ImpactVantage: A Journey of Empowering Impact-oriented Founders

When I started this newsletter amidst my already teeming commitments, I was unsure of the reception. I remember hitting the publish button of the first edition and running out of LinkedIn. But in 10 minutes my curiosity got the better of me and I came back to see 100 subscribers. I was so shocked that I called my younger sister saying “O my God! 100 people believe in what I want to say so I have to ensure I do my best.” LOL! Well, who was I kidding, over the next 24 hours it was almost a thousand and it has grown since then.

Thank you so much for reading, commenting here, calling my phone, and sending Whatsapp messages with your feedback on how this is helping you and your work. Thank you for sharing this with others and thank you so much for referring me to people in your network. Thank you so much to all my friends who I pulled in and all the guest writers who have contributed to the newsletter. I’ve been pleasantly surprised and encouraged by your support. Thank you. Today, I just wanted to show you what WE have achieved together over the past few months.

Key Achievements

• # of Editions: 7 impactful newsletters published around a range of topics. From crafting ones theory of change and designing a logic model to different aspects of due diligence,  we’ve dived into critical areas to help impact-oriented founders become more investible

• Community Growth: From 0 to almost 3000 subscribers. On average each newsletter receives over 1000 unique article views. A high level overview of our subscribers shows they come from 6 continents with Africa and North America leading with the most subscribers.

Actionable Insights: We have also received notable feedback from our community here on LinkedIn that emphasizes the usefulness of the content shared. Other feedback comes through LinkedIn DMs, phone calls, and Whatsapp messages.

Top Insights 

Some important insights from previous newsletter editions:

• Impact investment is here to stay and it is huge.

In the first newsletter, we shared information about the growing size of funds available. “The Brainy Insights estimates that the 2023 USD 3 trillion global impact investing market will reach USD 7.78 trillion in 2033.  In addition, the Impact Investing Global Market Report 2024 states that “the market size will grow from $478.15 billion in 2023 to $550.52 billion in 2024 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.1%. In the next few years, it will grow to $1061.14 billion in 2028 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.8%.” Prepare to take advantage of this opportunity.

• Working towards measuring outcomes is more beneficial than measuring only outputs. 

A clear and compelling theory of change sets you on the right path to identifying and measuring the right outcomes. The knowledge of the right outcomes helps you build an intentional impact-oriented organization that achieves its set targets. This was buttressed in several editions (2, 3, and 6).

• Due diligence makes a huge difference 

An organization’s performance during due diligence can be a strong determinant of accessing impact investment. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now. After reading the four-part series on due diligence, draw up a plan with your team members for the coming months. It will help you strengthen your organization's work and systems.

Looking Ahead

The best is yet to come! Expect guest posts from leaders in the field, interviews with founders who have received impact investments, and more actionable advice. Have ideas or challenges you'd like addressed? Share them in the comments or send me a message and I will see how to add them to the existing content schedule.

If this newsletter has added some value to your journey, share it with your network, leave a comment, or reach out. Together, we can amplify impact.

See you in 2025!

#ImpactVantage

Elevate your impact, maximize your vantage.

Highlighted Resource

The highlighted resource for today is the ImpactVantage newsletter. Leverage the rest of the year to catch up on previous newsletter editions if you missed them.