An Australian Perspective on Social Impact Investing

A new book co-authored by InDaily 40 Under 40 alumna Carmen Garcia examines the components required to strengthen Australia’s social business investment sector.

This relatively new notion was initially introduced in 2007 during a Rockefeller Foundation meeting hosted in Italy’s Bellagio Center.

Governments are increasingly recognizing their role in expanding the SII market, not just as market facilitators and regulators, but also as active market participants or purchasers of social effects.

In the end, the Australian Taskforce on Social Impact Investing report (2019, p. 22) “envisions a future where Australia has a deep capital market for social impact investments facilitated by skilled specialist advisor ‘intermediaries’, with measurable social and financial returns across a broad range of investments – from low to market-rate financial return”.

To become a deep market with many players and on a broad scale, the Australian SII market need competent intermediaries that can enable and organize SII investments (such as Social Impact Bond arrangements). Intermediaries in the SII sector include Social Ventures Australia and Social Finance UK.

Social impact investment requires a framework for assessing the overall viability, performance, and service delivery capabilities of social service providers.

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BlueMark Raises $3.75 Million To Drive Greater Adoption Of Impact Verification

BlueMark, a provider of impact verification services for investors and businesses, has announced a total funding of $3.75 million from the Ford Foundation, Radicle Impact, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing.

BlueMark will use the funds to expand its verification services across industries and geographies. The firm’s comprehensive approach to verification encourages impact investors to raise the bar on their impact performance.

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