NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

The Rockefeller Foundation through its Impact Investing initiative is funding research in five sub-Saharan African countries which will contribute to two overarching goals: understanding the policy barriers and enabling environment for impact investing across Africa and recommending national policies to encourage the growth of the industry for the ultimate benefit of poor or vulnerable communities.

Despite market challenges and a preponderance of development aid, there is a growing regional opportunity for impact investing in Africa. While there is an appreciation of the scale of the multiplier effect impact investing can have, there is a lack of appreciation for the distinction of impact investing against the backdrop of other developmental finance and general private sector development. As a result, the benefits of impact investing are often overlooked and the objectives conflated with all general development finance. This work will forge a deeper and contextualized understanding and eventual application of impact investing as a subset of private sector activity in the respective countries.

The work will involve intensive research carried out by five grantees: Ghana Venture Capital Trust Fund (Ghana), Strathmore Business School (Kenya), Lagos Business School (Nigeria), Dalberg Global Development Advisors working in collaboration with APIX (Investment Promotion and Major Projects Agency) (Senegal) and Greater Capital (South Africa).

The grantees will conduct research and facilitate local stakeholder discussions which will seek to answer the following questions based on the specific country context: