Inside Asia's impact investment boom

Business Times

18-07-2025

BACK in 2019 while working to launch the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), I attended an impact investing conference in India. What struck me most was the mix of energy, enthusiasm and innovation in the crowd. It was apparent even then that impact investing had undeniable potential to take root and take off in Asia.
Impact investing aims to generate positive, measurable social or environmental impact alongside a financial return. In short, it is about harnessing capital to solve real-world problems for people and the planet. This approach creates jobs, energises local economies and makes communities more resilient – the foundations of a healthy society, regardless of the continent you are on.
Focus areas range from increasing access to education and mitigating carbon emissions to supporting ageing populations, all representing opportunities where impact capital can help drive solutions.
This is true globally and increasingly so in East, South and South-east Asia. The continent has always been significant in impact investing's history, but Asia is now elevating its leadership role, with Singapore as a major hub.
I have always appreciated Asia's dynamism – it is both a source of impact capital and a global destination for such capital. As Asia continues on its path of growth, impact investing will remain essential for the region's sustainable development.
Data confirms that impact investing is booming in Asia. Our 2024 report on the state of impact investing in Asia, which covers the activity of 68 Asia-focused investors who manage more than S$48.6 billion in assets under management (AUM), found that the AUM dedicated to impact is growing significantly.
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There is accelerating interest in East Asia specifically, with 60 per cent of such investors planning to increase their allocations in the coming year. Energy, healthcare, education, and information and communication technologies were all noted as priority sectors.
Asian organisations are now leaders within the global impact investing industry. Singapore, a convenor and thought leader in Asia's sustainable finance space, has seen a tremendous amount of leadership from family offices like the Tsao Family Office and intermediaries like Impact Investment Exchange, among others.
Our research reveals other indicators of increasing momentum and satisfaction: 89 per cent of Asia-focused impact investors said their financial returns were outperforming or in line with expectations, and 88 per cent reported the same for their impact performance. This is part of a broader trend, and should fuel continued global interest in impact investing in Asia.
Two key factors are driving this growth.
First is a positive shift in government support and policy frameworks for the industry. For instance, in 2024, Japan's Financial Services Agency launched formal principles for impact investing, which reflected many definitions and guidance originating from the GIIN.
Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund – the world's largest – recently pivoted to allocate more capital to impact investments, in an effort to create long-term value for pensioners and meet the country's social and environmental needs.
The closer alignment of corporate interests with impact-focused goals in Japan may be associated with the 150 per cent rise in the country's impact investing market from 2023 to 2024.
Family offices are also a major force. According to Empaxis, Asia is home to 9 per cent of the world's approximately 20,000 family offices, with more than half of Asia's family offices located in Singapore. Many of these families, who lead large family businesses in Asia, are reconsidering how to approach long-term value creation for their legacies and future generations, with impact investing as a tool.
The GIIN has been active for more than 15 years, and I am excited to see that the leadership, dynamism and rigour I saw on my first trip to Asia have only grown.
Investors in Asia have advanced on their impact journeys remarkably quickly – moving directly from intention to implementation. I like to think this leapfrogging is owed in some part to the power of global networks like the GIIN and others, that provide opportunities to learn best practices from fellow practitioners.
Impact investing in Asia holds tremendous potential and power. The latest estimates indicate that more than S$2 trillion in impact AUM is circulating in the world now. While this market size is itself a milestone for the global impact investing movement, it is also a call to action for investors to mobilise in service of improving livelihoods, communities and the natural world, in Asia and beyond.
The writer is chief executive officer and co-founder of the Global Impact Investing Network