BRIEFING

Investing for Impact: Reaching the tipping point?

Dr Stephanie Giamporcaro | Dr François Bonnici | 9 Sept 2014

First academic centre in Africa dedicated to social innovation, using academia and demonstrative projects to address needs and pursue a more fair & inclusive world. Teaching, Research, Dialogue, Impact Key Areas §  Innovative Financing §  Inclusive Healthcare Innovation §  Education Innovation §  Scaling, Policy & Ecosystems §  Innovation Spaces

Bertha Centre

Innovative Finance Initiative

The Innovative Finance Initiative is built around the need to develop a local impact-focused, social investment market in Sub-Saharan Africa to operate independently as well as partner with international investors.

In our experience, despite the vast opportunities for social and economic impact across the continent, the regional market for investing for impact is relatively immature with underdeveloped market infrastructure with inefficiencies, leading to high cost structures for investments with impact

Innovative Finance Initiative

We have an ecosystem approach to our market-building mission and developed strategies to address both the demand and supply sides: •  We are educating stakeholders across the public

and private spheres to bring willing participants into the market, lower real and perceived barriers to investment and increase the availability and access to information on investing for impact.

•  We are conducting research on innovative financing in Africa and globally to create our knowledge base.

•  We are partnering with industry players to create investment and funding opportunities.

OVERVIEW About the Barometer

What is in the Investing for Impact spectrum?

•  Responsible Investing •  Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) •  Environmental Social Governance (ESG) •  Shar’iah-compliant

•  Impact Investing

•  Not Corporate Social Investing (CSI) •  Not Development Finance Institutions

Samples and markets: Going Pan-African

•  2nd edition •  Includes South Africa

and Nigeria

41% of all funds “described as” committed to IFI

IFI language is mainstreaming & pie is growing

Barometer pioneering insights into Nigeria

Private Equity leads the way in Nigeria

Comparison of both countries

HOW MUCH ARE INVESTORS SHARING?

Communicating on IFI

A wide spectrum of disclosure and reporting practices

In IFI spectrum, core RI remains small

IFI LEADERS – Asset Managers

IFI LEADERS – Private Equity

MAIN TAKE-AWAY MESSAGES Communicating on IFI

MAIN TAKE-AWAYS

•  The IFI space represents a rising and significant part of the South African and Nigerian investment industry.

•  This momentum needs to be acknowledged.

•  We call for growing transparency of investment strategies and portfolios.

•  Advanced and refined metrics need to be developed in order to assess how these practices positively impact society and the environment at large.

END

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