Redefining Value From Outcome Based Funding to Tradeable Impact 2025

Exemplified mechanism of impact currencies FIGURE 4 The impact bank issues a loan in ICs to an accredited impact organization.Accredited IO pays its staff in ICs.* Staff use ICs to pay for products and services at conventional businesses and shops (in some cases in combination with fiat currency). The IO repays its loan to the impact bank through verified impact (certificated by TPIVs), ICs or a combination of both.1 2 3 4 5 96 7 8Impact bank (IB)Impact organization (IO)Conventional businessesThird-party impact verifier (TPIV)IO staff Creates impact Owns ICs that are close to expiration IO uses additional, verified impact to reactivate ICs.Trade ICs (all actors, at all times)Accredited IO buys products and/or services from conventional businesses in ICs. Third-party impact verifiers assure the impact created by IOs. Multiple-source verification may be required. Third-party verifiers are paid for their services in newly issued ICs. Conventional businesses sell ICs to IOs at a discount. IO verifies additional impact with TPIVs.Under this scenario, as the world increasingly recognizes the economic value of social impact, a parallel currency system might emerge alongside fiat money (any kind of money that is made legal tender by a government decree). Governments, businesses and communities would begin integrating ICs as a standalone currency designed to reward social value creation while functioning within defined economic boundaries.3.4 A future where tradeable impact becomes an impact currency *This may include social enterprises, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), caregiving organizations, etc. At a later stage, anyone (including companies) who demonstrably creates positive impact may seek accreditation.CASE STUDY 6 Connectivity credits The Giga initiative – a partnership between the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) – focuses on internet connectivity for schools and healthcare centres. It has allocated connectivity credits to schools (and other public facilities) based on how difficult it is to connect them. Internet service providers (ISPs) then earn these credits by supplying reliable service. The more remote or challenging the location, the higher the credit allocation. This creates a tangible reward for delivering connectivity where it is least profitable.The initiative has mapped over 2.2 million schools globally,21 many of which remain unconnected, and created a real- time data platform that tracks connectivity, automatically verifying whether or not a link is established and delivering the speed promised. These combined data tools are the core “infrastructure” behind connectivity credits. Read the full white paper on ICs as an impact currency here. Redefining Value: From Outcome-Based Funding to Tradeable Impact 17