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Impact Investing Initiative

Approach
Aga Khan Foundation USA’s (AKF USA) Impact Investing Initiative grows directly from AKF USA’s history of social development programs. The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) has for decades been a leader in mobilizing investment capital for development purposes - what is known as Impact Investing.

For more than 50 years AKDN has financed critical economic infrastructure across the developing world including banks, airlines, and media enterprises, the profits from which are reinvested in other economic development initiatives. To apply the discipline of impact investing to its portfolio of social infrastructure investments, AKF USA in 2010 conducted an eight-month scoping study that explored how other organizations use impact investing to support their work, and identified challenges facing the sector.

Based on the study’s findings, AKF USA launched an Impact Investing Initiative in February 2011. The Initiative supports the development of the impact investing industry through three pillars:

1. Mobilize investment capital for high-impact social enterprises within the AKDN;
2. Launch a Mission Related Investment portfolio to support social development in underserved regions;
3. Help remove barriers that prevent scaling of the impact investing sector.

Current Program Opportunities
AKF USA seeks to partner with other like-minded impact investors to accelerate financially sustainable and high-impact social investments across the Network. These include investment opportunities in healthcare, higher and secondary education, rural development, microfinance and urban rejuvenation.  AKF USA plans to identify co-investment opportunities in AKDN projects that leverage external capital in support of the Network’s commitment to improving living conditions and opportunities for the poor.