56 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2021 SLAUSON & CO. FUND AUSTIN CLEMENTS MANAGING PARTNER INNOVATIVE NEW FUND MODEL The firm is a Los Angeles-based, earlystage venture firm led by experienced fund managers of color. It was created to connect talented founders from underrepresented backgrounds to the venture ecosystem. “The best investment opportunities are in the discovery of talented underrepresented founders who are disconnected from the traditional venture ecosystem,” according to Clements. By discovering and cultivating talent, Slauson acts as an access point for VCs to find new, undiscovered opportunities in communities where the firm is connected and for founders to prepare and be connected with the right investors for subsequent rounds of financing. Slauson.co SHARED INTEREST DONNA KATZIN FOUNDING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR INNOVATIVE NEW FUND MODEL A U.S.-based nonprofit investment fund that provides access to local capital and technical support for small and growing businesses, smallholder farmers, and cooperatives in Southern Africa. Shared Interest mobilizes the financial resources of Southern Africa’s own commercial lenders — facilitating their loans to low-income communities of color by partially guaranteeing them. The goal is to catalyze mainstream commercial loans to the majority market, unlocking the equivalent of millions of dollars (more than $125 million to date) in loans to entrepreneurs. Investors’ loans to Shared Interest are in turn invested in high-quality securities that serve as the collateral that backs the L/Cs, unlocking commercial credit for some of Southern Africa’s lowest income people. SharedInterest.org SJF VENTURES ARRUN KAPOOR MANAGING DIRECTOR PIONEER Founded 21 years ago, SJF is one of the longest-standing impact funds in the United States. It invests in high-growth companies accelerating sustainability, enhancing opportunity, and improving health and wellness. Beyond investing in impactful business models, SJF works to accelerate impact through deep engagement with each company, enabling the fund to serve as a leader through its impact management and acceleration approach. The fund’s investments are driving sizable positive impacts through models focused on mitigating climate change, advancing education access and outcomes, conserving natural resources, improving health, growing sustainable food, and creating greater economic access. SJFVentures.com SUNFUNDER AUDREY DESIDERATO COFOUNDER CLIMATE AND SUSTAINABILITY SunFunder is a specialist debt provider based in Nairobi and London, financing companies in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia where there is often limited access to reliable and affordable electricity. As one of the few debt providers in solar financing, SunFunder has unlocked $150 million in debt financing through public and private investors and has financed over 50 solar companies and projects. Its vision is an equitable, low-carbon world powered by solar. Its mission is to pioneer and scale financing for distributed solar + storage. As the global climate emergency continues to worsen, a major reallocation of public and private capital is driving unprecedented resources toward lowcarbon solutions. SunFunder.com OF IMPACT INVESTING SUNWEALTH POWER OMAR BLAYTON CFO CLIMATE AND SUSTAINABILITY Sunwealth envisions a future where renewable energy is accessible, affordable, and inclusive.The firm invests in that future by financing and managing high-performance renewable energy projects in the built environment that deliver clean power, cost savings, and quality jobs to “solar deserts,” including low-income communities and communities of color. Blayton was moved by witnessing how certain communities were overlooked for investment without a convincing reason. “Intentional inclusion of these undervalued groups provides an arbitrage opportunity that any good investor should seek to capture,” he says. Blayton’s realization came while reading the proposed regulations for the Massachusetts solar incentive program (SMART) and recognizing that if structured correctly, the return on solar investment in LMI communities far outweighed the risk. Sunwealth’s market of small-scale commercial solar projects is overlooked by traditional solar investors because of the high transaction costs associated with underwriting and because of its focus on traditional credit metrics like S&P ratings or FICO scores for determining creditworthiness of solar customers. Sunwealth’s rigorous underwriting process focuses on understanding the underlying value in the market, and helps ensure financial and operational performance. “Creating a strong, viable investment is the clearest and most sustainable way to scale impact,” says Blayton. SunWealth.com
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