Future of Impact Investing
Is it just a trend or the only way to secure the future of our planet?
Over the past five decades the world has changed with an unprecedented pace. Humanity has been able to achieve milestones and do inventions that were mere dreams few centuries ago. It has also given birth to some of the greatest challenges that the world faces today. Issues such as refugee crisis, climate change, air pollution, choking oceans, depleting non-renewable energy resources, world hunger problem, corrosive income inequality, lack of quality education and healthcare present a huge risk to the future of the world while also presenting an opportunity to be creative and leverage technology like never before to create impact and advance the human race on its unique path.
So, what is impact investing and how can it save the world?
Impact investment, as defined by GIIN, are “investments made with the intention to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return”.
The term itself dates back to 2008 when the Rockefeller Foundation first coined the term impact investing when there was an emerging conversation on how to use capital differently.
JP Morgan reported that impact investments, an emerging asset class, “offers the potential over the next 10 years for invested capital of $400 billion–$1 trillion and profit of $183– $667 billion”.
As per GIIN, several global, large-scale trends will likely shape the future of all investing — including impact investing including, Automation at Work, The Fintech Revolution, The Democratisation of Data, Crowdfunding and Wealth Transfer to Women and Younger Generation among others.
Alongside impact investing other similar ideas have evolved such as conscious capitalism, sustainable investment, and ethical investment.
We at Sumeru Ventures believe that impact is about sustainable development. Sustainable development is possible only with sustainable ethics where trust and transparency are indispensable parts of the business enterprises. This is the only mantra for sustained development of business and inclusive growth of the society. A great strategy to go about it is focusing on the success stories about social, political, health and economic upliftment of the communities across the world and take these case studies as a benchmark to create processes and plans for all the funds which bring best of all the worlds for humanity.
