Impact Investing: Who Are We Serving?

This report by Oxfam challenges investors and enterprises to consider the assumptions in the field of impact investing. The media’s mainstream representation of impact investing presents principally the profitable aspects of investments which match fast expectations of returns, while in reality, the success of an enterprise can take many years of patient investment to reach returns and big impact. Oxfam warns that the widespread, unrealistic expectation of quick returns may potentially discredit the sector. This report presents the need for alternative fund structures in order to best activate the full potential of the enterprises they support in both impact and financial returns, and the need for greater transparency in reporting both aspects of investment.