Social Impact Investing

Currently impact investing is still only a small market when compared to the global
equity market, estimated at US$61 trillion (market capitalization of domestic listed
companies) by the World Bank in 2015. In contrast, about US$15.2 billion was
committed to 7,551 impact investment projects that year, according to GIIN’s 2016
Annual Impact Investor Survey. The largest sectors by asset allocation were housing,
microfinance and energy. For 2016 growth of about 16 percent was expected, reaching
approximately US$18 billion.
Many development finance institutions, such as the British Commonwealth
Development Corporation or Norwegian Norfund, can also be considered impact
investors, because they allocate a portion of their portfolio to investments that deliver
financial as well as social or environmental benefits.
Impact investing is distinguished from crowdfunding sites, such as Indiegogo or
Kickstarter, because impact investments are typically debt or equity investments over
US$1,000—with longer-than-traditional venture capital payment times—and an "exit
strategy" (traditionally an initial public offering (IPO) or buyout in the for-profit startup
sector) may be non-existent. Although some social enterprises are nonprofits, impact
investing typically involves for-profit, social- or environmental-mission-driven
businesses.
Organizations receiving impact investment capital may be set up legally as a for-profit,
not-for profit, B Corporation, Low-profit Limited Liability Company, Community Interest
Company, or other designations that may vary by country. In much of Europe, these are
known as 'social enterprises'.
Institutional investors
Institutional Impact Investing
Impact investments occur across asset classes and investment amounts. Among the
best-known mechanism is private equity or venture capital. "Social venture capital", or
"patient capital", impact investments are structured similarly to those in the rest of the
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