French impact investments stand at €15bn, reveals NAB France
The French impact investment community has made its first comprehensive assessment of impact assets under management in a report published this month, and predicts 20% growth over the coming year.
The size of the French impact investment market has been calculated at €14.8bn by NAB France, the country’s national advisory board on impact investment and member of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG).
Overview of the French Impact Investment Market 2023 was published this month by FAIR, a membership body for the social finance sector; FIR, the French social investment forum and France Invest, which together run NAB France. It’s the first analysis of the market to be published by NAB France.
“The French market is developing in an encouraging manner,” wrote Mathieu Cornieti of France Invest, Cyrille Langendoff of FAIR and Nathalie Lhayani of FIR in the publication's foreword.
“Our findings confirm that impact investors seek both financial returns and impact.”
Three ‘pillars of impact’
The research identifies 66 players active in the impact investment market, representing €14.8bn in assets under management spread across 153 investment vehicles. Nearly €12bn of the capital is invested in around 9,000 impact organisations, and these are mainly in Europe.
The research uses a definition of impact investment created by FIR and France Invest which need to comply with three “pillars of impact” which they identify as intentionality, additionality and impact measurement. NAB France aims for its research to harmonise with data produced by GSG and Impact Europe (formerly known as EVPA). The figures relate to 31 December 2022.
The researchers predict growth of 21% over the coming 12 months, with the market reaching nearly €18bn when figures for the end of December 2023 are calculated.
A majority (62%) of the investment vehicles have impact and financial return objectives equally weighted, while 35% give priority to impact generation.
Most investors (81%) provide more than simply financial support, particularly in impact measurement.
More than two-thirds (68%) of investors aim to measure and manage impact using internationally recognised frameworks including the Principles for Responsible Investment and the SDG Impact Standards.
NAB France says in the report that it intends to produce a further analysis in 2024 which builds on this preliminary data, by widening its scope and including listed assets.
The latest figures from elsewhere show that Spain’s impact assets under management stand at €2.9bn, Belgium’s first estimates have identified impact assets of between €6bn and €16bn, the Netherlands reckons its market has reached as much as €180bn, but includes the activities of pension funds, asset managers and public investors. Europe’s market has €80bn impact assets under management, according to Impact Europe.
Header image of the river Seine in Paris via Wikimedia Commons
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