From Impact Investing to Regenerative Investing: Co-Investing with Living Systems

In this episode of Investing in Regeneration, Mónica Altamirano de Jong sits down with Sidney Cano - serial regenerative entrepreneur, investor, innovator, and lifelong researcher of regenerative investing - to explore one of the most profound paradigm shifts in finance today: the transition from investments in regeneration to truly regenerative investing. Drawing on nearly 15 years of experience in business innovation, entrepreneurship, and investing - and grounded in hands-on experimentation with syntropic agriculture, watershed restoration, and community finance in Mexico - Sidney unpacks why investing is not a transaction but a continuum, why there is no such thing as regenerative projects (only regenerative work within living systems), and how finance, when placed in right relationship with economy and investing, can become a force for the emergence of economies of life. From care holders to co-investors, from financial structures to evolving ecosystems, this conversation challenges everything we think we know about where money should go, and why. ▶️ From Impact Investing to Regenerative Investing: Co-Investing with Living Systems 00:00:00  Introduction to Investing in Regeneration 00:01:10  Introducing Sidney Cano: Regenerative Entrepreneur & Lifelong Researcher 00:03:12  The Paradigm Shift: From Investments in Regeneration to Regenerative Investing 00:06:16  Syntropic Agriculture, Living Systems & the Role of the Co-Investor 00:13:00  Why Investors Must Humble Down and Learn With Nature 00:16:29  Sidney's Journey: From Education to Regenerative Investing 00:24:39  The Nested Framework: Economy, Investing & Finance 00:33:22  Deal Origination Reimagined: From Stakeholders to Care Holders 00:36:53  The Acatlan Case: Farmers, Digital Nomads & Regenerative Co-Investment 00:47:04  Lake Chapala: A Long-Term Watershed Regeneration Investment 00:52:41  How Regenerative Investment Structures Differ from Traditional Deals 00:58:03  Removing Finance from the Center of Decision-Making 00:59:04  What One Shift Would You Drive Tomorrow? Notable Quote: “We have to remove financing from the center of all our decision-making. The decision-making has to come from the understanding of our right relationship with the ecosystems — and then bring in financing resources in the right position and the right time. Because you can have tons of money and still have no life.” — Sidney Cano Connect with Sidney: 📱 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sidney-cano-1b0a1813/ 💻 Substack: Towards an Economy of Life  Connect with Mónica: 📱 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/altamiranomonicaa/  💻 Website: https://altamira-regen.com/