Ep 26 is live and another great conversation today at 12pm ET!
Behind the scenes with a startup impact fund investing in African SMEs
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All,
I’m not sure where the first three months of 2021 have gone! I had made a commitment to publish more impact investing episodes and I see now that Ep 25 was published way back in January!
In my defence, I did spend some of that time finding some help on the production side. Sarah Johnson (Writer) and Persis Abraham (A/V expert) are helping me produce each episode. I found them through Quill.io. (if case you’re looking for help with a podcast or content production). With their help, I’ll be aiming to publish two episodes per month.
Anyway, I’m so happy to have released Episode 26. I remember meeting David Harrley a couple of years ago while I was still at Origin Capital. He had an idea for starting an impact fund investing in SMEs in Ghana and wanted some feedback. Today that fund is up and running! I’m so impressed with this team’s focus, dedication, and hearts! This episode is all about the journey of launching Third Way Capital.
Also, thanks to Sarah Johnson, each episode has a “Lessons from the Podcast” article that accompanies it.
Yesterday we had an incredible conversation on Clubhouse about the ways in which men can be better allies in the fight for gender equality. My co-host Julia Sherbakov were joined by two incredible gender equality experts, Chi Nguyen and Jake Stika. Together, along with some incredible contributors from the audience, we dove into a discussion covering the need to engage with men and boys to create a healthier and more inclusive definition of manhood and the myriad of issues we need to navigate if we’re ever going to reach true gender equality. You can view some of the observations and takeaways I had from that conversation here.
Also, at 12pm ET today, my co-host Julia Sherbakov and I will be joined by the amazing Samra Zafar for a discussion of gender-based violence and forced marriage.
Samra is an award-winning international speaker, bestselling author, consultant, educator, and entrepreneur who advocates for gender equity, inclusion, and human rights. She has been recognized among the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, and a Top 25 Canadian Immigrant. Her book, A Good Wife: Escaping The Life I Never Chose, is an international bestseller and named among CBC's Best Books of 2019, and is now being adapted to a premium TV series. She is one of the youngest Alumni Governors at the University of Toronto, a Celebrated Ambassador for Plan International, and a board member for Women's College Hospital Foundation.
What’s on tap?
My podcast production schedule was a little delayed but I’ve hired some help to produce episodes. So I’m hoping to get more episodes out more frequently going forward.
🎙 Podcast Schedule
Ep 27 - I’m publishing the recording of the amazing 👋 Clubhouse “After-Dark” Fireside chat I held with Jon Shell and Delilah Rothenburg on the ways wealth inequality happens that no one is talking about.
Ep 28 - How private equity investment structures can derail our social impact efforts and how to fix them (with Delilah Rothenburg of The Predistribution Initiative)
Ep 29 - In conversation with Jennelle Sobey of Riddl.ca, a start-up building software to help organizations measure and manage their impact
Ep 30 - Gender lens investing with the amazing Joy Anderson of the Criterion Institute. Joy is one of the OG’s of gender lens investing and I’m so excited to share this episode!
Ep 31 - Discussing the institutional fund manager perspective when it comes to ESG and impact investing (with Andrew Parry of Newton Investment Management).
👋Clubhouse Conversations
Wed Mar 24, 8:30pm ET: ImpactAssets Top 50 Celebration + Q&A with previous podcast guests who were included on the list of top impact managers.
Wed Mar 24, 3:00pm ET: Building more diverse and inclusive networks with Sonya Dreizler
Tue March 30, 12:00pm ET: Men as allies for Gender Equality - Part 2
Date TBD: The opportunities and challenges associated with Blended Finance
Recommended Reading
📚 Braiding Sweet Grass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
I caught the tail end of a book club on Clubhouse where this book was being discussed and the passages they were discussing were incredibly compelling. Subsequently a couple of people I highly respect mentioned this book to me. I haven’t read it yet but it’s in the queue!
This review from Jane Goodall summarizes the essence of the book well:
“Robin Wall Kimmerer has written an extraordinary book, showing how the factual, objective approach of science can be enriched by the ancient knowledge of the indigenous people. It is the way she captures beauty that I love the most—the images of giant cedars and wild strawberries, a forest in the rain and a meadow of fragrant sweetgrass will stay with you long after you read the last page.”