With the global narrative more polarised than ever, I’ve been thinking about where the left and the right side of the political spectrum might meet.

When we zoom out, we start to see a shared concern for accountability, efficiency, and value for money. At SOCAP25 in October 2025, I joined Amit Bouri (GIIN), Ellen Brooks (Village Capital), and Dennis Price (ImpactAlpha) to explore what happens when governments and investors decide to reward what works.

Governments want to stretch limited budgets further. This means setting the incentives that align private capital flows with public policy priorities. It means ensuring legal frameworks empower institutional investors to invest domestic capital in line with beneficiaries’ interests. It means high-quality, standardised data so that impact can be transparent for governments, priced in by investors, managed by companies, and considered by consumers.

To share with policymakers what is working, our new global toolkit, Towards Impact Economies: Aligning government action and private capital for public good, highlights policy innovations that governments can combine to create new economic models – models designed with solutions to today’s societal issues at their core.

Now we want to create a race to the top.

For the next step in this journey, we will be partnering with leading academic institutions to build an Impact Economy Index – the first global benchmark comparing countries’ progress in embedding impact into their economic systems. It will be a tool to help countries understand, measure, and accelerate progress. By evaluating local policy and sharing with a global audience, we can build a compass for future impact economies. 

We plan to engage with many of you on the creation of this index in the months ahead, so keep an eye out for updates in your inbox, on social media, and at impact events around the world.

Find us at upcoming events

• 3–5 November 2025, Washington, DC – Convergence Global Blended Finance Forum

• 4-6 November 2025, São Paulo – PRI in Person

• 5-7 November 2025, Quezon City – Philippines National Social Enterprise Roadmap Forum

• 18–20 November 2025, Malmö – Impact Europe Impact Week

Join our webinars

• 13 November 2025, 2:00 p.m. (BKK) – ​APAC Impact Dialogue: Asian Families Investing for Impact
• 2 December 2025, 3.00 p.m. (GMT) – Unlocking SME Finance: Launch of the SME Banking Toolkit

North America

Debating the future of global finance

Opening the Future of Global Finance track at SOCAP, GSG Impact CEO Elizabeth Boggs Davidsen spoke with GIIN CEO Amit Bouri and Ellen Brooks, CEO of Village Capital, about the role that impact can play in a polarised political world. Elizabeth also joined a session on Financing Innovation Across Borders, discussing how cross-border impact capital can overcome the barriers keeping environmental and social breakthroughs trapped within borders.

Europe

Advocating for stronger EU sustainability standards

Our head of thematics, Santiago Sueiro, spoke to Impact Investor about the ESRS simplification process, urging regulators of such disclosure standards to focus on improving implementation, not weakening ambition. GSG Impact has been consistently advocating for the European Commission to preserve double materiality reporting.

Understanding what makes an effective blended finance vehicle

Drawing on 21 cases from within the Netherlands, across Europe and throughout emerging markets, Dutch National Partner, the NAB, has explored blended finance mechanisms, outlining: the need to adapt to local context, how structuring is inherently a negotiation process, and the importance of ensuring catalytic capital aligns with impact objectives and remains accountable. 

Exploring pathways between responsible, sustainable and impact investing

Our National Partner, Impact Finance Belgium, has developed a framework for investors looking to navigate the complementary strategies of responsible, sustainable, and impact investing. Through 16 case studies from Belgian investors, it guides investors on how to move beyond compliance, toward intentional, measurable and positive impact.

Africa

Ecosystem building in Ethiopia and Côte D'Ivoire

Impact Dialogues in Ethiopia and Côte D'Ivoire each brought together more than 150 leaders from government, business, and finance to close capital gaps, drive inclusive growth, and strengthen each country’s position on the global impact investing map. Delivered with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, the sessions shared how other countries have benefitted from GSG National Partners playing a catalytic role in aligning public and private capital with the SDGs.

Latin America

Building to COP30

In the run up to COP30, we joined forces with our Brazilian National Partner, Aliança pelo Impacto, and the PRI, to bring policymakers and global investors together to explore ways to accelerate private financing for the climate transition. The insights will feed into discussions at the PRI in Person conference in São Paulo in early November, strengthening dialogue ahead of COP30, and culminating in a set of recommendations for global leaders. 

Launching a regional collective for Latin America

Our seven National Partners in Latin America – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Central America, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru – have come together under the banner GSG LATAM, launching the initiative with a Spanish translation of the region’s findings from our global Tractions & Trends report. The National Partners, representing 12 countries across the continent, will use the GSG LATAM group to amplify their collective voice in the region.

Asia

Mapping local capital providers in Indonesia

Our Indonesian National Partner has mapped sources of sustainably focused local capital in the country and outlined what’s needed to bridge the funding gap in climate impact investment. Indonesia Impact Alliance finds that regulatory conservatism, limited capacity, and perceived risks of new sectors are restricting flows from both the banks that dominate the domestic finance market and the institutional investors that remain a largely untapped source of long-term capital.