Amsterdam, April 29, 2021: Phenix Capital has today released its Impact Report: Deep Dive on Emerging Market Funds. The report highlights that total capital committed by impact funds to Emerging Markets has surpassed EUR 77 billion - representing 22% of the Impact Fund Universe tracked by Phenix Capital's Impact Database.
Renewable Energy and Climate are the top sectors in terms of capital commitments, with a total of EUR 19 billion, followed by Financial Services and Inclusion, with EUR 17 billion. Sectors related to food value chains, such as Agriculture, Farming and Nutrition have total capital commitments of EUR 9 billion. In terms of regional focus, the majority of Emerging Market impact funds investing in Renewable Energy and Climate are Global funds, followed by Asia funds and Middle East and Africa funds. The publication further details the evolution of sectoral capital commitments across regions.
“If we are to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, it is imperative that institutional investors prioritise capital deployment to emerging markets. We are encouraged to see impact fund managers building solutions through institutional private capital to solve some of the structural challenges in those markets such as access to energy, financial inclusion and sustainable agriculture, engaging with local governments and working with the communities,” said Dirk Meuleman, CEO of Phenix Capital Group.
► Read the Impact Report: Deep Dive on Emerging Market Funds here
Overall, the number of Emerging Market funds has declined in 2020 (59 funds launched) compared to 2019 (90 funds), but the level is still comparable to 2018 (58 funds). The report provides in-depth breakdowns of recent trends in impact investing in Emerging Markets, focusing on funds with vintage years between 2015 and 2020 and across multiple asset classes. Next to the insights and analytics provided by Phenix Capital's Impact Database, the report also features interviews with three fund managers dedicated to investing in Emerging Markets: ThomasLloyd, IFC Asset Management Company, and SilverStreet Capital.
“What is important for us is to get the mainstream financial market players to also invest in sustainable real assets. Although investors recognise the potential of greenfield projects in emerging markets, they are often hindered by current legislation which does not allow them to invest in infrastructure directly, or in non-OECD markets. (…) If we could have one wish, it would be to encourage mainstream financial markets to get involved in real assets in emerging markets,” said Michael Sieg, Founder and Chief Executive of ThomasLloyd Global Asset Management.
There are currently 658 Emerging Market impact funds from 285 different fund managers tracked on Impact Database. Out of these, 266 funds from 185 fund managers are currently open for investments.
Phenix Capital Group is an impact investment consultant that enables institutional investors to make impact investments. Founded in 2012, the company has been dedicated to building a solid knowledge based for the impact investing industry, educating asset owners, and catalysing institutional capital to impact investing.
Phenix Capital’s Impact Database provides investors with access to and intelligence on the impact fund market opportunities available to them. Three main variables used to construct, monitor and update the dataset: funds considered have an impact proposition; institutional scale; and target market-rate returns. Impact Database now includes detailed overview of more than 1,700+ impact funds.
For more information, contact our team at info@phenixcapitalgroup.com or call + 31 20 240 27 31.
If you would like to receive updates on the latest publications, impact events and product developments, sign up for our monthly newsletter. This will not affect your receiving Phenix Capital Group press releases.
