13.1. Investments for Development Christian Etzensperger
Head of Corporate Strategy & Chief of Staff, responsAbility Investments AG
Scope Investments for development are return-oriented investments in private companies whose inclusive business models benefit broad sections of the population in emerging and developing countries. They focus on sectors whose services are essential for any society’s prosperity: finance, energy and climate adaption, agriculture, education, health care, water and sanitation, or housing (see Figure 18). Hundreds of millions of emerging end-consumers constitute a source of relentless demand growth.1 Private companies capture that demand by offering goods and services that end-clients judge superior to the available alternatives. One example is how domestic solar systems are profitably replacing kerosene and other unhealthy fossil energy sources. Highly scalable business models offer enormous growth potential given population size. However, most companies are unlisted and can be accessed only by direct investment. 2
Figure 18.  Investments for Development by Sector (USD millions) 26 Health care 1012 Housing 1301 Agriculture 1708 Water and sanitation 9181 Energy and climate adaption 16,897 Finance
Sources: GIIN ImpactBase, Preqin, Symbiotics MIV Survey.
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