Impact investing is already embedded within elements of South Africa’s Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) framework, even if it is not always explicitly recognised as such. Many empowerment transactions designed to drive economic transformation share core principles with impact investing, as do the enterprise development components of B-BBEE. These initiatives go beyond financial returns by incorporating transformation as a key objective.
Currently, the B-BBEE framework primarily measures activities, focusing on money spent or invested, rather than assessing the actual impact created. There is an opportunity to strengthen this framework by shifting towards an approach that recognises and incentivises measurable impact.
This white paper explores how the B-BBEE framework, specifically ESD, could evolve to better support and reward impact investing that delivers meaningful and lasting transformation.
This paper will be available shortly.
