The Venture Capital Trust Fund (VCTF) and Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) have officially launched the Centre for Impact Investing and the Impact Investing Policy Research Report in Accra.

Daniel Doku, Chief Executive Officer of VCTF, said the VCTF on May 8, 2013 signed a Memorandum of Understanding with GIMPA to establish a Centre for Impact Investing in the country.

“The partnership was to establish a collaborative framework for the promotion of impact investing as a means of developing a business community of social enterprises to deal with the social and environmental challenges confronting the country,” he said.

He said VCTF with support from the Rockefeller Foundation commissioned a comprehensive study of the impact investing policy environment in the country in 2012, which led to the report being launched.

Mr. Doku said the centre will provide a positive transformation of the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and deliver solutions that reflect positively on the communities within which it operates.

Professor Franklyn Kwabena Manu, Rector of GIMPA, expressed satisfaction with the initiative, adding that corporate social responsibility is not only about sponsoring programmes but investing in projects that will impact the lives of people.

He said establishment of the centre will address challenges of CSR in the country, as well as give guidelines to companies and institutions on the importance of the new CSR; adding that the time is due for the education industry to use its knowledge and expertise to help develop the country.

Eme Essin Lore -- Senior Associate Director for Programmes at the Rockefeller Foundation -- said the outfit is elated to support the establishment of the centre with an aim of improving the social lives of the country’s people.

Nii Lante Vanderpuye, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, also re-affirmed government’s commitment to create an enabling environment for investors in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector.

He said investors and private companies that have partnered the Venture Capital Trust Fund (VCTF) have enjoyed some tax incentives; and by promoting private capital into impact investing, funds will be created to invest in both new and existing businesses.

He noted that the centre will be the backbone for promotion of impact investing in the country through advocacy and research, which will encourage government to direct policy and design specific incentives to attract investors into the impact investing space.

Mr. Vanderpuye added that the country is confronted with lots of social and environmental problems which when addressed can impact lives, adding that graduate unemployment can be reduced when entrepreneurship and adequate financing is available to bring up entrepreneurs and SMEs.

Anthony Siaw, Chief Executive Officer of Bridge Capital, a fund management firm, said impact investing describes investments intended to create a positive impact beyond financial return.

He said the country’s investment market is relatively small due to low savings, low financial innovation, a large informal market and a history of unstable economic fundamentals -- adding that impact investing helps to attract local and international investors through effective stakeholder engagement.

Mr. Siaw said the report provides a holistic review of the environment and highlights the need to attract private capital to support government’s efforts to address social and environmental challenges in the country.

He said the report presents an overview of the various sectors of the country’s economy in areas such as agriculture, education, financial services, health, water and sanitation, housing and energy.