Spain positions itself among world leaders in impact investing
Sixth annual meeting of SpainNAB in Madrid sees government reinforce its commitment to backing the country’s growing impact investing movement, as the €400m 'Fondo de Impacto Social' marks its first year of investments.
Spain set out its ambitions to be a global leader in impact investing yesterday at the annual event of SpainNAB, the country’s national advisory board on impact investment.
The event, called ‘Camino al Impacto’ (or Road to Impact), was the sixth annual event of SpainNAB and took place at CaixaForum in Madrid. Several speakers focused upon progress made by the country’s €400m impact investment wholesaler, the ‘Fondo de Impacto Social’ (or Social Impact Fund, referred to as FIS), which was launched in October 2023.
Like other impact investment wholesalers around the world, the FIS has a remit to develop impact investment in Spain through investment, co-investment and technical assistance to support impact measurement and management. The FIS is managed by Cofides, which was originally created in 1988 as Spain’s development finance institution but which now has a wider remit. The endowment was from EU Next Generation Funds via Spain’s national government.
Elma Saiz Delgado, Spain’s minister of inclusion, social security and migration (pictured top), said the creation of the FIS “marked a turning point” for impact investing in Spain. She added: “Spain has now positioned itself as the fourth country in the world and second in Europe in impact investing.”
A spokesperson for SpainNAB told Pioneers Post after the event that this ranking referred to research carried out by Cofides in 2024 measuring impact initiatives funded by public or public-private funds, such as the UK's Better Society Capital. The Netherlands occupied the top position in Europe; and the UK, the Netherlands and Canada were the top three globally.
The minister said there was a “firm political will to commit to public-private collaboration and an investment model that generates economic returns as well as social and environmental returns”.
She announced that since the fund made its first investment around one year ago, “the fund has approved 14 operations with an investment of nearly €157m, benefiting more than 50 companies and entities throughout the country and contributing to the creation of more than 7,500 jobs.” She added that the fund expected to close 2025 with investments totalling €255m euros.
Ángela Pérez, president of Cofides (above), also spoke about Spain’s impact investing journey. She said: “Until very recently, we were paying attention to, and perhaps even a little envious of, countries like the United Kingdom and France…because they were able to assume leadership in the area of impact investing through public action, and create markets where none existed, mobilising investment towards issues like affordable living and social inclusion, without abandoning financial discipline.”
She added: “I think we’ve run and caught up.”
The FIS should be fully invested by autumn 2026, said Perez, although she added that it was hoping that it would receive new investments. She said: “The fund must take the role of catalyst and attractor of new investors committed to impact.”
Looking to the EU and Latin America
Nick Hurd, chair of GSG Impact, and former minister for civil society in the UK when Better Social Capital was established (below), echoed the same message about Spain’s position in the global ecosystem. “You’re a leader, and people are watching,” he said.
Spain’s position in the EU was important too, he added. “The EU matters more than ever, because the EU is a standard-setter whose impact and voice goes way beyond the boundaries of the Union. I can think of three countries that have introduced regulation about corporate disclosure entirely because of the EU position.”
Finally, he pointed out that Spain was important in building bridges between Spain, Europe and Latin America, “a very important continent in our world, and we’ve barely scratched the surface of that opportunity”.
- Read more: Rethinking impact finance in Medellín: five hot ideas from Latimpacto’s annual conference
“Where Spain leads, others will follow,” he said.
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