Monday
December 7
2020

Viewpoint: Beyond Grants and Impact Investments, There’s a Growing Interest in Africa

By Daniel Adeyemi

How much impact investment comes into Africa every year? And do you think it’s enough?

My bet is that even if you don’t know the answer to the first question, you probably know the answer to the second question: It’s not enough.

Over the years impact investing in Africa has seen a steady rise.

As at 2014, the UNDP estimated that at least $8 billion had come into Africa via impact investment. Yet, there’s still a huge gap of $100 billion annually needed to support Africa’s much needed growth.

Impact investments are investments made in companies, organizations and funds with the intention of generating measurable social and environmental impact in addition to financial return.

The definition of  impact investing can be a bit  broad and difficult to agree on, with different players adopting a separate understanding of what social impact can be achieved through investment, how it can be measured, what should be the financial return, and who should be receiving the capital.

Photo courtesy of MegaPixl.

Source: TechCabal (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Investing, Social Enterprise
Tags
impact investing, scale, social enterprise