Singapore'S Temasek Sees Impact Investing at Tipping Point


credit: USACE on Flickr

The world's biggest state investors are getting into the business of making positive social and environmental impact investments.

Singapore's Temasek Holdings, one of the world's largest state investors, has announced a $500 million investment in an impact fund focused on Asia and Africa, Reuters reports.

"Our ambition is to be a catalyst to accelerate the growth," says Benoit Valentin, the head of impact investing at Temasek.

"I think that in five years from now, every single big private equity firm would have their own impact vehicle."

The trend of impact investing is on the rise, with $715 billion in investments expected by 2019, up from $502 billion in 2013, according to a survey by the Global Impact Investing Network.

The private equity industry has seen a surge in interest in the area, with buyout funds such as Blackstone and TPG entering the game.

But Valentin thinks retail investors will eventually join the trend.

"Eventually, I do believe that there will be some sort of retail money flowing," he says. Read the Entire Article


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Young at 24, Juan David Aristizabal Ospina is a social entrepreneur who founded Buena Nota, a platform that accentuates social entrepreneurs and citizens in Colombia making  positive changes and raising awareness about social problems that need to be addressed.