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

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

By Neil Malhotra

Venture capital funds specifically directed towards ‘impact investment’ – that is, investing in ventures with tangible social good at their core – are currently dwarfed by their traditional counterparts in terms of funds under management. Collectively, impact funds can count resources in the hundreds of billions, while traditional venture funds reach into the trillions.

But there are signs that the tide may be changing. A new wave of successful tech entrepreneurs seem to have more interest in directing their sense of mission – and sizeable fortunes – at addressing social problems than previous generations of corporate philanthropists have had. Impact investment is also making its debut in the corporate world, with large organizations – at least in part motivated by growing pressure on them to lead the way on certain issues – launching funds targeting diversity, sustainability, and other critical social issues.

Photo courtesy of GotCredit.