Capital for Good

On today's episode of Capital for Good we speak with Lisa Afua Serwah Mensah, the President and CEO of Opportunity Finance Network, and one of the country's leaders, and leading voices and visionaries, in the field of community and economic development. As President and CEO of Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), the nation's leading network of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), Mensah expands sources of capital and provides greater visibility for CDFIs. Under her leadership, OFN helps CDFIs leverage public funding with private investment from mainstream financial institutions, socially responsible investors, and philanthropic partners in distressed communities across the United States. Mensah joined OFN in March 2017. In 2014, Mensah was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the US Senate for the position of Under Secretary for Agriculture for Rural Development, where she managed a loan portfolio of $215 billion and directed annual investments of $30 billion in critical infrastructure for rural America. Before this, Mensah was the founding Executive Director of the Initiative on Financial Security at The Aspen Institute. Mensah began her career in commercial banking at Citibank, after which she joined the Ford Foundation to manage the country's largest philanthropic grant and loan portfolio of investments in rural America. She holds an M.A. from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of The Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. from Harvard University. We spoke with Mensah at the start of this new year, only days after the attack on the Capitol, and before the inauguration of the Biden-Harris Administration. In our conversation, we explore the world of community development finance institutions (CDFIs)– their rich history, diversity, and critical role as "financial first responders" during the COVID-19 crisis. Mensah helps us understand how CDFIs blend traditional banking and financial tools with "a good measure of heart" in the form of patient and flexible capital, technical assistance, and deep community knowledge, making them particularly well suited to meet this moment. In addition to traditional sources of public sector and philanthropic support, we learn how new sources of capital, including corporate investment, from the likes of Google, Twitter, and others, are making real these companies' commitments to stakeholder capitalism and helping OFN and CDFIs "finance justice." We end on a bright note, discussing the resources for CDFIs in the December stimulus, and more broadly ways in which the new administration can support CDFIs to "finance hope" and help struggling communities across the United States build back stronger. Mentioned in this Episode: Opportunity Finance Network's 2020 Conference Finance Justice Nov 9-12 2020 Opportunity Finance Network's Finance Justice Fund Opportunity Finance Network and Google partnership: Grow with Google Small Business Fund and org grants The December 2020 federal stimulus, or the Bipartisan-Bicameral Omnibus COVID Relief Deal. A summary of the CDFI provisions is here and further information about CDFIs and PPP is here. Thanks for Listening! Be sure to subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And feel free to drop us a line at [email protected]. Follow the Tamer Center on social media on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more!

On today's episode of Capital for Good we speak with Sir Ronald Cohen, investor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, statesman, author – and a leader of the impact investing revolution. Sir Ronald is the Chairman of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment and the Portland Trust. He is a co-founder and director of Social Finance UK, USA and Israel and co-founder and Chair of Bridges Fund Management and Big Society Capital. Since 2000, Sir Ronald has chaired various taskforces that helped launch the field of impact investing, including the Social Impact Investing Taskforce established under the UK's presidency of the G8 (2013-2015), the Social Investment Task Force (2000-2010) and the Commission on Unclaimed Assets (2005-2007). In 2012 he received the Rockefeller Foundation's Innovation Award for innovation in social finance. This pioneer of impact investing also brought venture capital and private equity to the United Kingdom. Sir Ronald co-founded and was Executive Chairman of Apax Partners Worldwide LLP (1972-2005) and was founder and Chairman of both the British and European Venture Capital Associations. Sir Ronald has held several board and leadership roles at his alma maters, Oxford University and Harvard Business School, as well as the British Museum and the Institute for Strategic Studies. He is author of The Second Bounce of the Ball, Turning Risk into Opportunity (2007), and now a new book, Impact: Reshaping Capitalism to Drive Real Change which examines the many ways impact investing can help us achieve more just, inclusive and broad based prosperity. Given the health, economic, social and environmental challenges we are living through, this book couldn't be more timely. In this conversation, we explore the early days of impact investing – including social impact bonds and outcomes based financing – and its evolution and growth over time. We look at very innovative mission driven companies addressing challenges in health, financial inclusion and other areas, and discuss how new ways to measure risk, return and impact, specifically impact weighted accounts, can help us properly value the true impact, positive and negative, of all companies and therefore drive real change across the capital markets and across our economy and society. Mentioned in this Episode: Sir Ronald Cohen, Impact: Reshaping Capitalism to Drive Real Change (Ebury Press, November 3, 2020) Ronald Cohen and George Serafeim, "How to Measure a Company's Real Impact," Harvard Business Review 3 September 2020 Ronald Cohen, "How to Mobilize a Global Testing Effort: Pay for Success" Barron's 18 April 2020 Harvard Business School Impact-Weighted Accounts Project Thanks for Listening! Be sure to subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And feel free to drop us a line at [email protected]. Follow the Tamer Center on social media on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more!

We find ourselves at a moment of unprecedented challenge – and opportunity. While the COVID-19 health, economic, and racial crises have laid bare and exacerbated any number of structural inequalities, and global climate change remains an existential – and very urgent – threat, they also compel us to reimagine how leaders across the private, nonprofit, and public sectors can champion social and environmental change in ways that truly advance shared prosperity and a sustainable future. Presented by the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School, Capital for Good provides a window into this reimagined future: a chance to hear from corporate and civic leaders about their visions, plans, commitments, and on-the ground efforts to build a more just, inclusive, and sustainable society. Through in depth and candid conversations, we will explore and unpack solutions to some of our most urgent challenges. Can business be a force for good? What is stakeholder capitalism? What is the role of capital markets and philanthropy along the pathways to inclusive growth? How do we encourage and scale grassroots and broad-based innovation? How can public private partnerships help bring all of our resources and ingenuity to bear? About the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise The center educates leaders to use business knowledge, entrepreneurial skills, and management tools to address social and environmental challenges. About the Host Georgia Levenson Keohane is a seasoned executive in the private and nonprofit sectors at the intersection of capital markets, responsible investing and business, and philanthropy and public policy; an award winning author; and an adjunct professor of social enterprise at Columbia Business School.