Creating economic, social and environmental impact

Social enterprise and impact investment are two core concepts of social innovation. Social enterprises are organizations committed to explicitly including social and/or environmental returns as part of its core business while seeking profit or return on investment. Impact investments are investments made into companies, organizations and funds with the intention of generating social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.

Social enterprises are an important vehicle for reaching marginalized and underserved communities while impact investment is one of the solutions of meeting the financing gap to support the growth of social enterprises.

Social enterprises and impact investment policies are part of an emerging trend in innovation and are gaining traction in the Asia-Pacific region.