​Measuring Social Impact

Establishing metrics to provide investors with confidence

A network of ultra-high-net-worth individuals was looking to launch a private equity impact investing fund. Their goal was to use their collective resources to make investments in social enterprises in developing countries. They needed help in understanding how they could measure their social impact.

 

Additionally, they had only a few weeks before they were set to talk to target investors. They needed top-quality marketing materials that showed the social impact metrics the fund intended to collect, and to help them differentiate themselves from other private equity and impact investing funds.

The solution

The organization knew they wanted to have an impact in three focus areas: environment, social, and governance.

Our team helped them drill deeper to identify which initiatives within those focus areas they wanted to tackle, especially since working in international contexts was relatively new to the organization.

Additionally, we developed a full set of metrics that they could use to measure the social impact of their impact investments. The metrics were designed to feed into detailed reporting specific to each investment as well as a high-level, consolidated dashboard.

The organization also needed a sample investor report to show prospective investors, and wanted it to have the quantitative emphasis that their potential clients would expect with any other investment. We designed a report that incorporated the metrics, and showed investors the extensive level of detail they could expect to get in an attractive, easy-to-understand format.

The results

Through our work, the organization was able to demonstrate they were taking the measurement of social impact metrics seriously, and could convey to investors how they intended to capture and communicate that data.

The organization raised capital for the fund and subsequently has made a series of investments in companies located in sub-Saharan Africa.