Capital Allocation Series
Corporations have become an increasingly relevant but still under-analysed investor group in impact funds targeting emerging markets and developing economies. Their participation is structurally different from that of banks, insurers or asset managers. Corporate investments are typically driven by strategic considerations rather than by portfolio diversification alone and are often linked to long-term supply chains, […]
Insurance Trilogy
The insurance industry underpins modern economic stability, enabling households and businesses to transfer risk and recover from disasters. Yet climate change and ecosystem degradation are rapidly eroding this foundation. Global temperatures surpassed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in 2024, measured against the 1850–1900 baseline that serves as the scientific benchmark for industrialisation-era warming. The Paris Agreement […]
Capital Allocation Series
International wealth managers have become increasingly significant actors in impact investing in emerging markets and developing economies, although their participation differs structurally from that of institutional investors, DFIs or sovereign wealth funds. Wealth managers serve high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs), family offices and foundations through private banking platforms, independent wealth advisory firms and multi-family […]
Alternative Development Trilogy
Before collaborating across countries and governments, and before the concepts of aid or development cooperation even existed, local individuals and organisations around the world have always been working on solutions to their challenges from the ground up. However, in Official Development Assistance (ODA), cooperation is usually between governments, and local voices are frequently ignored. This […]
Capital Allocation Series
Over the past fifteen years, pension funds have become one of the most influential institutional investor groups shaping the global impact investing market. Their growing role in emerging markets and developing economies reflects both the scale of assets under management and the structural alignment between long-term pension liabilities and the extended investment horizons required for […]
Capital Allocation Series
Insurance companies manage some of the world’s largest pools of long-term capital, yet their participation in impact funds that target emerging markets and developing economies remains highly selective. Unlike banks or development finance institutions, insurers operate under liability-driven investment models shaped by regulatory capital regimes, asset-liability matching requirements and the need for stable, long-dated cash […]
Capital Allocation Series
Commercial banks are an established and increasingly sophisticated component of the impact investing ecosystem in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs). As regulated financial institutions, their participation in impact funds is shaped by prudential frameworks, balance‑sheet discipline and market‑rate return expectations, which distinguish their role from that of public or philanthropic investors. Rather than acting […]
Capital Allocation Series
Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) represent the institutional backbone of the impact investing ecosystem in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs). DFIs are institutions established by governments, either individually (bilateral DFIs like FMO, DEG, BII) or collectively through treaties (multilateral DFIs aka MDBs like IFC, AfDB, EBRD, IDB, ADB), with a mandate to promote economic development […]
Capital Allocation Series
Philantrophic foundations are among the earliest and most structurally important actors in impact investing in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs). Long before impact investing became mainstream, foundations deployed capital into development-oriented funds, social enterprises and intermediaries operating in EMDEs. Unlike other institutional investors, foundations are not constrained by regulatory capital requirements, balance sheet optimisation […]
Capital Allocation Series
Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have become increasingly relevant actors in impact investing in emerging markets and developing economies, although their participation differs structurally from that of foundations, DFIs or commercial asset managers. SWFs are state-owned investment vehicles mandated to manage national wealth over long time horizons, often derived from commodity revenues, foreign exchange reserves or […]