September 2024

Basile Aloy invests in impact, along with his mother and sister, with whom he also runs a shipping company and a wine estate. The family focuses on circularity and de-carbonization and is currently setting up a foundation and a venture capital fund to systematically improve sustainability within the maritime sector. 

How did you get started with impact investing? 

We established our family office and began active management in 2017. But it was actually after I met Frank van Beuningen in 2020 that our impact started to grow exponentially. It was like he was a seed in apparently very fertile soil because before we knew it, we decided to invest all our private equity with impact. Everything. Immediately. 

What does impact investing look like in your family?

Our family office consists of my sister, my mother, and I, and we are very fortunate that we are completely aligned on our values and methods. I manage the family office and the family businesses, my mother is on the investment committee, and my sister is involved in the family businesses and the IC, and is responsible for setting up our foundation. As the head of impact for our family office, she also safeguards impact for us. So we have a great balance.

For our family it is generally finance first, but that actually comes quite naturally because we all believe that business should be a force for good. For example, we have a wine estate in Tuscany that is organic and biodynamic, as well as a B Corp. As we went through the B Corp process, we found that we had already met most of the requirements. So, in a sense, we were a B Corp without knowing what a B Corp was.
Our family is and has always been entrepreneurial, and each of our ventures represents this spirit. 

Where do you want to make impact? 

Our family office works mostly on decarbonization and circularity. But we also operate a family business in a sector where making impact is incredibly difficult, especially in those areas. At the moment, there simply are no good options for truly sustainable shipping, but that does not mean we can’t invest in companies working on new technologies that might make this possible in the future.

I think it's good to ask yourself whether there is a solution today, and if there isn’t, direct your efforts to contribute to one. This is precisely why I am finance first; to make a sustainable impact in our sector, we have to be able to continue investing for many years to come. 

What is the goal of your foundation? 

Climate change is essential to us. So, we aim to reduce C02 emissions quickly. Currently, it costs people nothing to emit C02, so there is no incentive. We need the business community and investors, as well as governments with smart taxation schemes, to bring about system change. Through the foundation we are now setting up, we want to explore, among other things, whether we can work on changing the policies for our sector. I believe the moment we start taxing emissions, there will be a business case for change.

As a family, we are constantly looking for ways to be creative, and money is not the only tool. In fact, leaders in their respective industries can sometimes contribute more with their knowledge and their ability to scale.

How would you describe your investment style? 

Dynamic, entrepreneurial, and based on solid partnerships.  

What is inspiring you currently? 

Stoicism; because it spurs me to reduce my needs. As such, I am enjoying Ryan Holiday’s work, particularly his book 'The Daily Dad', and Alain de Botton’s 'How To Think More Effectively'.
I was also recently inspired by Cal Newport's book ‘Deep Work’, which is all about focus. As a young parent and a person who juggles a lot, I have realized that focus really makes a difference. 

What change do you want to bring about with your investments, and what does your investment portfolio generally look like? 

I want to bring about change in our own sector. I strongly believe that one can achieve the most in the sector in which one earns or has earned their money. Passion is not as important as we often think because actually making a real impact means investing where there is the greatest need and where you personally can add the most. That is why we are also working on a venture fund for maritime decarbonization.

We currently invest in 8-10 funds per year and do a limited amount of direct investments. We recently bought a share in 'Revive': a conscious private equity real estate developer through which we invest all our real estate. We also bought a share in Impact Shakers, a pre-seed impact fund. Ultimately, impact first is either a business model or a risk factor. You can take that risk on as an investor but often will not be able to solve it. For example, we invested in a plastic recycling company in West Africa. The risk here is that there is no clear exit, but we have absorbed that risk as investors because it is a great project dedicated to circularity.

How has impact investing changed your daily life?

I think that if you work in impact, you automatically become more aware all around. But I also believe in nuance and the intrinsic sovereignty of humans. I'm not vegetarian, but I always choose the vegetarian menu at conferences or on a plane because I think the more people choose vegetarian, the more mainstream it becomes. We can't force anybody to change, but we can certainly give each other a good nudge! 

What would you say to those starting out with impact investing? 

Meet others who have done it. The impact community is incredibly open and willing to share—and that includes us! Have as many conversations as possible and exchange ideas. Then, make time to actually 'do' it.

What are you most proud of?

I'm proud that I question myself every day - that I dare to admit that I make mistakes. And that I'm not afraid to change my mind. In fact, I welcome it!

Do you also want to exchange ideas and have as many conversations with other impact investors as possible?

Join us & Basile at the PYM Belgium Impact Day on September 25th! 

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