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FAO's Blue Growth Initiative: Blue finance guidance notes. Impact investment
Impact investment is investing which seeks to generate a positive social and/or environmental benefit as well as a financial return. Investments could include companies, infrastructure, funds, land and non-profits. Impact investing can cover all asset classes, such as equities, fixed income, project finance, real estate and venture capital.
While many impact investors cover some of these themes, it is notable that the majority do not focus on blue economy SDGs and fewer than a quarter look at Life Below Water. There is therefore a significant opportunity to tap into the $500bn of impact investment capital to leverage the blue economy.
Aquaculture has had some success in attracting commercial private capital, with a number of large-scale publicly listed aquaculture companies. However, in order to ensure that these projects are sustainably run, it would be beneficial to attract more impact investors into the sector, due to their focus on achieving and measuring net positive socio-economic and environmental impacts.
Find more Blue Growth guidance notes here.