Investing for Impact

The Foundation continues to be active in extending our investing for good by supporting the impact investment fund, Te Pae ki te Rangi, which the Foundation helped establish in 2021. The fund is capably managed by Soul Capital based in Auckland and is actively seeking impact investments that align to our granting focus areas.

The fund has expanded its portfolio to ten investments by 31 March 2024 and committed approximately $20m to a range of investments, include the two examples below.

Kara Technologies develops hyper-realistic digital humans, an AI enabled plug-and-play solution capable of translating any content into visual sign language. Their mission is to make sign language available everywhere, at any time for the Deaf community – providing not just accessibility but equity.

Money Sweetspot is a social lender committed to helping people escape spiralling debt. They offer reduced interest rate debt consolidation alongside financial education. By consolidating all loans into one at a much lower interest rate, it frees up income and re-introduces breathing room for people in their day-to-day lives.

Foundation North continues its commitment to being a responsible investor and a signatory to the Community Trusts’ Funders Commitment on Climate Action. The Investment Committee and Board are currently focused on working towards our net zero portfolio carbon emission target by 2050 or before. Likewise, we are investigating how to demonstrate our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi when undertaking our investing activities.