And the size of the impact investing market is…

Letter from CEO and Co-Founder Amit Bouri

With the U.S. presidential election next week, the energy here in New York is tense, but I felt optimism in the air at my early voting site much the way I did last week at the annual GIIN Impact Forum in Amsterdam. There, I saw a diverse group of people come together to help secure a better future for their communities and the planet. It was so great to be with everyone in person, where we continued to form and build connections with over 1,600 people from 80 countries working towards a common goal. Even now, reading attendees’ takeaways on LinkedIn is feeding my hope for the future.

At the forum, the energy and excitement behind using impact investing to develop and expand solutions for some of the world’s biggest challenges was palpable and motivating. From the U.N.'s Damilola Ogunbiyi discussing the necessary paradigm shift that developed markets must align with in order to reach a net-zero economy that's inclusive of low and middle income countries (her work focuses on Africa in particular), to a panel of institutional asset owners sharing how integrating impact across their portfolios unlocks greater value for their beneficiaries, to various sessions related to the climate crisis including a film screening of an animated documentary on the realities of climate migration — there’s a huge amount of energy being put towards credible and effective solutions.

In case you missed it, our biggest announcement from the forum was this year’s estimate of the impact investing market size, which the GIIN releases every two years. Back in 2022, I announced that the market size had crossed $1 trillion USD for the first time, and this year we’re pleased to report that the market is now estimated at $1.571 trillion USD. The GIIN published a report contextualizing this number, which you can read here: Sizing the Impact Investing Market 2024 . In the report, for the first time, we also provide the estimated compound annual growth rate for the size of the impact investing market over the past five years: 21%. This is a big step and a sign that the industry is growing in size and sophistication. It also signals that more and more people understand and use impact investing as a tool to tackle our global challenges and deliver value.?

$1.571 trillion USD is a substantial number, and it is having — and will continue to have — real-world impacts that make people’s lives better now and in the future. These dollars are making healthcare more accessible, building affordable housing, regenerating land and oceans alike, addressing social inequity, and much more.

As many of you have heard me say: the scale of our problems defines the scale of our ambitions. There’s more to do, but in the meantime, let’s celebrate how far we’ve come.?

-Amit

News we’re watching:?

• A new article from Vox argues that we need $700 billion USD to “help stave off ecological collapse.” With over $1.57 USD in impact investing at the time of this writing, the private sector needs to continue stepping in more each year to fill this need.?
• New data released by the U.N. show that greenhouse gasses hit a record high in 2023 . This news indicates that there's a lot of work to do to make good on the various pledges and commitments to cut emissions, and the need for government and the private sector to work together to address this issue has never been greater.
• A piece from the Financial Times argues , “Africa faces an enormous investment gap to tackle climate change and boost productivity, which means fair and accurate financing costs are essential.” Sessions at last week's GIIN Impact Forum tackled questions of investment in, and energy access across, the African continent, seeking ways to fill this investment gap.?
• A new story from Grist argues for electric transportation’s potential additionality for businesses in addition to their planetary benefits, suggesting that impact investors focused on the energy transition may find both impact and financial returns in EVs.?
• The Catalytic Capital Consortium (C3) announced that six new partners have joined to extend C3 for another three years , with a focus on the effects that catalytic capital can have in the area of climate.?
• The NAACP just launched a $200 million USD fund to transform the venture capital landscape. The civil rights organization announced the launch of NAACP Capital, a fund that will invest in fund managers and startups that are focused on closing gaps facing communities of color.
• At a time when the GIIN reports that blended finance is once again on the rise, the U.N. Environment Programme asks: Can “blended finance” help save the world’s coral reefs?

The latest from the GIIN:?

• Want a deeper look into the Impact Forum? Watch Amit Bouri’s conversation with climate scientist Johan Rockstr?m about planetary boundaries on YouTube .
• Check out recent coverage of GIIN research, including our Sizing the Impact Investing Market 2024 report, on our "News from the field" page .?
• Listen to Chief Research Officer Dean Hand on The Sustainability Story podcast , where she discussed how to measure success in impact investing.
• Are you an asset owner interested in applying impact to your portfolio? The GIIN recently published a series of case studies illustrating how institutional asset owners are adopting an impact strategy and seeing success in their impact investments.
• As part of our research series drawing from our annual impact investor survey, the GIIN recently published a report on gender and impact investing , funded by the Australian Government through the Investing in Women initiative.
• This month we held our first Introduction to Impact Investing seminar in Tokyo, a new offering from the GIIN where senior fund managers, CEOs, consultants, impact officers, professors and more joined to dive into the global impact investing landscape and the rapidly expanding Japanese market. Visit the GIIN’s training page for more information on future seminars.?