Social Impact Agenda per l’Italia promotes impact investing: investing to generate a positive social and environmental impact that is measurable and compatible with an economic return. And it launches with the support of the Banca d’Italia the project “Impact investing: transforming finance for real change”.

The number of people in absolute poverty recorded by ISTAT in Italy in 2021 is about 5.6 million, 9.4% of the population, and just over 1.9 million households (7.5% of the total). Absolute poverty confirms the historic highs reached in 2020, the year the Covid-19 pandemic began. For relative poverty, the incidence rises to 11.1 percent (from 10.1 percent in 2020) and about 2.9 million households are below the threshold. This is just one of the pieces of evidence that show the unsustainability of the current economic development model, even more, inadequate in the face of the recent dramas of the pandemic and war.

A response to the urgent need for change comes from impact finance (impact investing), which promotes a new investment strategy, no longer oriented towards maximising profits but making concrete contributions to the social and environmental needs of the community, while maintaining an economic return.

But what does impact investing actually mean? What are the opportunities for businesses, the non-profit world, and civil society? Social Impact Agenda per l’Italia (SIA), an Italian network that disseminates knowledge on impact finance, is launching the research project ‘Impact Investing: transforming finance for real change’ with the support of Banca d’Italia: the aim is to contribute to the dissemination of the culture and practices of impact investing in the public administration, the financial sector and business, for a relaunch of the truly sustainable economy.

“In Italy, the impact investing market is already worth €8 billion (investment 2019) and is constantly expanding,” says Filippo Montesi, secretary general of SIA. “However, the urgency of the crisis in our country requires it to grow rapidly, and this is why SIA wants to involve economic players, offering them opportunities for discussion, comparison, and expansion of skills, which will make impact investing opportunities more identifiable and viable. The project that we are launching today thanks to the support of the Bank of Italy and which involves some of the most important players in the financial sector, businesses, the cooperative world, and the third sector, respond to this objective”.

The project, starting on June 21, sees the participation of over 60 Italian professionals from the world of public administration and institutional investors, banks, universities and research centres among the most important in Italy, investment funds and foundations, for-profit and social enterprises, as well as social promotion associations and non-profit organisations.

Participants will work on 3 tables each dedicated to a specific topic of impact investing: Public development policies and incentives for impact investing, Sustainable and fundable business models, and Standards and methods for impact measurement and reporting.

At the end of the meetings, each table will produce a document summarising what emerged from the discussion of the actors involved on the specific topic and a toolkit will be produced with concrete indications and guidelines for the realisation of impact investments, which not only have attractive returns but also positive impacts on society and the environment. This toolkit will be built to be effectively and immediately used by businesses, public administrations, and the third sector to start concrete paths of impact finance.

The results of the project will be presented in the coming months through public webinars with the aim of increasingly broadening the adherence of economic actors to impact finance and thus contributing to real change.

SIA

Social Impact Agenda per l’Italia (SIA) is the reference association in Italy for the promotion of impact finance (impact investing): investing to generate positive social and environmental impact that is measurable and compatible with an economic return.

SIA brings together a network of 25 organisations, representing investors, social enterprises, market builders and philanthropic institutions, working together to realise a new model of a truly sustainable economy.

The association operates through advocacy, research, communication and market development activities.

SIA is the Italian Advisory Board of the GSG (Global Steering Group for Impact Investment), an international movement promoting impact investing in the world.