NYU Stern’s team, Regenerative Carbon, consisting of Angela Lu, Ran Mo, Toufic Moukarzel, Dan Steurer, was announced Winner of the IFC Impact Investing Challenge 2022 on April 27th, 2022.

As part of the challenge, teams were asked to identify opportunities to support financial institutions in emerging markets and developing economies as they emerge from the global pandemic. The proposals were assessed and judged by the IFC committee based on the innovativeness of the idea, development impact potential, and implementation feasibility.

Regenerative Carbon proposed an IFC investment in the Agricultural Bank of Egypt to set up and raise a fund, which targets the challenges of reducing global warming GHG emissions in addition to improving an inefficient agricultural system for farmers in Egypt. This fund, through low interest loans, will help farmers make the transition to regenerative agriculture while giving its investors credible claims on the carbon credits associated with the regenerative transition. The intent is to allow high-carbon emitting countries to co-invest in the fund, generating dividend returns in the form of credit for carbon reductions, thereby creating a proxy carbon market in countries like Egypt where no such market exists. VIew the winning presentation here.


International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. IFC aims to advance economic development and improve the lives of people by encouraging the growth of the private sector through its specialized deployment of catalytic capital and expertise in creating markets in developing countries. The IFC Impact Investing Challenge is the flagship competition for graduate students worldwide, where they compete and collaborate while showcasing their skills and innovative ideas in the rapidly growing field of impact investing. This year 180 contestants, 45 teams from 29 universities around the world submitted their innovative and impactful proposals.