Since 2012, the IMPACT Programme has been supporting initiatives that build the market for impact investing in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Between 2012 and 2019 the IMPACT Programme supported 17 initiatives that focused on market-building solutions in five key strategic areas:
Open up sources of finance
Taking impact investing public
Eighteen East
The IMPACT Programme supported Eighteen East Capital to design and test the market appetite for the launch of an Impact Investment Trust on the London Stock Exchange.
Creating a liquidity vehicle
Enclude (now known as Palladium Impact Capital)
The IMPACT Programme supported Enclude to support the building of a secondary market for impact investments through the creation of a Vehicle that will offer exit opportunities to early stage portfolio owners and managers.
Improve impact measurement
Building a global convention
Impact Measurement Project
The IMPACT Programme supported the co-design of a global convention that enables investors and other stakeholders in the impact investing value chain to be explicit about their impact expectations and illustrates norms for attempting to meet different expectations.
Building industry practice
Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)
With support from IMPACT Programme, the GIIN focused on improving impact measurement and management practices among investors.
Lean data services
Acumen
Acumen developed their Lean Data Services proposition to enable enterprises in DFID target regions – including companies associated with prior phases of the IMPACT Programme – to access better data on their social performance, customer feedback and behaviour.
Poverty Probability Index
Poverty Probability Index
The IMPACT Programme supported the further development and roll out of the PPI to help base-of-the-pyramid focused enterprises, funds and service providers in DFID target regions to access low-cost poverty measurement tools.
Catalysing local metrics and impact assessment
Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE)
This project sought to encourage more fund managers, entrepreneurs and capacity development providers to measure their social performance, to increase the rigor of social performance measures and to improve the perception of the business value of social performance measurement.
Build fund management capacity
Advancing the next generation of impact investment managers
CAPRIA
The Impact Programme supported Capria Ventures LLC in advancing the next generation of local impact fund managers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The initiative offered a combination of senior level partnering, a tightly coupled peer network and tailored capital that helps local funds optimise their performance.
Bridge information gaps
Clean Energy Access
Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)
With support from the IMPACT Programme, GIIN in the development of five core elements of their programming: ImpactBase; Research; the Basic Services Programming Track; Regional Liaisons; and Clean Energy Access. These elements aimed to bridge information gaps and increase connectivity in the impact investment market.
Strengthening the UK’s role in international development finance
UK Advisory Board on Impact Investment
The IMPACT Programme supported the UK National Advisory Board on Impact Investing (UK NAB) to organise two events in London to bring together representatives from international and domestic impact investing communities, to facilitate greater collaboration.
NAB Development in Sub-Saharan Africa
The Global Steering Group (GSG)
The IMPACT Programme worked with the GSG to achieve measurable impact embraced as a deliberate driver in every investment and business decision.
Supporting gender smart investing
International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)
The IMPACT Programme is supporting components of the forthcoming ICRW Gender-Smart Investing Resource Suite, which will enable users – primarily impact investors and development finance institutions – to be gender-smart in investing processes, thereby making better, more informed and ultimately smarter investments.
Financial benchmarking phase 2
Council on Small Agriculture Finance (CSAF)
The CSAF and GDI conducted quantitative and qualitative analysis to provide insights into the loan economics of financiers serving Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the agriculture sector across East Africa.
Support deal flow
Supporting the up-skilling of entrepreneurs in developing countries
CAPRIA Ventures
The IMPACT Programme supported Capria Ventures to build the capacity of support intermediaries through developing a curriculum of in-person and online interactive training to support the up-skilling of entrepreneurs in developing countries.
Building the capacity of organisations who support entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa
Village Capital
The IMPACT Programme provided support for Village Capital’s work to build the capacity of entrepreneur support organisations (ESOs) in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Research on scaling out successful impact investing models
FSG
The IMPACT Programme part-funded an FSG study which aimed to develop a robust foundation of understanding the need and opportunity for impact investment and represent models that could be replicated in different markets and sectors. The focus of the study was on impact investing and impact enterprises in low- and lower-middle-income parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Overcoming information gaps in the impact investing sector
Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) and Endeva
The IMPACT Programme worked with ANDE and Endeva to help address the lack of market information for deal making in the impact investing sector.
