Today, Asia Pacific faces an estimated annual funding gap of USD1.6 trillion to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and impact capital will have to play a catalytic role in influencing markets and the state.
In this context, both public and private sectors are increasing their role, especially private finance has long been seen as key to bridging this gap and numerous actors have stepped in. These include philanthropic foundations, corporations, financial institutions, impact funds, intermediaries and impact organisations such as non-profits and social enterprises, and they are working toward sustainable development through significant social Innovation. In the past decade, AVPN’s members and partners in the region have come together to bring about transformative change in the region. We are now at a tipping point in accelerating SDGs action in Asia, and it is critical that we share a clear and ambitious vision for moving capital toward social impact in the next decade.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) estimates that USD2.3 trillion is invested with the mandate of achieving positive impact as of 2020. East and Southeast Asia are one of the fastest growing regions for such investments, growing 23%, and more investors are expected to focus on this region over the next five years, according to the Global Impact Investing Network’s investor (GIIN) survey.
Particularly in Japan, the impact investment market is growing, and according to a survey by the Japan National Advisory Board of The Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG-NAB Japan), the outstanding investment balance of impact investments has grown from around JPY71.8 billion (approximately USD 652 million) in 2018 to around JPY 1320.4 billion (approximately USD12 billion) in 2021. This is due to the fact that asset management companies, insurance companies, and financial institutions are entering the impact investment market as new impact investment institutions. In addition to the increasing number of impact funds being established in Japan, a national advisory committee for impact investing has also been established. Also, a major Japanese financial institution recently announced “Japan Impact-driven Financing Initiative”, signalling a solid trajectory for impact investing.
For the first time in Japan, a key country in Asia where impact investing is thus accelerating, AVPN will host the Social Investment Forum in Japan on 18 November 2022 as an opportunity to discuss and share knowledge and best practices around social investments in gender, education and economic empowerment issues, which are key areas for achieving the SDGs.
This event is held in conjunction with the Asia Philanthropy Congress 2022, which is hosted by Nippon Foundation in partnership with AVPN and will be held on 19 November 2022 at the New Otani Hotel in Tokyo, Japan.