Three GSG Impact National Partners have produced public policy roadmaps for developing impact economies in Peru (Aliados de Impacto), Costa Rica and Guatemala (PiiC), and Zambia (NABII). The work was backed by Canada’s International Development Research Centre.

The findings provide policymakers opportunities to mobilise private capital towards national priorities – supporting inclusive growth, job creation, climate resilience and micro, small, and medium enterprises. The project built policy expertise amongst the GSG Impact National Partners, closer relationships between National Partners and government, and stronger shared understanding of impact economy development in each country.

National Partners are now using the findings with governments, exploring ways to put the recommendations into practice.

Downloads section

Shared recommendations

All three roadmaps recommend building on existing institutions, prioritising a small number of viable instruments, and improving approaches to measuring impact. The primary opportunity for impact economy development common to each market is to increase coordination across the efforts that are already underway.

• Reducing fragmentation across the regulations, programmes, and initiatives that are in place is a higher priority than establishing new initiatives and additional capital supplies. Effective examples of funds, pilots, and legislation can be found in each market, but they are currently operating in isolation, limiting their collective impact.

• Working to mainstream impact approaches in existing institutions can be more effective, and more politically viable, than endeavouring to establish new units.

• Impact measurement can be inconsistent, with fragmented methodologies, and divergent reporting and disclosure standards.

The roadmaps propose phased approaches, considering maturity levels of impact in each market. Analysis of potential advocacy strategies showed that the presentation, sequencing, and policy narrative of recommendations can be as important as their substance.

Country recommendations

• The Peru roadmap – led by National Partner Aliados de Impacto, with research from GRADE and Amplo Kaya – prioritises three instruments: a fund of funds, results based contracting and public procurement with impact criteria – supported by a governance body led by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and a national system to measure impact.

• Central America's roadmap – led by National Partner PiiC, with research from INCAE Business School – compares Costa Rica, which has strong institutions but a less dynamic market, with Guatemala, which has a dynamic ecosystem but weaker institutions. The roadmap proposes Costa Rica as a regulatory anchor and Guatemala as a laboratory for social innovation.

• Zambia’s roadmap – led by National Partner NABII, with research from ZIPAR – finds that the foundations are in place, but reliance on development finance institutions is high (around 90% of impact capital), and small businesses face a US$3.6 billion financing gap. The key opportunity is to include impact investing in the next National Development Plan (2027 to 2031).

Next steps

Evidence from the roadmaps has already informed updates to GSG Impact's Policymaker's Toolkit and our input to the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in Seville, which was reflected in the final Compromiso de Sevilla outcomes document.

In Latin America, efforts to support policymakers in implementing the recommendations have led to the LATAM Impact Policy Accelerator – providing applied training and technical support for policymakers, and connections to actors in the impact investment ecosystem. In Peru, officials have designed a roadmap-recommended US$50m interministerial fund of funds.

Efforts to replicate the roadmaps are now underway across the GSG Impact Partnership, with he methodology developed in Peru, Central America, and Zambia being adapted by Taskforces in Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, and Côte d'Ivoire.

Roadmap download links:

Central America Roadmap

Peru Roadmap

Zambia Roadmap