In private equity, emerging markets surface underwriting risk in ways developed markets often don’t. This episode looks at how being intentional at entry shapes what gets backed, how companies hold up in shocks, and how impact is measured over time.

My guest Sugandhi Matta has spent two decades inside private equity across Asia, from Temasek to Actis, before becoming a founding partner and Chief Impact Officer at ABC Impact, the largest Pan-Asian impact-dedicated private equity fund, with nearly $900 million in assets under management.

In this episode, she explains how ABC Impact builds a mid-market private equity strategy where commercial growth and social outcomes move together, and why underwriting impact at entry changes how risk is understood and priced.

We talk about:

• Why ABC insists on commercial risk-adjusted returns alongside impact
• How intentional sector selection removes impact trade-offs
• What rigorous impact measurement looks like across Asia
• Why mission-driven founders proved more resilient during COVID

This is a story of private equity applied with intent, discipline, and accountability. Tune in.

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Additional Resources:

ABC Impact website

ABC Impact LinkedIn

Sugandhi Matta LinkedIn

ABC’s 2020 Impact Report

ABC’s 2024 Impact Report

Insights from Dalberg and ABC Impact’s User-Centered Study

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SRI360 interviews mentioned:

💎 Stewart Langdon: Ep 17

💎 Eliza Foo: Ep 71

💎 Sharon Vosmek: Ep 07

💎 Tara Bishop: Ep 70

💎 4 Women-Led Funds: 4-in-1 Ep 86

💎 Sir Ronald Cohen: Ep 73