From niche to norm?

When I joined an impact investing firm back in 2011 to help build its dual-mission portfolio in emerging markets, impact investing was still operating at the fringes of the investment scene. At the time, institutions certainly spoke of microfinance, social enterprise, and the phrase “doing well by doing good” (the inspiration for the Goodwell name) was a leitmotiv for many. The infrastructure, data, and investor appetite, however, were still a work in progress.

Fast forward to October 2025. The GIIN Impact Forum in Berlin felt like stepping into a more mature version of the ambitions that pioneers of impact investing, like Goodwell Investments, first began pursuing decades ago.

And the numbers back up this increasing maturity. GIIN’s 2024 market sizing put the sector at USD 1.57 trillion in AUM across nearly 4,000 organisations. That figure alone signals a transformation — and the Berlin agenda emphatically reflected it. The big themes of the year were climate and systems investing, biodiversity and natural capital, AI for impact, measurement and management, and — notably — the rise of institutional asset owners now playing in the space once reserved for the “impact pioneers”.

Back when impact investors first deployed capital into emerging-market social enterprises, deals were handcrafted: small tickets, strong hands-on management support, no obvious exit path, and certainly no standardised impact metrics. I just checked our earliest “social impact report” on our first India portfolio, it tracked the number of borrowers and smallholder farmers reached. Simple in hindsight, but it worked. 

Today, the conversation covers an ever-expanding range of frameworks, data dashboards, and investment management and impact measurement acronyms. It’s progress, yet it comes with growing pains. The influx of large funds risks leaving behind the smaller enterprises still dependent on sub-million-dollar capital and local know-how. The danger is that as we chase scale, we lose sight of the social and environmental issues in the twilight zones that face huge challenges and present excellent inclusive business opportunities, but lack exposure and access to much-needed seed or early growth capital.  

Growth comes with challenges. Panelists at GIIN debated how to integrate impact into core portfolios rather than treat it as side-businesses. Others focused more on weaving nature and biodiversity into risk-adjusted returns. For investors like us, investing closer to the margins of society and supporting innovative inclusive business models in early-stage enterprises in fragile markets serving underserved communities, the question is how to stay relevant as the sector moves to the center. 

Keeping the focus on emerging markets

Here’s another impressive number: impact AUM has grown at roughly 21% CAGR since 2019. Emerging markets remain a key focus, and GIIN’s “Seven Things to Watch in 2025” puts them firmly on the radar. Measurement and management are now expected, not optional. Climate still dominates the agenda, but nature and systems thinking are climbing fast – especially for large institutional investors seeking long-term, tangible impact stories. But this popularity leads to headwinds like regulatory push-back, measurement complexity, and the eternal challenge of finding scalable deals that still feel impactful.

If Berlin confirmed anything, it’s that impact investing has definitely gone mainstream. For early pioneers like us, that’s both thrilling and challenging. Competing with, and partnering alongside, institutional capital requires recalibration. The rules and the players are changing.

The buzzwords of the GIIN program were “nature-based solutions” and “natural capital,” paired with an uneasy question: how do you prove nature outcomes in financial terms? In emerging markets, these deals demand patient capital and clear metrics — much like the early days of microfinance or off-grid energy.

And then there was AI — or as one of my peers chirped: “AI, ai, ai”. The mood among impact practitioners in Berlin was cautiously optimistic. Yes, tech can amplify impact, but local context still beats algorithms. In Africa, where our teams operate, relationships, governance, and community connections remain make-or-break factors. Unsurprisingly, climate change loomed large in conversations, while inequality and geopolitical risk still felt under-discussed. Impact investors will need to confront both to build resilience in a world of climate shocks. 

Walking the corridors in Berlin, I couldn’t help but reflect that maturity is a milestone, but it brings complexity, accountability, and questions about where the next frontier lies. For pioneers who started at the edges of this industry, the message is clear: as institutional investors pour into the heart of the impact market, it’s up to the pioneers to keep pushing the boundaries — backing inclusive business models that tackle the social and environmental challenges that are hiding in plain sight.