Investor Insights: Understanding Catalytic Capital in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America

Deployment of catalytic capital, or investments that address capital gaps left by government and mainstream capital, has the potential to generate social and environmental outcomes that otherwise could not be achieved. The OECD recorded an estimated USD 4.2 trillion funding gap before the world can achieve the SDGs in 2030, with public funding for development remaining stagnant in the last decade and geographical disparities in global investment. Many impact investments are skewed towards investment-ready and developed markets instead of underserved geographies and populations. Catalytic capital deployment has the capacity to address these gaps and support investment opportunities which do not fit the risk-return profile or other conventional investment expectations that their markets require.

While regional contexts may differ, funders dealing with catalytic capital commonly encounter similar challenges. Embracing these shared challenges provides a unique opportunity for cross-regional knowledge exchange. Join us for this interactive webinar, designed to empower investors with invaluable insights and best practices for catalytic capital deployment across the diverse regions of Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Whether you are just starting or looking to scale your catalytic capital deployment, this session will be of relevance.

Over the past 18 months, social investor networks in Asia (AVPN), Europe (EVPA), Africa (AVPA), and Latin America (LatImpacto) have actively engaged with funders in their respective regions to facilitate the sharing and learning of catalytic capital practices. The goal? To enable its effective deployment on a global scale. This webinar marks the culmination of this dynamic global journey and serves as the final installment in the series of Global Webinars on Catalytic Capital.

• Explore the trends and best-practice case examples on catalytic capital deployment in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America;
• Identify region-specific opportunities and challenges faced by investors;
• Experience cross-regional learning in catalytic capital deployment worldwide.

If you are interested to learn more about catalytic capital and catch up with our past global webinar, click here.

Catalytic Capital in Asia

Clara Maspons Knowledge Associate EVPA Clara is Knowledge Associate at EVPA. She works alongside stakeholders to identify and capture valuable knowledge assets and generates insights on catalytic capital within the EVPA and the broader impact ecosystem.  Prior to joining EVPA as Knowledge Associate, she co-founded Maternia, a social start-up committed to reducing the risk of stillbirths in low and middle-income countries. She also worked in various roles at Women Political Leaders, where she acted as the regular liaison with high-level civil society organisations and coordinated campaigns on gender equality together with the World Bank and IMF.  Clara holds a Master’s degree in Innovation & Entrepreneurship from Vlerick Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations.

	Audrey Selian Director Artha Impact Audrey Selian currently serves as Director of the Artha Initiative associated with Rianta Capital Zurich. She has been active in the impact investing sector since 2006, and is founder of ArthaPlatform.com, an online impact investment platform that is designed to tackle the economics of due diligence around high impact, small scale SMEs/SGBs. Through the associated vehicle Artha Networks Inc., the platform tool has been licensed for various geographies and cities. Audrey is also co-founder of Impact for Breakfast, Impact Hub Yerevan and Baraka Impact Finance. She has a background in management consulting from PricewaterhouseCoopers, and her entrepreneurial experience includes several years spent in business development, marketing and sales at an NSF-funded software start-up. She currently serves as a trustee for several non-profit organizations, sits on the board of several for-profit social enterprises, and holds a PhD in Technology Policy & Development Studies from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. She also holds degrees from The London School of Economics and Wellesley College. In 2003-4 she was a doctoral fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
	Christine J. W Mwangi CFA, Regional Coordinator, Africa Sustainable Investments and Infrastructure, WWF Christine is a Sustainable Finance professional who is passionate about sharing and advancing her knowledge on the optimal blended utilisation of natural and finance capital to support the development in Africa through policy, advocacy and innovation. She has progressive experience in policy development, financial management, business planning and analysis, programme design, project and risk management. She has been involved in various projects that create a positive impact through interventions across various thematic areas (Renewable Energy, Agribusiness, Water Management, Waste Management, Commercial Forestry and Circular Economy) to promote innovative climate resilience and blended finance solutions, through business advisory, access to markets, policy advocacy and access to finance. Christine is a CFA charterholder, a BA (Economics) graduate from the University of Nairobi, and has certification in Sustainability and Climate Risk (Global Association of Risk Professionals) and Renewable Energy Expert (European Energy Centre). Currently, she is the Regional Coordinator – Africa Sustainable Investments and Infrastructure (ASI) Program at WWF Kenya.
	Harry Davies Principal, Ceniarth Harry Davies is a Principal at Ceniarth, where he focuses on strategic projects, impact management and pipeline origination. Ceniarth is the impact-first, single-family office of Diane Isenberg on focuses on investments that benefit underserved communities globally. Together with the Isenberg Family Charitable Foundation, we deploy capital to funds, financial intermediaries, and social enterprises that support marginalized and vulnerable populations. We invest with non-profits, for-profits, and hybrid organizations with an emphasis on sectors such as agriculture, affordable housing, financial inclusion, and climate justice. We prioritize investments that are catalytic in nature and may require flexibility on risk and return parameters.
	Karsten Zengerling Senior Advisor & Chief Operating Officer Transactions, FASE Karsten has supported FASE as Senior Advisor since the beginning. In 2022, he also took on the role of Chief Operating Officer Transactions. Karsten brings over 25 years of experience in corporate finance, banking and consulting, with a focus on structuring and implementing equity investments and mezzanine financings as well as corporate transactions. Prior to joining FASE, he was head of the equity participations and investment business of social-ecological GLS Bank. Prior to that, he was Managing Director at the German bank WestLB AG, Senior Investment Manager at the investment firm 3i and Senior Manager at A.T. Kearney. Karsten holds a master degree (“Diplom-Kaufmann”) from WHU Koblenz.
	Marcel Fukayama Co-Founder, Din4mo Marcel Fukayama is an Impact Entrepreneur, Cancer Survivor and Cathedral Builder. He has been involved with different initiatives in the new economy. Co-Founder of Din4mo with objectives to empower entrepreneurs that solve social problems and to develop innovative structures that drive capital to both low income families and social enterprises. Having served the B Corp movement for the last 10 years, he founded the movement in Brazil, which is currently one of the largest global markets, and has since contributed significantly to its expansion in Latin America and the Caribbean as Executive Director of Sistema B International. He is now the Head of Global Policy at B Lab, the non-profit behind the B Corp Movement. Major in Business, MBA and MA in Public Admin at the London School of Economics. He is committed to work with the social society and policy makers and inspire innovation and new public policies. In 2018, he was part of the core team of the campaign for the Presidency of Marina Silva, a global environmentalist and former Senator and Minister of the Environment in Brazil. In 2022, he co-led the successful Mrs Silva’s campaign to congress. Having co-authored several parts of Mrs. Silva’s proposed government programs, this experience only reinforced the key role governments must play in accelerating systems change. At governance level, Marcel has served the board of civic-organizations in public education (CENPEC) and philanthropy (IDIS) as well as the member of the Committee of the National Strategy for Green and Impact Economies (ENIMPACTO) of the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (MDIC); and member of the Sustainable Social Economic Development Council for the Brazil Presidency. Previously, he pioneered by creating one of the first internet cafés in Brazil at 17-year-old and served as CEO of CDI Global working with a network in 15 countries to use technology for social change.