ACDI/VOCA AND OTHER INGOS PURSUE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH MARKET-DRIVEN MEANS
The INGO Impact Investing Network, of which ACDI/VOCA is an active member, released a report today about the critical role international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) play in impact investing. ACDI/VOCA contributed to “Amplifyii: The INGO Value Proposition for Impact Investing,” which presents an overview of how impact investing enables INGOs achieve development goals.
The INGO Impact Investing Network, facilitated by the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) andInsideNGO, was formed in 2015 to collaborate and advocate on behalf of INGOs involved in impact investing. Such investment continues to grow: The report asserts that INGO-managed or founded impact investment funds encompass more than $545 million in assets. Network members represent more than $8.5 billion in annual revenue and have more than 100,000 employees. Impact investment and social entrepreneurship groups—Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), SOCAP, the Omidyar Network, Total Impact Capital, Calvert Foundation, Ford Foundation, Skoll Foundation, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and Village Capital—have endorsed the report.
The report includes a case study on ACDI/VOCA’s partnership with private equity impact firm RENEW Strategies in Ethiopia under the Feed the Future Agricultural Growth Program – Agribusiness and Market Development (AGP-AMDe). ACDI/VOCA’s partnership with RENEW facilitated seven investments into growing Ethiopian companies, created over 200 jobs, and is anticipated to support at least 10,000 smallholder farmers and generate $30+ million in export sales.
ACDI/VOCA pursues its development goals in market-driven and commercially oriented ways. Through pilot investment funds in Ghana and Central Asia, ACDI/VOCA places patient capital in growing agribusinesses to promote markets in which business owners and smallholder farmers are empowered to succeed.
Of impact investing’s potential, Acting President Paul Guenette says “[it] leverages the financial power of the private sector to drive economic growth. ACDI/VOCA is committed to this initiative since it furthers our ability to achieve our international development mission.”
For more information, please contact Geoff Chalmers, ACDI/VOCA’s Managing Director of Partnerships & Investments, at gchalmers@acdivoca.org or +1 202 469 6000.
