Volume 91: Beyond the Balance Sheet: Fueling Local, Diverse Entrepreneurship

In the world of venture capital and angel investing, the familiar story often focuses on financial gains: the hunt for huge profits, the next unicorn, and the growth of personal wealth. Laura Kind McKenna’s approach is different. Her recent investment in Naturaz , a growing company founded by Mumbi Dunjwa and based just outside Philadelphia, is motivated by a deeper, community-focused purpose: the urgent need to direct capital to entrepreneurs who need it most and, in the process, create a stronger, fairer local economy.

Meg De BritoNovember 3, 2025Dermot Murphy, OptImpact

Volume 72: Seeds of Change: Cultivating a Thriving Impact Investing Ecosystem in Philadelphia

The devastating consequences of divestment, like deteriorating infrastructure, vacant lots, and vast expanses of food and green space deserts, are glaringly obvious in low-income areas of Philadelphia. These inequalities in resources and opportunities have created a vicious cycle of poverty and made upward mobility very difficult. For the Philadelphia region, relying solely on traditional philanthropic models is insufficient to address these entrenched disparities and complex challenges. Poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation cannot be solved by simply chasing profit margins and depending on philanthropy.

Dermot MurphyFebruary 6, 2024Dermot Murphy, ImpactPHL, OptImpact