Global leaders in impact investing honoured in Delhi

Catalysts of the global impact movement from all corners of the world will be recognised by the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG) at the fourth annual Impact Summit on 8-9 October in New Delhi.

The annual GSG Honors and GSG Millennial Honors celebrate the individuals and organisations radically reshaping how measurable impact on people and the planet is reflected in financial decision-making.

GSG Honors

The GSG Honors – presented in partnership with Pioneers Post – recognises the outstanding individuals and organisations catalyzing the growth of the sector through management and ownership of assets, building the global impact market, and addressing pressing challenges through scalable impact enterprises.

“It is the innovation and drive of leaders such as this year’s winners that bring us closer to a future where impact is the defining element to the business and investment decisions we all make,” said Sir Ronald Cohen, founder and chair of the GSG, who will present the Honors on 8 October.

Tim West, Founding Editor of Pioneers Post, said: “These bold disruptors showcased in this year’s GSG Honors are doing nothing short of putting us back in touch with our own humanity, demonstrating that people and planet can and must sit alongside profit and prosperity as we consider how our actions will impact on future generations.”

The awardees:

• Impact Asset Owner of the Year: Blue Haven Initiative

The US-based family office was among the first created with impact investing as its mission and focus, applying a rigorous portfolio-management lens to for-profit and philanthropic capital with the goal of aligning financial performance and public benefit.

• Impact Asset Manager of the Year: LeapFrog Investments

Since its founding in 2007, LeapFrog Investments has invested capital, people and knowledge in purpose-driven businesses, particularly those in emerging markets, helping them to grow, to be profitable and to have real social impact. 

• Impact Entrepreneur of the Year: Dr. Devi Shetty, Narayana Health

India’s Narayana Health is a low-cost hospital network that has created an affordable, globally-benchmarked quality-driven healthcare services model by leveraging economies of scale, skilled doctors, and an efficient business model. 

• Impact Market Builder of the Year: The Impact Management Project

How impact will be measured has long been a pressing question facing the sector. The Impact Management Project is a global network of standard-setting organisations, who have come together to accelerate widespread adoption of impact measurement and management. This is the first time that such a diverse group of organisations, from right across the value chain, and covering both public and private markets, have come together to provide coherent and end-to-end ‘rules of the road’ for impact management.

GSG Millennial Honors

The GSG Millennial Honors celebrates the next generation of impact leaders, honoring entrepreneurs under 30 who have founded or co-founded scalable enterprises with measurable impact. The year’s Millennial Honors are presented in partnership with the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE).

This year’s winners are Samir Ibrahim, Founder and CEO of SunCulture, and Ankit Agarwal, Co-founder and CEO of HelpUsGreen.

Sun Culture sells solar-powered drip irrigation systems to help smallholder farmers in Africa improve both crop yields and quality. Their systems use clean electricity and generate 300% greater crop yields using 80% less water. SunCulture estimates their tech saves two billion litres of water per year.

HelpUsGreen preserves the Ganges River by collecting the floral waste from temples and mosques that is dumped in the river and upcycling it into patented fertiliser and incense sticks. This, in turn, provides livelihoods to manual scavenger families in Uttar Pradesh, India.