There has never been a more pressing time to embed diversity, equity, and inclusion considerations into day-to-day practices, and the space of impact investing is no exception. Building a sustainable and regenerative future depends on finding, recognizing, and funding solutions that have been developed from the purview of diverse lived experiences and intersectional awareness.
How can impact investors and impact funds ensure that they are evaluating entrepreneurs and businesses through diverse lenses, and what can they do to set aside bias when making capital allocation decisions? How can you make sure you still get access to founders that have non-traditional paths to entrepreneurship? Similarly, how do you walk the talk to stand apart from other funds that are taking the same approach?
Having diverse representation when evaluating ventures and the problems they seek to solve is a key goal as we need to ensure that more investment teams are looking at ventures with gender, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC lenses. While the needle is starting to move when it comes to representation, it is only one of multiple ways to ensure better access to capital for diverse entrepreneurs and solutions. There are steps impact investors and funds can take now to tackle unconscious bias and grow in the direction of equitable and inclusive decision-making when allocating investments, from being clear and transparent about your criteria to moving outside of your immediate network to gain connections.
Hear from some leading impact investment funds that share a common vision of building portfolios with diversity, equity, and inclusion in mind. Join for a discussion on learnings and practical steps investors and funds can start taking today.
