Growing Impact Investing Capacity in Africa Could Unlock the Continent’s Potential

Kenya will host the continent’s only Africa-focused impact investing course this July. The course, designed to enhance the capacity of finance practitioners to achieve positive social and environmental impacts alongside financial returns, is a collaboration between the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business and the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Impact investing, which aims to address socio-economic challenges such as poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation, has seen some progress in Africa. South Africa leads the way with the largest amount of assets dedicated to impact investing strategies, followed by Nigeria and Kenya. Despite this, the market remains fragmented and faces challenges of unpredictability, capacity, and market volatility.

To address these challenges, the “Impact Investing in Africa” Executive Development Course will be held in Kenya for the first time. Co-convenors Shiluba Mawela, Managing Partner at Tshiamo Impact Partners, and Daniel Steenkamp and Jason Van Staden from the Bertha Centre Innovative Finance team, aim to broaden the course’s reach among wealth managers, consultants, funders, and other financial intermediaries.

“To increase impact investment, and ultimately impact, requires a multipronged approach – such as training, collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation,” said Van Staden. “The Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship is at the forefront of building this ecosystem by equipping investors with knowledge, tools, and networks to scale their impact.”

The course will cover key topics such as catalytic capital, blended finance, and social impact bonds—innovative financial strategies for scaling social and environmental impact in Africa. With East Africa recognized as a hub for impact investing, the course offers valuable opportunities for cross-regional learning and knowledge-sharing.

“In the context of developmental constraints and investment opportunities in Africa, increasing education on impact investing in a major financial capital like Nairobi is timely,” said Mawela. “Our goal is to equip more investors across the continent with the skills and knowledge to grow impact investing.”

Steenkamp emphasized the unique perspective the course offers by being rooted in African experiences. “Typically, impact investing courses are from the global North. Being rooted in Africa lends the course a unique perspective from an ‘in the trenches’ experience. It drives the agenda from what is really needed and working in our African context.”

The course aims to dispel misconceptions about impact investing, particularly the notion that impact comes at the cost of financial returns. According to a 2023 report by the Global Impact Investor Network (GIIN), a third of investors plan to increase allocations to sub-Saharan Africa over the next five years, indicating a growing interest in investments that yield positive social and environmental outcomes alongside financial returns.

The “Impact Investing in Africa” course, taking place in Nairobi this July 2024, is a critical step in equipping wealth managers, consultants, funders, and financial intermediaries with the expertise to harness the rapidly growing field of impact investing, ultimately unlocking the continent’s vast potential.