The survey Perspectiva del Ecosistema de Impacto en América Latina 2022 is a bet of Latimpacto to know the characteristics, barriers and opportunities of the impact investment ecosystem, in order to establish a roadmap that allows the strengthening and growth of the same.
Specific data on AUM, impact intentionality or investment vehicles can be a tool to think about services and projects that sophisticated knowledge within the ecosystem. For example, the survey that for 2022 collected information from 101 ecosystem actors evidences that the main financial vehicles are grants (39%) and debt (15%) and the less usual guarantees (2.4%) and subordinated loans (3.66), and that 25% of ecosystem actors use catalytic capital.
These data show the possibilities for action that networks such as Latimpacto can develop. In our case, the data was a starting point to define training topics, the design of tools such as the innovative finance toolkit, the development of research such as the study on Catalytic Capital and the development of programs such as the corporate impact initiative.
The identification of best practices and barriers, on the other hand, quantitatively demonstrate the following
aspects that were "intuitions" among the sectors, which allows taking actions from a more informed point of view, and consolidate as an opportunity to think about the next steps.
- Best practices: The use of indicators and a system to monitor impact (67%), the incorporation of a theory of change (61%) and the intention to work with different private and/or public sectors to increase impact (56%).
- Barriers: lack of collaboration among impact ecosystem actors to mobilize more resources (46.5%), lack of an efficient or adequate regulatory framework to encourage impact investment/donation (45.5%) and lack of knowledge and/or practical tools to measure social and/or environmental impact (33.7%).
This shows the need to generate a dialogue with the public sector and to share data and information.
practices to impact public policy, a key step for stakeholders who deploy resources throughout the continuous capital can explore new financial vehicles and impact-generating strategies.
Likewise, we will have to continue exploring the dynamics of measurement and transcend the measurement of management or number of people impacted to know the changes that are (or are not) being generated. The best way to move forward is by taking the first step, testing methodologies and
measurement tools and sharing best practices as there is still no global answer on the right way to do it.
We invite you to know the results here.
If you have not responded to the survey we invite you to do so at: Perspective of the Impact ecosystem in Latin America.
