Social Impact Investing

Main Findings and Conclusions
The emergence of the Impact Investment sector is especially timely.
The current economic crisis has shaken established orthodoxies
about the risk and return of mainstream investments. At the same
time, there has been rising interest among the investment community
towards social and environmental responsibility in investment,
as illustrated by the growing importance of initiatives such as the
UN Principles for Responsible Investment. As Rockefeller Foundation
President Judith Rodin notes in her introductory letter, charitable
donations do not provide enough capital to solve our pressing social
and environmental challenges at scale. The private sector/investors
may be better placed to address certain social/environmental issues
than charities, foundations or governments. With the global economy
hobbled, mobilising all capital efficiently will be crucial if we are not to
lose ground in creating a more sustainable and equitable world.
Flourishing New Models of
Impact Investment
Creativity in the Impact Investment sector has
led to strong increases in investment activity.
From its genesis in community investment
and low-income housing development, cleantech
and microfinance, Impact Investment is
now helping to provide the scale-up finance
that enables slum schools in India to expand,
farmers in Africa to participate in international
value chains and underprivileged Mexicans to
build better homes. Impact Investors are also
becoming more innovative in designing investment
structures that are drawing institutional
capital to new asset classes. The case studies
in this report have debunked the notion that
socially or environmentally beneficial projects
always require charity.
Creativity in the Impact Investment
sector has led to
strong increases in investment
activity.
Impact Investment is becoming a
Global Movement
Impact Investment examples are springing
up across the globe and are flourishing both
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Investing for Impact: Case Studies Across Asset Classes