The 2021 GIIN Investor Forum

In this article, Amit Bouri, co-founder and CEO of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), highlights the significance of impact performance and provides insights from the GIIN’s second edition of The State of Impact Measurement and Management Practice report. For instance, Bouri underscores that impact performance is shaping the way, “investors will think about impact for years to come…” and “…is redefining what ‘successful’ investing looks like.”

What is impact investing? Can business owners handle their problems in socially constructive ways? How much more money needs to be allocated to impact investments to sustain the future? In this episode of the Real Leaders podcast, GIIN CEO Amit Bouri answers these questions and more as he shares his reflections on how people can be invested in more than just profit.

In a podcast interview with ImpactAlpha, GIIN’s CEO Amit Bouri reflects on the current COVID-19 crisis and notes that despite an inevitable pause in impact investment activity as funds and enterprises focus on health and safety and basic business continuity, the crisis represents “a real moment of leadership.” According to Bouri, impact investors “…that do have capital to deploy, they want to be part of the response to the crisis, the recovery coming out of the crisis and ultimately investing in a more resilient system that can better weather the shocks coming out of the crisis.”

In this Barron’s article, Abby Schultz covers GIIN CEO Amit Bouri’s perspectives on impact investors' challenges during the current COVID-19 crisis. Amit explains that his expectation is that the impact investing community “…can be part of the response to helping to limit the damage of the crisis itself,” and that he believes impact investors can play a significant role in the broader global recovery.

“Many of the structural issues at the root of gender inequality are locked in and magnified by our current financial system,” notes Giselle Leung, Managing Director at The Global Impact Investing Network. In this Op-ed, Leung explains that gender lens investing “is an investment practice with a focus on promoting gender equality” but is “equally understood as a lens though which conscientious investors can assess the gender equality implications for any investment opportunity.” That lens, highlights Giselle, “can be applied whether or not the underlying investment is specifically women-focused.” She also underscores that although the implementation of a gender lens has already been gaining “traction among investors intentionally seeking an environmental or social benefit alongside their financial return…the mainstream investing community’s focus on gender equality is not always ambitious enough.”

In this article, the GIIN’s Research Manager, Rachel Bass, shares highlights from discusses the GIIN’s latest publication, the second edition of its survey of the State of Impact Measurement and Management Practice report. She notes that “…a significant development in the twelve-year-period since the term ‘impact investing’ was first coined” has taken place. “Investors now universally regard IMM as important for understanding whether one’s impact demonstrates progress toward one’s goals” and “IMM is used as a tool to drive impact performance and shape business decisions.” This consensus that IMM plays a defining role in impact investing indicates a market well-beyond its infancy – and a market whose players are realizing their shared characteristics and coming to terms with their identity.

In this article, Zafirah Zein describes how “…after the #MeToo movement made headlines and women’s rights became a front and centre issue globally,” the world of finance seems “to be waking up to the benefits of inclusivity.” She outlines how gender lens investing is creating “an enabling space for women-led businesses.” She also notes that while financial institutions are increasingly recognizing the large potential of gender lens investing, women remain heavily underserved and underrepresented in Asia.

In this article, Adva Saldinger explains that “…most capital invested today is not aligned with the SDGs” and that harmonization of metrics within the finance community will be essential to spur progress and create impact. “While we see volumes growing, inconsistencies are emerging, and it is important to get that right.” She notes that “the Global Impact Investing Network has seen this growing demand for impact measurement and management from mainstream financial institutions” and quotes GIIN CEO Amit Bouri about how . The GIIN is currently working with DFIs to agree on common metrics and aims, to help meet this demand for simpler, more uniform ways of measuring impact, Amit Bouri, GIIN’s CEO, said.

In this Forbes article, Anne Field covers the GIIN’s newly released survey, The State of Impact Measurement and Management Practice, Second Edition, emphasizing how accurate insight into impact performance is critical to the growth of the impact investing industry. According to GIIN’s Managing Director, Sapna Shah, “impact management is a requirement for all credible impact investors,” “it’s not optional anymore.” The growing interest amongst financial investors to step up “their expectations for reliable and comprehensive impact performance reporting” will offer enterprises the opportunity “to differentiate themselves.”