Last week we were invited by our founding member, The Santo Domingo Foundation, by NAB Colombia and by GSG, in Barranquilla, with several actors of the impact ecosystem for the presentation of their study on Impact Investing in Habitat.
At Latimpacto we are driven by connecting purposes to maximize impact, and we are proud to know that the idea for this study was conceived within the framework of our 2022 Impact Minds Standing Together Conference in Cartagena. This is where we see the value of connections, knowledge and collaboration to maximize impact.
Now, in terms of habitat, the issue of impact is a determining mandate for Latin America because of the many areas it covers. Before being investors and articulators of the impact ecosystem, we must think of ourselves as citizens. And it is in this concept where the issue of habitat has an expansive wave, it is not habitat for housing but for the many aspects that it touches in terms of impact:
- Improve people's quality of life: Access to rights and basic services that undoubtedly contribute to several of the goals of the 2030 Agenda, including improvements in accessibility, access to safe drinking water, sanitation, adequate housing, safety, availability of services and environmental quality.
- Promotes economic development: Investments in housing and urban development can stimulate economic growth and market opportunities. In addition, planned urban design attracts more investors, businesses, and people looking for a place to settle.
- Positive impact on climate action and climate change: Adequate investment in habitat and urban development can help reduce the negative environmental impacts of cities, such as air and water pollution, loss of natural habitats and greenhouse gas emissions.
However, this poses significant challenges and challenges for the investment of
impact:
- Innovation in financing mechanisms and legal and juridical instruments to achieve a greater social impact: the range of possibilities offered by the new technologies innovative finance allow us to think outside the box to hack the traditional investment systems. The habitat issue should not be left only to the public sector or public policies and a good way to contribute is to know and appropriate these investment models. Legal and juridical instruments must also be flexible and innovative in order to attract resources and solve needs at the speed of cultural and social dynamics.
- Attraction of private capital and non-financial supportIn line with the two previous ones, attracting resources -human, intellectual and financial- from the private sector, calling for an interest in solving social and environmental problems from the entire continuum of capital. At this point it is important to emphasize that just because we are talking about impact and sometimes philanthropy, we do not leave aside return, rigor, efficiency, governance and proper investment controls. See Blended finance to finance home improvements
- Articulation and collaboration: There is a proliferation of stakeholders interested in deploying their resources with greater impact but from the egosystem and not thinking of itself as part of the ecosystem.When there is true collaboration, greater impact and more innovative solutions are achieved. Different organizations such as traditional banks, microfinance institutions, compensation funds -in the case of Colombia-, pension and severance funds, companies, among others, pursue common objectives that can be promoted by articulating a collaborative work, resulting in solutions of greater impact by adding the strengths and particularities of each one.
The reflection is extensive and pertinent, it is a punctual call for:
● To build ecosystem rather than housing,
● To think of new financial mechanisms that manage to include non-financial actors.
traditional,
● To articulate and not to segregate: to think collectively and from the capabilities of each one.
actor to add up,
● To coordinate efforts to strengthen trust and generate value for all.
We know that greater impact is possible!
