The 2015 Paris Agreement, signed by all 195 UN signatory nations, put a global focus on the impending climate emergency, with a mandate to achieve nationally determined commitments (NDCs) to exit fossil fuels and accelerate financing of global sustainability projects.

Jacqueline Novogratz quits a prestigious banking job to pursue a career in development but discovers that achieving real impact is harder than she had imagined, especially as grant-funded non-profits often lack the skills and accountability to be really effective.

Kiva is an online platform that sources crowdfunding for low-income borrowers. By 2018 it has facilitated $1.1 billion in loans to 2.5 million borrowers worldwide.

This case describes how an intrapreneur helped Credit Suisse launch a commercially viable impact investing business in Asia. It specifically details the investment strategy and process for a new impact fund aligning social impact objectives with commercial goals of the bank. It also presents two new investment opportunities needing evaluation.