The amount of money being invested in “world changing causes" or investments that generate social and environmental impact as well as financial returns, doubled in the last year to $228 billion, reports Fast Company writer Ben Paynter.
A recent survey from the Global Impact Investing Network showed that investors pumped $35.5 billion into over 11,000 deals last year, and expect to boost their amount of investment another 8% over the course of 2018.
“Whether they want to address challenges such as gender inequality, access to education, climate change, etc. – we’re seeing more individuals and organizations around the world beginning to recognize that they can harness the power of their investment capital to drive changes in investment decisions to address many of these pressing global challenges,” say GIIN’s CEO and cofounder Amit Bouri. “Individuals are huge drivers of the rise of impact investing because they increasingly want to be a part of the solution to problems surrounding their communities and the environment.”
Per the data, 72% of those surveyed are now targeting climate change initiatives, either via emissions reduction or backing ways for affected communities to adapt. Among the top mechanisms for making change, initiatives geared toward improved financial services, energy, and microfinance ranked highest, followed by food and agricultural initiatives, and then infrastructure and healthcare programs.
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