataka

 

Vital Capital Named Asset Manager of the Year in Inaugural Africa Impact Investment Awards

Vital Capital is proud to be recognized by Krutham (formerly Intellidex) as Asset Manager of the Year in the inaugural Africa Impact Investment Awards, which recognise valuable work in promoting, financing and participating in investments that yield social and environmental benefits alongside financial returns.

The AIIA awards shine a much-needed spotlight on excellence in impact investing in Africa, aiming to increase knowledge of the sector so that it can grow and prosper. With public resources alone unable to plug the black hole in the financing needed to provide decent living standards across the continent, initiatives like the AIIAs are essential to build interest and catalyze investments in this area.

Over the next five years, impact investors are planning to increase allocations to emerging markets, according to a new report by Global Impact Investing Network. And Sub-Saharan Africa is proving to be a firm favourite, with the greatest proportion of investors (56%) stating their plans to increase impact assets in the region, zooming in on sectors that inevitably meet the basic needs of its communities.

“As macro-economic uncertainties in developed markets persist, geographic priorities are evolving – and so are perceptions of volatility and risk in emerging markets. Africa is set to draw in a new wave of impact investors – and rightly so,” said Head of ESG & Impact, Tamar Pashtan. “We are thrilled to be named among the leading firms making successful impact investments on the continent. By helping to showcase the world of opportunities across the continent, together, we can drive the modern African narrative with positive, tangible outcomes and strong financial returns.”

Read the published case study to learn more about why Vital was selected for the award.

Vital Capital Achieves Emeritus Manager Status on IA50 2023

Vital Capital has again been recognized as an Emeritus Manager on ImpactAssets’ IA50 listing for 2023, underscoring our role as a pioneer 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.

It’s the ninth consecutive year that Vital Capital has been selected to the IA50 list. We are proud of this achievement, which demonstrates our continued commitment to generating positive impact through building successful, scalable businesses that solve critical social and environmental challenges and transform lives.

 

The full IA50 2023 list is available on the ImpactAssets website, and Vital Capital’s profile can be found here.

 

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

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

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

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).

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

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.

 

Vital Capital Achieves Emeritus Manager Status on IA50 2022

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.