KRUTHAM OPENS NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2024 AFRICA IMPACT INVESTMENT AWARDS 

 

Open to all participants in impact investments across asset classes and impact sectors operating anywhere in Africa 

 

Johannesburg – 6 March 2024  - Krutham has opened nominations for the Africa Impact Investment Awards 2024. These awards celebrate outstanding achievements within the impact investing sector in Africa and this year are sponsored by FirstRand.  

 

In 2023, the awards received 75 nominations from 16 countries across the continent through our key partner networks, including the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance, the African Private Capital Association, ANDE West Africa, the East Africa Venture Capital Association, Impact Investing Ghana, the Impact Investing Institute, the GSG, Impact Investing South Africa, the national advisory boards for impacting investing of both Nigeria and Zambia, the Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, and the UNDP. Our panel of judges consisted of 13 stakeholders with deep impact investing expertise across the African continent, and Krutham announced 11 winners at a virtual awards event in August 2023. Details of the inaugural awards – including case studies on the winners – can be found on the Krutham Africa Impact Investment Awards microsite.  

 

The impact awards were conceptualised so as to develop a repository of demonstration cases for impact investing in Africa. Africa faces deep developmental issues and, according to the latest OECD data, has a sustainable financing gap of approximately USD 1.6 trillion until 2030. Impact investing has a critical role to play in crowding in private sector investors to help fund groundbreaking solutions that achieve both a positive social or environmental impact and generate a return on investment. These investment strategies contribute to development solutions in a sustainable way, reducing over-reliance on aid while relieving pressure on government finances. Ultimately, the Africa Impact Investment Awards seek to boost capital flows to Africa by recognising how organisations across the entire ecosystem are innovating to achieve excellence in the rapidly growing field.  

To amplify the reach and exposure of the impact awards, the winners will be announced at the Africa Impact Summit, organised by the Africa Impact Investing Group, which is taking place in Nairobi, Kenya from 17-19 July. Also in its second year, the Impact Summit is expected to attract 450 delegates from more than 20 countries across the continent and beyond. While the summit is the ideal platform to attract investors from across the globe to convene and learn about impact investing in Africa, the awards will help showcase a new world of possibilities and avenues for investors unfamiliar with impact investing and facilitate greater access to capital, particularly for smaller enterprises. 

 

This year organisations or individuals can enter for the following awards categories: 

  1. Social enterprise of the year: 
    Awarded to social enterprises, i.e. businesses that aim to generate profit and have positive social or environmental impact, that are solving some of the continent's most entrenched social or environmental problems. 

 

  1. Impact funder of the year: 
    Funders deploying capital to support impact projects. Can include pension funds, endowments, corporations, banks, governments, development finance institutions, high net-worth individuals, and public funders will be eligible for consideration. The award will seek to highlight funders who opted for a non-traditional funding approach, either as a provider of catalytic capital or a third party investor deploying capital into an innovative structure. 

 

  1. Financial structure of the year: 
    This award is specifically for the innovative financial structures using new instruments and other mechanisms for impact investments. Innovations can include funding instruments or structures, impact delivery mechanisms and innovation in lending schemes to targeted beneficiaries. 

 

  1. Impact fund of the year: 
    This award recognises fund managers who have excelled with a dedicated impact investment fund within their investment house. 

 

  1. Impact intermediary of the year: 
    This award recognises intermediaries that support and enable impact investing, including arrangers, accelerators, incubators, government departments, research & consulting firms, policy think-tanks or professional services companies that promote impact investments through thought leadership, project implementations and advisory work. 

 

  1. Outstanding individual achievement of the year: 
    This award is for an individual that has made an outstanding contribution in the past year to support the growth of the impact investments ecosystem. 

 

Any organisation or individual can submit entries. Entrants can submit for more than one category and must be registered in Africa, headquartered in Africa or have operations on the continent.  

The following activities are excluded:   

  • Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives  

  • Investments that are not explicitly planned and measured for impact 

  • Investments that do not offer financial returns  

The deadline for submissions is 7 April 2024. The awards will be announced on 17 July 2024 at an event in Nairobi, Kenya. 

You can complete your nomination here or visit the Krutham Africa Impact Investment Awards page for more information. 

 

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