Not that we have the answer to this question, which is rather complex, but we did try to shed some light on key concepts and critical issues as well as on-going initiatives and debates in the international field at the interface between development finance and impact investing. We also looked at a range of investment vehicles with some form of catalytic contribution from government and philanthropic donors and described their risk mitigation strategies, innovative features, supporting measures and impact objectives.
"Private Capital for Sustainable Development: Concepts, Issues and Options for Engagement in Impact Investing and Innovative Finance" is the result of a project supported by the Danish Government (Danida) on strategies and tools available to donors (and other public and philanthropic organizations) to mobilize private capital for sustainable development.
The report focuses on funds and investment vehicles in the fields of innovative finance and impact investing in developing and emerging countries. It discusses key concepts, develops typical investor impact-return-risk profiles as well as a typology of investment vehicles. It highlights critical issues based on interviews with more than 50 stakeholders and an in-depth literature review including on impact and financial performance as well as fund design and institutional considerations and concludes with emerging lessons and options for engagement.
Several annexes provide additional research results such as fact sheets of 23 funds and investment vehicles, an overview of the impact investing market in developing and emerging countries, detailed investor profiles, directions in impact assessment and two case studies on field building in Ghana and South Africa.