The holiday season is often synonymous with a desire to be generous and do good for others. Volunteerism usually increases by 50% during November and December. There are many ways to do good for the world – such as through impact investing. When my colleagues from Early Investing recommended World Tree a few years ago, people started offering investments in the company to their friends and families during the holidays. I understand why – the company plants large groves of Empress Splendor (Paulownia Fortunei) trees to offset carbon emissions and sell lumber for profit. And what’s a more fitting Christmas gift than trees?
Since we’re in the season of giving, there’s no better time than now to take a look back at the state of impact investing in 2022.
It was a big year for impact investing. From January through November, more than $73 million was raised to support a total of 236 impact startups. Although total dollars invested will likely be lower than 2021’s total of $99.6 million, 2022 is on track to surpass last year in terms of new impact deals. One of the most successful raises this year was for Boxabl, which raised more than $25 million. The company produces building modules that can be shipped out and assembled on-site to lower the cost and labor needed for construction.
Investing in impactful startups allows us to have a positive impact in the world while generating financial returns. What better gift is there?
Wall Street has Morningstar, S&P, and Bloomberg
The equity crowdfunding market has KingsCrowd.
About: Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau
Léa is passionate about impact investing and sustainability. Prior to KingsCrowd, she worked for Stanford’s accelerator, StartX, helping to select the most promising entrepreneurs. She also led the first award-winning study on the Malawian startup ecosystem. In her free-time, she volunteers to help entrepreneurs in Cameroon, Brazil and Colombia. Léa holds a degree in Anthropology from France and is currently enrolled in the UC Davis MBA program.
