We work hard to create
hemispheric prosperity
That is no small task
Long story short
Many of us are looking for sound investments. But few find opportunities that truly make a difference, both to our portfolios and to the communities in which we invest.
Deetken Impact is a Canadian impact investing firm, and we offer you both. Our priority is delivering strong, uncorrelated stable returns to our clients. But we differ from other firms in two striking ways:
- One, our focus is geographic. Our mission is to make a social and environmental impact in the Americas, with a deeper focus on Latin America and the Caribbean, a region which — like other emerging markets — is projected to grow at 2x the rate of advanced economies in the next 5 years. Access to capital is necessary to capture and nurture this growth.
- Two, we focus our investments on businesses and social enterprises that promote entrepreneurship, provide or improve access to basic services, and have a positive environmental impact. We are not industry specific and we do not champion one social or environmental cause. Rather, we seek-out untapped opportunities for growth in five different sectors that positively impact communities in the Americas.
Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Financing
Women’s empowerment through entrepreneurship
Renewable Energy
Affordable Housing
Healthcare
Our hands-on approach allows us to provide not only the financial resources that micro, small and medium size businesses in the region need but also the technical assistance required to ensure long-term growth and success.
We have the power
to do well
while
doing good
We have the power
to do well
while
doing good
Years of Experience
Countries Impacted
Investments Completed
Our Team
Deetken Impact Values Diversity
Jose Lamyin
Alexa Blain
Managing Partner
Fernando Alvarado
Carl Black
Chief Investment Officer
Sustainable Energy
Betsy Gaborit
Kingsley Thomas
Magali Lamyin
Eugenia Villalobos
Investment Officer
Ana Maria Martinez
Chad Parsons
Guido Bellavita
Didier Alpizar
Rachel Murphy
Gender & Sustainability Officer
Jorge Beeche
Investment Officer
Sustainable Energy
José Lamyin
Managing Partner
José has extensive experience as a business advisor for clients throughout Canada, Europe and Latin America in mining, telecommunications, and finance. Prior to co-founding The Deetken Group, José worked for Teck Cominco in Peru and Canada and Deutsche Bank in London (UK). José has spearheaded much of the strategic growth of Deetken Asset Management since inception and is currently focused on investment selection.
José received his BS in Engineering from the University of British Columbia and MBA from IESE School of Business (Barcelona). Born in Peru, José is fluent in English and Spanish.
Alexa Blain
Managing Partner
Alexa is responsible for finance, operations and investor relations at Deetken Impact. She brings over 10 years of experience in financial consulting and asset management, with specific expertise in company and investment analysis, business valuation and securities/corporate finance. Prior to joining Deetken, she spent three years with African Alliance, a pan-African financial services group, where she focused on expanding the firm’s retail financial services operations as well as on the origination and negotiation of new capital. In addition, Alexa has six years of asset management experience with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the Macquarie Group and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
Alexa is a CFA Charterholder. She has also completed an MA in Financial Economics and an Honours BA in Economics, both at the University of Toronto.
Fernando Alvarado
Deetken Impact Sustainable Energy, CEO
In his role at Deetken Impact Sustainable Energy, Fernando leads as CEO, General Partner and Investment Advisor of two clean energy and energy efficiency project finance and venture capital funds: Honduras Renewable Energy Financing Facility (H-REFF) and Caribbean Basin Sustainable Energy Fund (CABEF), which he structured and runs with a combined target capitalization of $100m.
Development Investment Banker with 28 years of international credit and investment experience and 18 years of direct experience assessing diversified renewable energy portfolios in Latin America & the Caribbean. He has participated in more than 50 syndicated credit and investment transactions for renewable energy projects in excess of $250 MM. He led the creation, structuring, fundraising, legal closing and portfolio construction of several specialized renewable energy funds.
Costa Rican, based in San Jose, Mr. Alvarado has an MBA in Banking and Finance cum laude from Universidad de Costa Rica.
Carl Black
Chief Investment Officer, Sustainable Energy
Carl is a Portfolio Manager with Deetken Impact focused on analyzing and working with MSMEs, social enterprises, and renewable energy developers in Latin America and the Caribbean. His main responsibilities include supporting business development, managing technical assistance projects, leading investment due diligence, and monitoring portfolio performance. Prior to joining Deetken Impact, Carl worked for five years as a consultant, advising public sector clients an non profits in Canada and financial services companies in Latin America. He started his career at the Bank of Canada, where he researched issues related to household and business credit.
Carl completed an Honours BA in Economics at the University of British Columbia. He also holds an MSc in Economics & Development from the University of Oxford, where he earned distinctions in quantitative and development economics.
Magali Lamyin
Managing Director
Magali holds a BA in Economics from Mexico’s ITAM and a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of British Columbia.
Betsy Gaborit
Investment Officer
As an Investment Officer at Deetken Impact, Betsy analyses investment opportunities and conducts investment due diligence, monitors portfolio performance, supports business development, technical assistance projects, and impact measurement and management of our portfolio. Her previous experience includes the formulation and execution of projects and finance for more than 10 years with various international organizations including the Interamerican Development Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, and the United Nations Development Programme. She also worked in project development and finance at microfinance institution Fondo para el Desarrollo Solidario, and with the Government of Guatemala in the negotiation and contracting of funds for international cooperation.
Betsy has Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and a Master’s in Project Formulation and Evaluation both from University of San Carlos in Guatemala. She is a certified professional in Microfinance Management by the Boulder Institute of Microfinance, and in Lead Risk Management by the PECB group.
Walter Vargas
Senior Investment Officer
Sustainable Energy
Walter has worked as an Investment Officer on renewable energy projects, energy efficiency, and agroindustry companies in Central America and the Caribbean for over ten years. He joined Sustainable Energy Central America in 2015 as part of the business advisory team of HREM and CAREM. Previous work experience includes E+Co and Root Capital, where he became familiar with a variety of investment instruments and also with the Central American Energy sector. While working at E+Co, he identified, assessed and recommended renewable energy investments in Central America for $8 MM. In his work at Root Capital, he identified, assessed
and recommended agribusiness investments in Honduras, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, and Mexico for $70 MM.
Costa Rican, based in San Jose, Mr. Vargas has a BA in Business Management and Finance from Universidad Latina de Ciencia y Tecnologia (ULACIT).
Jorge Beecher
Investment Officer
Sustainable Energy
Jorge has been involved in the renewable energy industry from an early age. Following the completion of his degree in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Engineering from Carleton University in Ottawa, he moved back to his native Costa Rica to pursue a career in the field. He joined the Project Development team at Mesoamerica Energy, now CMI Energía, the largest independent private producer of one hundred percent renewable energy in Central America. He joined Deetken Impact Sustainable Energy in 2016 and focused on the analysis of investment opportunities for both the H-REFF and CABEF funds throughout the region. Jorge has lead successful investments in Guatemala, Honduras and the Dominican Republic as well as investments with a regional scope.
Kingsley Thomas
Senior Advisor
Sustainable Energy – Caribbean Office
Kingsley Thomas, a development banker with more than thirty years’ experience in Jamaica and the Eastern Caribbean, twenty-one as Chief Executive Officer of leading Caribbean development banks, is a Senior Advisor to Deetken Impact Sustainable Energy based in Kingston, Jamaica.
He brings to the team a wealth of experience in the areas of privatisation, project development, mobilisation of financing, sustainable energy financing, and project monitoring and evaluation. Among his many achievements, he conceptualised, developed and administered the implementation of Jamaica’s and the Caribbean Region’s single largest infrastructure project, Highway 2000 – Jamaica’s first tolled highway utilising the PPP model; Total Estimated Project cost: US$ 850 million. In recognition of Mr. Thomas’ significant contribution to the national economic development of Jamaica, he has been the recipient of several awards among which
are: The Order of Jamaica [then Jamaica’s third highest National Honour], The Gleaner newspaper ‘Man of the Year’ Award 2004 for leadership in projects such as Highway 2000 and their impact on the development of the Jamaican economy and lifestyle, Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD honoris causa), University of Technology (UTECH) Jamaica, and the Jamaica Observer newspaper – Business Leader Award – for outstanding contribution to the public sector.
He has undertaken in recent years several consultancy assignments as a Banking Expert in the Caribbean and has participated in the evaluation of renewable energy projects for the past seven years.
Mr. Thomas has an M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from Rutgers University, Graduate School of Business, New Jersey, USA, and a BSc. Economics degree from the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.
Chad Parsons
Senior Investment Analyst
Chad has worked as a consultant in business and technology for 20 years – often helping clients with their business transformation initiatives. He has worked with start-ups, government, and established businesses to further their product and service offerings with a balanced approach. After pursuing a research degree on leveraging technology for social and economic development; Chad has found a valuable alignment of his background with Deetken’s innovative impact investments.
Chad completed a BS in Engineering from the University of British Columbia and has a MSc with distinction from the University of Manchester (UK).
Eugenia Villalobos
Investment Officer
Eugenia has over 15 years experience in impact investments in Latin America, with expertise in investment analysis, due diligence, social and environmental monitoring and portfolio management . Prior to joining Deetken Impact, Eugenia was part of the management team at EcoEnterprises Fund, which offers growth capital to innovative sustainable businesses in order to scale and optimize their financial, environmental and social performance.
Eugenia received a MSc in Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and was inducted into Georgia Tech’s Council of Outstanding Young Engineering Alumni. She has a degree in Engineering from the University of Costa Rica.
Guido Bellavita
Investment Officer – Sustainable Energy
Guido joined Deetken Impact in 2020 after completing his MBA at the University of Oxford. He focuses on investment due diligence and monitoring of current investments of the Deetken Impact’s Sustainable Energy funds through Latin America and the Caribbean.
Before joining Deetken, Guido worked as an Investment Banking Analyst at a boutique M&A firm where he assisted both buy-side and sell-side acquisitions across Latin America with a combined enterprise value of over US$300 MM. He started his career at Moody’s Analytics working as an offshore analyst in the Equity Research Management Team at one of the top bulge bracket banks.
In addition to his master’s from the University of Oxford, he holds a BA in Economics from the University of Costa Rica, and a specialization in Investment Management from the University of Geneva.
Rachel Murphy
Gender & Sustainability Officer
As Deetken’s Gender & Sustainability Officer, Rachel manages the impact framework of the Ilu Women’s Empowerment Fund and leads gender-focused strategic engagements. Her main responsibilities include identifying gender lens investment opportunities, leading capacity-building for project stakeholders, working with portfolio companies to develop gender smart business strategies, leading impact measurement, analysis and reporting, and expanding thought leadership. Rachel brings strong experience in social innovation after leading the design and execution of acceleration programs at Alterna, Central America’s first Center for Social Entrepreneurship, working directly with a diversity of social entrepreneurs and SMEs to drive sustainable growth and maximize impact. She also developed analytical capacities while advising top U.S. and international firms in growth strategy and transactional engagements at L.E.K. Consulting.
Our strategic partners
Deetken Impact and ABACO
Deetken Impact and ABACO have been working together since 2008, co-investing in Microfinance and MSMEs opportunities and also working together in technical assistance projects funded by international development banks – IDB, CAF, etc. Learn more by watching this video.
Deekten Impact and Oikocredit
Deetken Impact and Oikocredit share a common mission to provide financial and technical support to organizations in developing economies, promote a healthy impact investor eco-system in Canada and provide investor choice to Canadian investors. Learn more by watching this video.
Deetken Impact and Oikocredit
Deetken Impact and Oikocredit share a common mission to provide financial and technical support to organizations in developing economies, promote a healthy impact investor eco-system in Canada and provide investor choice to Canadian investors. Learn more by watching this video.
Deetken Impact and Pro Mujer
Pro Mujer and Deetken Impact have been partnering to support women’s entrepreneurship in Latin America for the past 7 years. Through both financing and technical assistance, this strategic link between the two organizations started in three countries: Peru, Mexico, and Argentina.
Deetken Impact and Optima
Optima has become a leader in both microfinance and SME financing in Central America. Deetken Impact increased its support for Optima by financing the acquisition of Finca El Salvador, thus doubling the footprint of Optima in terms of branches, clients, and rural presence in that country.
Deetken Impact and Livecare
Deetken Impact provided venture financing to a pioneering Canadian company, Livecare, that uses eHealth technology to increase access to health care services and empower patients. Livecare’s innovative platform, Livecare ConnectTM, combines medical-grade secure video and text communications, an electronic medical record, and patient-owned personal health information to seamlessly bridge doctors to patients anywhere in the world.
Our strategic advisor
Pedra Clau based in Tegucigalpa, Honduras provides technical and social-environmental advice to Deetken Sustainable Energy. With over 20 years of experience in various aspects of renewable energy projects in the region, they perform project evaluation through technical, environmental and social sustainability performance standards during the due diligence and investment approval process.
Once an investment is approved, Pedra Clau acts as “Owner’s Engineer” monitoring and supervising the construction and operation of the projects and measuring the social and environmental impact for as long as Deetken remains an investor in a project or company.
We believe that impact investing should be accessible to anyone who is looking to invest and who cares about a social or environmental issue. It should not be the exclusive preserve of financial institutions, large companies or high net-worth individuals.
Our strong networks, combined with our proprietary financial and social due diligence methodologies, have provided us with an extensive and diverse pipeline of investment opportunities.
Deetken Impact sees tremendous opportunity for attractive double or triple bottom line investments in the impact space especially in Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, we actively examine North American opportunities that meet our investment criteria.
We believe that impact investing should be accessible to anyone who is looking to invest and who cares about a social or environmental issue. It should not be the exclusive preserve of financial institutions, large companies or high net-worth individuals.
Our strong networks, combined with our proprietary financial and social due diligence methodologies, have provided us with an extensive and diverse pipeline of investment opportunities.
Memberships and Affiliations
So now you know who we are and what we do.
Want to see the kind of impact and returns we are talking about?
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