The impact investment sector as we know it was born in the second half of the 20th century, fathered by traditional financial investment and mothered by the emerging social consciousness that marked these decades. The sector was then almost exclusively driven by a handful of philanthropic organizations, foundations and the like, which had collectively an undeniable energy and pushed to redirect traditional financing towards the fulfilling world of doing good.

A cornerstone of this constant evolution, the Global Impact Investment Network(GIIN) was launched in 2009. This worldwide group of impact investors and leaders is a good example of the maturity gained by the sector: building a structure and joining forces was then seen as key before aiming towards bigger and better things.

And as such, impact investors are also becoming aware of the need to be more and more transparent about the social outcome that their activities generate. The Ford Foundation’s President Darren Walker mentions in his blog “over the past few years the tools available to measure social impact have become increasingly precise, thanks in large part to the work of several leading institutions”.

Read the full article by Maria Raurell about impact investment from The Social Enterprise Magazine