SRI360 | Sustainable & Responsible Investing, Impact Investing, ESG, Socially Responsible Investing

What does it take to build a billion-dollar fintech company and then walk away from it to start over during a global pandemic? 
In this episode, Mohamed Okasha shares the story behind helping to build Fawry into Egypt’s first tech unicorn—and then leaving shortly after its landmark IPO to launch DisrupTech, a first-time venture capital fund during COVID-19. 
He breaks down what matters more than big ideas and what is often the ultimate competitive advantage in Africa’s startup ecosystem. 
If you're curious about what helps founders grow stronger companies, don’t miss Mohamed’s practical lessons on investing, leadership, and decision-making from both an operator and investor perspective. 

Tune in to learn more about:
[00:03:30] Why Mohamed decided to leave Fawry after its billion-dollar IPO to start a venture fund during COVID.
[00:05:05] The importance of making decisive moves during pivotal moments in life.
[00:08:54] The role Mohamed’s parents played in encouraging risk-taking.
[00:18:53] How routine and discipline help Mohamed succeed.
[00:20:45] What Mohamed saw at Vodafone that no one else could see.
[00:25:45] How his team built trust with their clients.
[00:31:27] Why Fawry kept “one leg in the physical world and one leg in the digital world” during the transition to digital payments.
[00:52:30] What makes a good founder in Africa versus a good founder in the USA.
[01:03:00] The importance of advisory rather than relationships.
[01:06:40] How Mohamed builds startups that make each other stronger.
[01:09:15] How he encourages collaboration between founders without forcing partnerships.
[01:15:00] What backseat leadership looks like to Mohamed.
[01:21:37] What people should expect as an investor in African companies.
[01:30:16] Why many global investors could be overlooking major opportunities in underserved markets.

Resources:
Mohamed Okasha: LinkedIn
DisrupTech Ventures
Fawry

Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X:   
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK   
Scott Arnell’s Book: Sustainable & Responsible Investing 360

Impact investing is entering a more disciplined, outcomes-driven phase, and it’s more complex than it first appears. In this episode of Sustainable & Responsible Investing 360, I sit down with Amel Karboul, Founder and CEO of the Education Outcomes Fund, to explore how capital can be tied directly to measurable results.
Drawing on her experience working with governments, philanthropies, and impact investors, Amel explains why traditional funding models often fail to deliver real impact, and how outcomes-based financing aims to realign incentives across the system. Rather than paying for activities, this model pays for results, introducing both greater accountability and new challenges.
We explore the tensions at the heart of this approach, from balancing different stakeholder expectations to addressing concerns around investor returns in low-income markets. We also discuss the risk of narrowing impact to what can be measured, and how thoughtful design can mitigate those trade-offs.
Looking ahead, we examine what it will take for outcomes-based models to scale, from simplification and standardization to the potential emergence of more tradable forms of impact.
Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X:   
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK   
Scott Arnell’s Book: Sustainable & Responsible Investing 360
Amel Karboul on LinkedIn
Amel Karboul: Ted Talk
Education Outcome Fund Website

Impact investing is entering a new phase, and it’s more nuanced than the headlines suggest. In this episode of Sustainable & Responsible Investing 360, I sit down with returning guest Eric Rice for his third appearance to unpack what’s really happening across global markets.
Drawing on his experience at Wellington Management and BlackRock, and now in private markets with SEAF (Small Enterprise Assistance Funds), Eric explains why this moment reflects divergence rather than decline. While the US has stepped back from ESG language, Europe, Japan, and other regions are accelerating capital deployment and regulatory support.
We explore the limits of impact capital in replacing development aid, especially in the wake of shifts at USAID, and why commercial discipline remains central to the model. We also discuss the growing role of pension funds, the expansion of investable opportunities, and the shift toward financial materiality.
Looking ahead, we turn to climate adaptation and resilience as emerging areas of focus, offering opportunity, but still evolving in terms of scale and structure.
Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X:   
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK   
Eric Rice Episode 009: https://sri360.com/podcast/eric-rice/ 
Eric Rice Episode 088: https://sri360.com/podcast/eric-rice-2/ 
Scott Arnell’s Book: Sustainable & Responsible Investing 360

What does climate investing look like when it actually delivers returns?
In this special compilation episode of Sustainable & Responsible Investing 360, I bring together three investors approaching the climate opportunity from very different angles, yet arriving at a similar conclusion.
First, Ben Guest of Gresham House explains why battery energy storage is the missing piece of the renewable energy transition. As intermittent power sources like wind and solar scale, storage becomes essential to balancing the grid, and a compelling infrastructure investment with double-digit return potential.
Next, Nancy Pfund, founder of DBL Partners, shares over two decades of experience in what she calls “double bottom line” investing. As an early backer of companies like Tesla, she demonstrates that incorporating environmental and social considerations doesn’t dilute returns; it can enhance them by expanding the opportunity set.
Finally, Lena Thiede of Planet A Ventures introduces a more rigorous approach to impact. With an in-house science team conducting lifecycle assessments on every investment, her firm ensures that climate impact is not just intended, but measurable, and tied directly to performance.
Three perspectives across infrastructure, venture capital, and science.
Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update https://sri360.com/newsletter/
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST https://sri360.com/podcast/
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE https://sri360.com/
Follow SRI360° on X:   https://x.com/SRI360Growth/
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK   https://www.facebook.com/SRI360Growth/
Ben Guest full episode: https://sri360.com/podcast/ben-guest/
Nancy Pfund full episode: https://sri360.com/podcast/nancy-pfund/
Lena Thiede full episode: https://sri360.com/podcast/lena-thiede/
Scott Arnell’s Book: Sustainable & Responsible Investing 360

What if the real constraint in impact investing isn’t a lack of capital… but how that capital is structured?
This is a compilation episode built from three conversations, each tackling a different part of the same question. What is catalytic capital? How do you create the conditions for it? And what happens when you deploy it at scale?
You’ll hear from Yasemin Saltuk Lamy, Head of Investment Strategy at Legal & General, who helped define impact investing during her time at J.P. Morgan and later led the Catalyst portfolio at British International Investment. She breaks down catalytic capital as capital that steps into spaces others won’t, and explains how structuring it as junior or first-loss capital can transform “too risky” opportunities into investment-grade assets for institutional investors.
From Stephen Muers, CEO of Better Society Capital, who shares how the UK built the infrastructure to support this kind of investing. Drawing on a unique funding model that includes dormant bank accounts and private bank capital, he explains how catalytic capital can be used to grow entire markets, not just individual portfolios, and why the UK’s social impact investment market has expanded more than 12-fold.
And from Michele Giddens, Co-Founder and CEO of Bridges Fund Management, who shows what execution looks like in practice. Starting with a £40 million fund anchored by £10 million of government catalytic capital, Bridges has gone on to mobilize over £2 billion in private investment while delivering competitive, often double-digit returns.
If you’re thinking about how capital can be deployed more intentionally, whether as an investor, policymaker, or operator, this episode offers a clear and practical lens into how catalytic capital works, and why it matters.
Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X:   
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK