Eighteen East Capital

What Eighteen East Capital does

Eighteen East Capital is a London-headquartered boutique advisory and impact engineering firm founded in 2014 by Thomas Venon and Dave Portmann. The firm specializes in designing and adapting financial market structures to integrate impact investing into global capital markets, with a particular focus on developing countries and Africa. Its core service offerings comprise Impact Engineering (the creation of novel financial structures for the impact sector), Advisory Services (consulting on impact market positioning, product development, assessment, and capital raising), and Research (white papers and bespoke studies underpinning advisory and engineering work).

The firm's product portfolio includes two named initiatives. Impact Investment Trust PLC (Impact PLC) is a London Stock Exchange-listed closed-end investment company developed in partnership with Obviam, the Swiss DFI manager, to provide liquid, low-minimum-investment, regulated access to impact investing in developing countries. ImpactBay is a secondary marketplace for existing impact investments in emerging markets, partnered with Euronext Expert Market and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, designed to allow catalytic investors to recycle their capital before end of LP lifecycle. The firm operates as a four-partner team (Venon, Portmann, Pearce, and Escoffier) with offices in London and Cape Town, combining over 75 years of investment banking, consulting, and impact investing experience.

The business model is built on professional services revenue derived from advisory fees, Impact Engineering structuring fees, and research engagements, with funding supplemented by development grants from UK Aid/FCDO, SECO, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Clients include Development Finance Institutions, foundations, development agencies, corporates, asset managers, private banks, wealth managers, and stock exchanges. Distribution occurs through direct enterprise engagement and through exchange-based listings (London Stock Exchange, Euronext Expert Market) and strategic partnerships, enabling reach into both institutional and high-net-worth segments.

Name

Eighteen East Capital

Legal name

Eighteen East Capital

Website

https://18eastcapital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Eighteen East Capital is a London-based boutique impact engineering and advisory firm that designs financial structures to integrate impact investing into capital markets, serving DFIs, foundations, and institutional investors with products including Impact PLC and ImpactBay.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Impact Investing Advisory and Financial Structuring

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Investment Banking and Securities Intermediation (523150), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure) (FSAAALAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Impact Investing (Intentional, Measurable Social/Environmental Outcomes) (FSAAALAC), Equity Capital Advisory (Private Equity Placements, Growth Capital) (BPAHAOAE), Capital Raising Advisory (Debt/Equity/Private Capital) (BPAHADAG), Capital Raising Advisory (Equity & Equity-Linked) (FSAEAGAC)

Keywords

• Impact investing advisory
• Financial market structuring
• Development finance consulting
• Closed-end investment company
• Impact fund engineering

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Advisory Services: Eighteen East advises clients on a range of challenges including impact market positioning, innovative product development, assessment, testing, and capital raising. Services provided to asset managers, DFIs, development agencies, corporates, and NGOs.
2. Impact Engineering: Creation and adaptation of financial solutions designed to support the growth of the impact sector. Revenue derived from structuring fees and ongoing engagement for product development.
3. Research Services: Research services form an integral part of the offering, underpinning all Impact Engineering initiatives and Advisory engagements. Published white papers and bespoke research linked to advisory engagements.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Eighteen East Capital is an impact investing advisory firm that designs and develops financial market structures to integrate impact investing into global capital markets. Its core offerings include Impact Engineering (financial structuring expertise), Advisory Services (impact market positioning, product development, capital raising), and Research Services, supported by two named financial products: Impact PLC (a London Stock Exchange–listed closed-end investment company) and ImpactBay (a secondary marketplace for impact fund investments in emerging markets).

Product overview

Eighteen East Capital operates as a unified impact investing services firm offering three interconnected service lines: Impact Engineering (core financial structuring expertise), Advisory Services (client consulting), and Research (market intelligence). The portfolio includes two named financial products: Impact PLC (Impact Investment Trust PLC), a London Stock Exchange-listed closed-end investment company providing regulated access to impact investing; and ImpactBay, a secondary marketplace for impact fund investments in emerging markets. These products are enabled by the firm's Impact Engineering capabilities and supported by its research publications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Impact PLC: Impact Investment Trust PLC - a ground-breaking London Stock Exchange listed closed-end investment company (CEIC) structure designed to make impact investing accessible through private banks and wealth managers with liquid, low minimum investment, highly regulated format.
• ImpactBay

Products and services

• Impact Investment Trust PLC (Impact PLC) A London Stock Exchange–listed closed-end investment company (CEIC) that utilizes the liquidity, governance, and accessibility of established stock exchanges to enable impact investing in developing countries accessible to all categories of investors through a liquid, low minimum investment, highly regulated format.
• ImpactBay A secondary marketplace for existing impact investments in emerging markets, designed to allow investors to recycle their capital and create a multiplier effect on aggregate capital deployed for impact, developed in partnership with Euronext Expert Market.
• Impact Engineering Eighteen East's core service offering covering the creation and adaptation of financial market structures designed to integrate impact investing into global capital markets, including designing appropriate market structures, adapting CEIC vehicles, and building solutions to unlock impact capital at scale.
• Advisory Services Consulting services advising asset managers, DFIs, development agencies, corporates, and NGOs on impact market positioning, innovative product development, assessment, testing, product structuring, investor outreach, and capital raising.
• Research Services Research services including Impact Engineering Research (white papers on market-building solutions such as the CEIC Toolkit, LP or not LP paper, Sustainable Development Certificates framework, and Exit-Mobilisation research) and bespoke research linked to advisory engagements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Impact PLC makes investing for impact in developing countries available to all categories of investors in a liquid, low minimum investment, highly regulated format
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.

• ObviamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEighteen East's partnership with Obviam on the Impact PLC project is a key initiative. Obviam is the long-time manager of the Swiss DFI and brings expertise and track record to the Impact PLC initiative. Together they created Impact PLC, a groundbreaking listed impact investing vehicle that harnesses the liquidity and accessibility of established stock exchanges.
• Euronext Expert MarketcoreTechnology or IntegrationImpactBay partners with Euronext Expert Market to create a secondary marketplace for existing impact investments. Through simplification and facilitation of secondary transactions in existing impact investing funds, this partnership enables investors to recycle capital and provides traditional institutional investors access to mature impact investments.
• UN Principles for Responsible InvestmentsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerEighteen East is a supporter of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, aligning with global standards for responsible investment practices.
• Investec Asset ManagementminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEighteen East engaged with Investec Asset Management during the investor outreach exercise for the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) to establish demand for new private investment in infrastructure debt in sub-Saharan Africa.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• BlueOrchard Finance: Impact investment manager focused on emerging and frontier markets, structured as a licensed asset manager of the SDC. BlueOrchard operates across private debt and equity impact strategies with institutional distribution, paralleling Eighteen East's focus on mobilizing institutional capital for development outcomes.
• WHEB Asset Management: Specialist impact investment manager running public and private equity strategies with institutional and wealth-management distribution. Comparable in building impact-investing products with rigorous frameworks and institutional credibility, albeit with a UK/European listed-equity focus.
• Bridges Fund Management: UK-based impact investment firm managing funds across private equity, venture, and outcomes-based contracting. Bridges combines product structuring, fund management, and advisory for institutional impact investors, comparable to Eighteen East's integrated advisory/structuring model.
• Obviam: Swiss development finance asset manager and direct partner of Eighteen East on the Impact PLC project. Obviam manages impact investments in developing countries and co-created Impact PLC, making it the closest comparable firm combining DFI-style asset management with capital-markets structuring expertise.
• TriLinc Global: Impact investment fund manager offering private debt and equity strategies to institutional investors in emerging markets. Comparable in deploying institutional capital toward development outcomes and developing products that broaden access to impact investing.
• responsAbility Investments: Swiss impact asset manager investing in emerging markets across financial inclusion, climate, and food. Operates managed funds, structured products, and advisory mandates with institutional clients, overlapping directly with Eighteen East's impact investing, structuring, and DFI-aligned mandates.
• Acumen: Global impact investment organization combining patient capital, advisory, and ecosystem-building for businesses serving low-income communities. Acumen's blend of investment, advisory, and thought leadership parallels Eighteen East's capital-markets engineering approach to scaling impact.

Emerging players

• Encourage Capital: US-based impact investment advisory and fund manager focused on mobilizing institutional capital for social and environmental outcomes. Overlaps with Eighteen East's advisory and capital-raising work, though primarily focused on US institutional investors.
• Pollination: Climate-focused advisory and investment firm combining corporate advisory, capital raising, and asset management for the transition to a low-carbon economy. Comparable as an emerging capital-markets advisory practice built around sustainability themes, though focused on climate rather than development.

Regional players

• Phatisa: African private equity fund manager investing across food, consumer goods, and infrastructure across sub-Saharan Africa. Comparable in mobilizing capital for African development outcomes, though primarily a direct PE investor rather than a capital-markets structuring advisor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/18eastcapital

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Eighteen East Capital