Impact investing Impact investors make investments to generate positive, measurable social and/or environmental impact alongside a financial return. The growing impact investment market provides capital to address the world’s most pressing challenges in sectors such as sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, conservation, microfinance, and affordable and accessible basic services, including housing, healthcare and education.51 The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) estimates the size of the worldwide impact investing market to be $1.571 trillion.52 As a comparison, the United Nations Trade and Development estimates the annual investment gap developing countries face to achieve sustainable development goals is $4-4.3 trillion.53 While the size of the impact investing market is significant, the proportion of assets under management (AUM) allocated to each region varies significantly. The US and Canada receive 29% of the AUM, while the Middle East and North Africa only receive 3%. Energy is attracting the greatest proportion of AUM in the impact investing sector, with 17% of AUM and 55% of all investors allocating at least some portion of their AUM to energy solutions.54Microfinance Microfinance, also called microcredit, is a banking service provided to low-income individuals or groups who would otherwise not have access to financial services. The microlending industry reaches over 211 million customers55 and was valued at $204 billion in 2024.56 Women make up 80% of the borrowers, and 65% of the borrowers live in rural areas.57 A distinction can be made between for-profit and nonprofit microfinance institutions, where nonprofit microfinance institutions typically have a better capacity for outreach to the poorest clients.58 Fintech The social economy uses innovative technologies to provide capital to underserved communities. They do so through digital platforms, peer-to-peer lending systems and “pay as you go” models, which enable users to pay for products in small, manageable instalments. myAgro in Mali, Senegal and Ivory Coast BOX 7 Shenzhen PGreen transition dimension: Greening agriculture and food production Digital transition dimension: Scaling up digital banking services myAgro is a mobile layaway platform that enables farmers to save for their agricultural inputs – seeds, fertilizers, poultry and corresponding training – in small increments using their mobile phones. While most microfinance institutions provide loans for farmers to purchase agricultural products, myAgro empowers farmers to save their own finances through small mobile deposits, avoiding high interest rates and long trips to formal banking institutions. It also supports farmers in overcoming climate change challenges through sustainable agriculture practices. myAgro currently markets to smallholder farmers across Mali, Senegal and Ivory Coast. Source: myAgro Image credit: Medtronic LABS 18 Unlocking the Social Economy: Towards Equity in the Green and Digital Transitions

Unlocking the Social Economy 2025