Rockefeller Fund Takes First Green Stake in Pivot From Oil

Saturday, July 30, 2016

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the foundation divesting from the fossil-fuel industry it helped create, took its first direct stake in a renewable energy company in a move meant to bolster the fight against climate change.

The New York City-based fund, founded in 1940 with the profits of Standard Oil Co., provided $10 million to Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd. to expand renewable energy in Africa. The investment was part of an $117.5 million funding round announced last month that included International Finance Corp. and other backers. The investment will help finance as much as $1.9 billion for green energy on the continent.

“The opportunity is huge and for us it’s just absolutely in the sweet spot of what we’re trying to do with our impact investing,” Stephen Heintz, president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, said in a telephone interview from New York. “It’s completely consistent and advances our philanthropic mission, but does so while supporting market-rate investment and business solutions to climate change.”

Source: Bloomberg (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Environment
Tags
impact investing, renewable energy