Capacity Building

General introduction

 

 

Background:

 

The growing market for impact investment funds solutions to the world's most pressing challenges in areas such as sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, microfinance, and affordable basic services including housing, healthcare and education.

 

There are huge differences among impact investors. Some of them specialize in the education sector, the health sector, SME development or agriculture, depending on the impact investment theme they are involved in.

 

Their investment process is also diverse: some of them employ debt investments, others engage in equity investments or both. All performance investors have an actual performance management, which means systematic measurement of the key performance indicators of their investments.

 

All in all, it is especially important to see impact investors as leaders because they are consciously committed to development goals and seek to generate positive social and environmental impact. As part of their mission, the investment promotion office can attract and facilitate the implementation of the county's investors.

 

 

Definition:

 

Impact Investing is constituted in a way that brings development and finance together: It means that when capital is provided to promote businesses it goes beyond profit maximization: Impact investment inherently intends to have a positive social and environmental impact.

 

The term“Impact Investing”was first coined in 2007 in an initiative led by the Rockefeller Foundation - giving a name to various social investment methodologies that had been developing and in use.

 

According to GIIN, impact investing is an investment in companies, organizations and funds designed to generate social and environmental impact and financial returns.

 

 

 

 

Core characteristics of impact investing

 

 

The practice of impact investing is further defined by the following four core characteristics:

 

 

INTENTIONALITY 

An investor’s intention to have a positive social or environmental impact through investments is essential to impact investing.

 

 

RANGE OF RETURN EXPECTATIONS AND ASSET CLASSES

Impact investments target financial returns that range from below market (sometimes called concessionary) to risk-adjusted market rate, and can be made across asset classes, including but not limited to cash equivalents, fixed income, venture capital, and private equity.

 

 

INVESTMENT WITH RETURN EXPECTATIONS

Impact investments are expected to generate a financial return on capital or, at minimum, a return of capital.

 

 

IMPACT MEASUREMENT AND MANAGEMENT

A hallmark of impact investing is the commitment of the investor to measure and report the social and environmental performance and progress of underlying investments, ensuring transparency and accountability while informing the practice of impact investing and building the field.

 

 

 

 

How the United Nations system supports impact investing?

 

 

Strengthening cooperation and exchanges with the United Nations system

 

 

2013

A UNDP Observation: A report "Revealing Africa's Hidden Wealth" (2013) summarizes the need for impact investing, that is, the allocation of funds within businesses; or that aid to the organization may generate financial returns, environmental and/or social impacts.

 

 

2015

A study on impact investing in Africa by the UNDP Regional Service Centre (2015) identifies players and highlights the limitations and opportunities of impact investing to inform and motivate all key actors to join unions to support Development of the Action Plan for Impact Investing in Africa.

 

 

2016-2017

Conferences and workshops were still led by UNDP and organized by development structures, UN agencies, impact investors and entrepreneurs.

 

 

FOCUS ON:

●  Strengthen potentially viable impact investment pipelines that meet the environmental/social and financial objectives of impact investors.

●  Create an enabling regulatory and policy environment that enables impact investing to flourish.

●  Strengthening the capacity and practice of impact investors (through networking or experience sharing)

●  Develop and promote appropriate infrastructure for the impact investment sector.

●  Improve and develop impact assessment practices and standards.

 

 

In order to achieve the Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UNIDO ITPO Shanghai adheres to the concept of inclusive and sustainable development, and empowers China's industrial transformation and development through impact investment capacity building. The Executive Education Center of Antai College of Economics and Management of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and UNIDO ITPO Shanghai have introduced the concept of impact investment, introduced the international standards of UNIDO ecological parks, and combined with the actual needs of domestic park operations to develop the "Advanced Workshop on Theme Park Operations in China's Urban Development Zones Professional Courses".

 

The first 2019 China Urban Development Zone Theme Park Operation Advanced Seminar was launched in China. The operation of sustainable cities & theme parks as the joint capacity building of SJTU & UNIDO ITPO Shanghai was successfully completed, which not only received high attention from relevant leaders of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and UNIDO, but also received wide acclaim from the students. As the first online and offline impact investment capacity building of UNIDO landing in China, this course was a concrete and joint achievement to kick off the cooperation between UNIDO and SJTU based on the MOU. To cultivate professional park operators with international vision and local experience for China, the joint capacity building was aimed at realization of inclusive and sustainable industrial development by thoroughly analyzing the real problems of industrial upgrading and operation of industrial parks, and promoting the tools and methodology of UNIDO. With the impact of China's economic transformation, industrial upgrading, urban renewal, scarcity of land resources and other environmental changes and constraints, park operators are constantly facing new challenges in the operation process. The 2nd 2021 China Urban Development Zone Theme Park Operation Advanced Seminar brings a set of advanced training courses with an international perspective and a high degree of local experience to the park operation managers, which helps students adapt to changing industrial development trends, identify new hotspots in park management, and seize new opportunities for park operation transformation.

Impact investment online training course

Related document: Impact Investment training flyer