IMPACTASSETS 50™
An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers
ImpactAssets 50
An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers
Deetken Impact
Clean Technology, Alternative Energy & Climate Change
Small/Medium Business Development
Diversity, Equity and InclusionFirm Overview
Deetken Impact is a Canadian registered investment fund manager with a 10-year track record of delivering strong, stable returns to investors by supporting businesses that make a meaningful contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals. Together with its joint venture partners, Deetken Impact Sustainable Energy and Adobe Capital, Deetken Impact manages US$145 million in impact assets. Our diverse team of seasoned impact investment professionals are based in Central America, South America, the Caribbean and Canada.
Years of Operation: 10 years or more
% of Capital from Top 3 Investors: 25% – 49%
Deetken Impact uncovers opportunities to earn attractive financial returns while helping to build a more sustainable and just world. To achieve this, we build strong, lasting relationships with investors and the companies and communities in which we invest, and put our own capital to work in every deal we do.
Deetken Impact invests in emerging economies to generate long term returns while helping communities to grow and prosper. We focus on three primary impact investing verticals: - Sustainable energy - Women’s empowerment - Alternative financing for impact-focused SMEs We seek to influence, through our deployment of capital, the growth of businesses that generate positive social and/or environmental impact across a broad set of sectors including renewable energy infrastructure, clean tech, financial inclusion, education and healthcare, among others. We specialize in providing customized and flexible financing instruments that are tailored to each company’s needs and growth profile, and we augment our financial support with strategic advice to improve the impact outcomes of our investees.
Deetken Impact manages a suite of funds that focus exclusively on impact investing in Latin America and the Caribbean, offering a comprehensive set of financing solutions for impact businesses in the region. Through joint ventures with two of the most recognized and established fund managers in Central America and Mexico, Deetken Impact has expanded its presence in the region while maintaining deep local market knowledge and networks. At Deetken Impact, we believe strongly that tailored and flexible financial instruments are essential to support impact businesses and to scale impact investing in the region. Our diverse team of dedicated impact investment professionals share a passion for delivering exceptional long term financial returns while helping to build a more sustainable and just world.
Investment Example
The Ilu Women's Empowerment Fund, a gender lens investing fund managed by Deetken Impact, invested in a financial institution in Panama that provides commercial loans to micro and small companies to finance working capital and fixed assets. We conducted a comprehensive gender assessment which revealed: - 1/3rd of the company's clients were women or women-owned businesses; - The company did not offer any gender-focused products or services; - The company did not have a defined strategy to meet differentiated needs of women. With support from USAID, the Ilu Fund provided the company with customized technical assistance focused on gender-focused product design & marketing. As a result, the company successfully designed a product and identified accompanying services that address the financial and non-financial needs of female entrepreneurs in its market. Finally, the company signed onto the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles, the National Gender Parity Initiative to advance gender equality.
Leadership and Team
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Fernando Alvarado – Managing Partner More Info
In his role at Deetken Impact Sustainable Energy, Fernando Alvarado leads as the General Partner and Investment Advisor of two clean energy and energy efficiency project finance and venture capital funds: Honduras Renewable Energy Financing Facility (H-REFF) and Caribbean Basin Sustainable Energy Fund (CABEF), which he structured and runs with a combined target capitalization of $100m. Development Investment Banker with 28 years of international credit and investment experience and 18 years of direct experience assessing diversified renewable energy portfolios in Latin America & the Caribbean. |
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Alexa Blain – Managing Partner More Info
Alexa is responsible for finance, operations and investor relations at Deetken Impact. She brings over 10 years of experience in financial consulting and asset management, with specific expertise in company and investment analysis, business valuation and securities/corporate finance. Prior to joining Deetken, she spent three years with African Alliance, a pan-African financial services group, where she focused on expanding the firm’s retail financial services operations as well as on the origination and negotiation of new capital. In addition, Alexa has six years of asset management experience with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the Macquarie Group and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. |
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Erik Wallsten – Managing Partner More Info
Erik was the Founder and Managing Partner of Adobe Capital, one of Latin America’s leading impact investment fund managers and now part of Vancouver-based Deetken Impact. Over the last decade, he has played a catalytic role in the growth of the impact investing sector in Latin America. Before launching Adobe Capital, he worked at various private equity and venture capital funds in Mexico. Erik received an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering with Honors from Universidad Iberoamericana. |
Financial Performance
Impact Performance
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Percentage of Total Assets Under
Management that are Impact Investments: |
100%
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Given the different impact strategies that Deetken has developed, the considerations vary among funds as follows: Renewable Energy Funds - Through a structured interview process including 29 metrics, the funds collect quantitative and qualitative data on primary SDG-aligned impact goals such as Gender Equality, Affordable & Clean Energy, Good Jobs & Economic Growth and, Climate Action. Women Empowerment Fund - Companies are assessed through a comprehensive scorecard to analyze the companies' current gender equity practices and its commitment to improve. The analysis covers four gender lenses: inclusive governance, women in leadership, products and services for women, and value chain equity and advocacy. Impact SMEs - Companies are evaluated using a detailed scoring methodology based on the five dimensions of impact of the Impact Management Project: What, Who, How much, Contribution and Risk. Also, a comprehensive analysis is conducted on the potential S&E risks based on the IFCs Performance Standards.
Given Deetken Impact's commitment to gender lens investing, a key component to assess across all funds is the gender equity practices in both pipeline and portfolio companies. As such, metrics related to leadership, workforce participation, equal pay, ownership and control, among others are considered pre investment and tracked throughout the entire investment period.
Impact Tracking and Monitoring
Learn More
500 - 210 Broadway St. W, Vancouver, BC, V5Y 3W2, Canada
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