Michiel is an impact investor with a focus on climate. Since selling his company in 2022, he has been investing his capital, time, strategy, and involvement in the energy transition, particularly in sustainable innovation and scalable initiatives. He invests in funds and directly, preferably with entrepreneurs who combine vision with a sense of reality.

How did you get started with impact investing?

I ran my own company for years (a staffing and mediation agency in HR), and all my money and time always went into that. When I sold it, I suddenly had both capital and time. After a disappointing round with traditional asset managers, I met Edmond on a ski trip in Northern Norway, who recommended a number of impact funds to me. I realized that I had already invested in impactful companies before and that I had always had a strong awareness around impact, we just didn’t call it that back then. I went to a Waldorf school as a child, my father worked at an anthroposophical institute, and my parents had banked with Triodos for years. Through Edmond, I later also became involved with the 'School for Moral Ambition'. Step by step, that’s how I got into the circuit.

What does your impact portfolio look like now?

I am in five funds with investments ranging from €100k to €500k: Bold Bets on Science, Pymwymic, Rubio, Carbon Equity (fund of funds), and E4E (Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs) in Africa. I try not to make the contributions too large, because I prefer to be in several funds at the same time. In addition, I have ten direct investments and I also do microfinancing through Kiva. Kiva is an online lending platform where you can choose projects that specifically interest you. So far, I have made 44 loans in 6 countries, totaling 13,000 euros.

Why climate?

Because it has a measurable KPI: CO₂. I am a techno-optimist, I love hard numbers, and I really enjoy a good graph! Many other impact themes are not or are difficult to measure. Climate is complex, but at least there is a benchmark. For example, I find it inspiring to see how the price of wind turbines and solar panels has dropped over the past decades.

What are examples of your direct investments?

A good example is Hydryx, a company focused on methane from landfills. Everyone talks about CO₂, but methane is at least as harmful and responsible for 20% of warming. Hydryx captures that methane and converts it into energy. This is very effective: if you can reduce methane leaks to zero, you get your investment back within a year. Europe has reduced landfilling by 90% in 50 years, but worldwide, landfilling is still a major problem. Hydryx can make a big impact here.

Another example is Jackfruit Finance in Nairobi, micro-financing for private schools. In many East African countries, the government cannot provide public education; so about 50% of children go to private schools (schools with an average of 100 - 300 students). These schools, especially the good ones, often do not get affordable loans and see interest rates of up to 50%! Jackfruit Finance provides loans of 2 - 10K USD, which are repaid through school fees.

How would you describe your investment style?

Scalability is important to me. It has to be able to become big, have the potential to really gain a foothold. With Jackfruit Finance, for example, we have helped 600 schools in three years. Data and measurability are also essential to me. I need to be able to understand it and reduce it to metrics.

What are sources of inspiration?

The podcast Redefining Energy and the work of Hanna Ritchie, a Scottish data scientist and deputy editor at Our World in Data, who wrote ‘Not the End of the World’.

What advice would you give to other impact investors?

Adjust your expectations. Divide your money into imaginary pots, so you know which part is meant for investing and which part for donating. I have a financially calm life because I have structured it this way, and it allows me to keep a certain emotional distance from my impact returns.
I also think it’s good to have friends who share the same interests in donating and impact investing, so you can keep each other sharp.