In the Fund Manager Spotlight Series, we invite people in our network to share their take on impact investing to exchange thoughts and ideas with our community. In this issue, we feature Tammy E. Newmark, CEO and Managing Partner of EcoEnterprises Fund.
Image: Geoffrey Baumbach/Unsplash
Tell us more about your background and how you got started in impact investing.
I began my career on Wall Street. While working at JPMorgan Chase, we launched an informal women-in-finance group which ultimately grew to 60 of us from a range of investment institutions. We were all interested in learning more about emerging organizations focused on women, finance, and economic development in developing countries. Monthly, we brought in speakers from pioneers, such as Women’s World Banking, UN Development Fund for Women, Save the Children, and those in the new microfinance industry. Fast forward to today, many of us are leaders in impact investing.
I headed to business school and received my MBA from Wharton where I studied entrepreneurship. Spurred by a small article I saw in the Wall Street Journal, and a cold call reach out by me to the featured organization, I ultimately landed in my sweet-spot job, SME-investing, first in Africa and Asia, then Latin America. I led the creation of investment vehicles in Indonesia and Philippines, building a portfolio of first mover deals in renewable energy, clean tech, recycling, and sustainable agriculture. Ultimately, I was recruited by The Nature Conservancy to head EcoEnterprises Fund in 1998; we spun off as an independent women-led investment fund in 2010.
What has been your main investment focus?
Natural resources, beginning from my days at JPMorgan Chase to today. For the past 25 years at EcoEnterprises Fund, we have built investment portfolios of nature-based solutions, with a focus on critical natural ecosystems and working landscapes in Latin America and the Caribbean. We are the premier fund in biodiversity investing, financing growing businesses to preserve and restore natural habitats, promote climate action, and create social equity. We always invest with an intention to elevate the lives of local communities, with a particular interest in supporting women entrepreneurs.
What are some of the opportunities that you are excited about in Latin America?
Next generation nature-based solutions are evolving rapidly to offer incredible investment opportunity and impact outcomes. EcoEnterprises Fund’s pipeline includes companies focused on integrating the use of regenerative approaches and technology to improve operations, elevate supply chain management with smallholder farmers, and develop new business given market prospects. We see circular models targeting alternative proteins, ingredients, and clean energy access. We are identifying regional companies expanding Global South to Global South, replicating business models as they expand. There is a ramping up of companies utilizing climate-tech and nature-tech systems to enhance impact monitoring, supporting the deepening of biodiversity and climate resilience results. Lastly, there is the evolution of stakeholder ownership, such innovative structures integrating communities, employees, and producer networks into equity participation in companies. It is awesome to witness the dynamism of the nature-based solutions universe; and to invest in such innovative companies contributing to a just, biodiverse, sustainable future.
What have been some of the main lessons learnt in your journey?
To share our learnings as we work to mainstream innovative investment strategies for impact, we have published two books. Released in 2024, Impact Investing for a Sustainable Planet: Insights from EcoEnterprises Fund focuses on our recent portfolios and current trends in the impact space. Takeaways from our first proof-of-concept fund while part of The Nature Conservancy were published in Portfolio for the Planet: Lessons from 10 Years of Impact Investing.
Image: Impact Investing for a Sustainable Planet:
Insights from EcoEnterprises Fund, co-authored by Tammy E. Newmark
What would be your advice to someone getting started on their impact investment journey?
You must start somewhere! Get your foot in the door in an organization that is aligned with your passion and add-value. You can then gain experience, concurrent with learning about yourself and interest areas. Depending upon your skills and what position may suit you, you could then move on. Fortunately, there is now incredible dynamism and growth in the field and, thus, such a spectrum of opportunities abounds. Keep your eyes open, participate in as many impact investing meet-ups as you can, and network.
Read more about EcoEnterprises Fund on their website here.
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