The Science of Sustainable Impact
Impact investment presents a critical opportunity to bridge funding gaps by directing capital toward ventures that generate social and environmental benefits alongside financial returns. The Global impact investing market is estimated to be 1.6 trillion USD in assets under management (AUM) in 2024. The sector is still on an upward trajectory, posting a CAGR of 21% since 2019. However, Sub Saharan Africa accounts for only 2% of impact investment AUM despite the region being most rife with both challenges to address and opportunities for impact. Some challenges limitting significant asset allocation in Africa include private investors’ risk perceptions, lack of awareness of investable opportunities, and lack of sizable deals that fit investors’ portfolio requirements. There are several interventions underway to unlock capital for Africa including targeting the under tapped African institutional investors with over 1.8 trillion USD collectively.
One under-explored opportunity is unlocking Africa’s untapped intellectual capital to provide objective risk analyses, signpost and evaluate investment-ready opportunities and maximize financial, social and environmental returns for the sector. With increased focus on how emerging technologies such as GenAI will disrupt and/or leapfrog variois asset classes, there is a critical need to provide in-depth technological and impact due diligence, risk management and opportunity mapping for investors.
African Universities and research institutions host a wealth of knowledge and expertise to inform, contextualize and evaluate investment theses. For Africa specifically, Africa's diaspora—comprising highly skilled professionals, academics, and entrepreneurs of African descent—represents an underutilized source of knowledge capital. The African diaspora, described by the African Union as the 6th region of Africa, carries a deep emotional and identity-driven connection to the continent, combined with access to global resources and networks, fostering a unique capacity for innovation, knowledge sharing and advocacy that can complement financial investments.
This session aims to serve as a catalyst for mobilising intellectual resources for investors, driving innovation, and fostering investment-academic partnerships to advance Africa’s sustainable development. We will bring together key stakeholders—including investors, policymakers, practitioners, academics—to explore how intellectual capital (both in the continent and in diaspora) can be leveraged to provide critical knowledge for impact. We will showcase new models of research-investment partnerships including Research Alpha and UrbanBetter Academy.
Host:
Dr Anne Makena, Co-Director, Africa Oxford Initiative, University of Oxford; Founder and CEO , Research Alpha
Speakers
Prof. Tolullah Oni - Founder & CEO, Urban Better ; Clinical Professor of Global Public Health and Sustainable Urban Development, University of Cambridge
Alasdair Maclay- Managing Director, GSG Impact
Monica Shupikai Simmons - Head of Private Capital , Rand Merchant Bank
Prof. Malcom McCulloch- Professor of Energy Systems; Group Leader of the Energy and Power Group, University of Oxford.
Prof. Phillip Cotton- Vice Chancellor, University of Global Health Equity.
Capacity: 60 maximum.