Scaling Impact: Finance and Investment for a Better World

by Kusisami Hornberger

The global challenges confronting us — climate change, poverty, inequality, and many others — can feel overwhelming. Those of us who believe in market-based solutions to these challenges get even more disheartened when we regularly see our existing capitalist system failing us, often causing more harm than good. Many examples show how the capitalist tools of finance and investment can and make real, positive impact. Approaches like blended finance and impact investing can help accelerate progress against the world’s biggest remaining collective challenges.  Yet use of these improved capitalist approaches remains far too subscale. Blended finance and impact investing remain 15 to 200 times smaller than traditional approaches to finance and investment.  How can we continue to make capitalism work better by scaling these approaches and others? This book looks at how we can start making these necessary changes using strategies, structures, and practices that take advantage of capitalism's strengths. Its goal is to demonstrate how a reimagined financial system can be more inclusive and accountable to all. By shifting away from extractive, short-term practices in the name of shareholder primacy, we can move toward a system that values the role of all stakeholders.

220 pages, Hardcover

Published February 2, 2023

About the author

Kusi Hornberger is a Partner at Dalberg Global Development Advisors, where he leads its Finance & Investment Practice. In this role, Kusi has led more than 200 advisory projects on a wide range of topics related to blended finance, financial inclusion, impact investing, impact measurement and management, and innovative finance with leading donors, development finance institutions (DFIs), family offices, foundations, and private investors around the globe.

Outside of Dalberg, Kusi serves on the board for several leading NGOs, regularly publishes articles and speaks at conferences on topics related to the impact economy. Kusi is also frequently invited to teach or guest lecture at leading business and policy schools such as Harvard Kennedy School, MIT Sloan School of Management and Oxford Saïd Business School among others.

Previously, Kusi was Vice-President of Investment Research at Global Partnerships, an impact-first investment fund manager, a management consultant at Bain & Company, an Investment Officer with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and a consultant with TechnoServe Inc. He started his career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tanzania.

Reviews

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written for the current impact professional or curious individual looking to learn how to be more impactful with finances and investing.

The book is divided in six sections, each proposing shifts to how finance and investing is traditionally done: 1) seek financial health, not just access; 2) provide patient capital, not venture capital; 3) be an impact first investor, not an ESG investor; 4) offer catalytic finance, not just blended finance; 5) measure success based on results, not activities; 6) provide capacity building, not just capital.

At the end of each section includes an interview with an industry professional, bringing the concept to life. This books strikes the balance of theory and practice.

[Wouter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for anyone interested in learning more about how to make the capitalist forces of finance and investment work as a force for good.

[Muskan Aggarwal · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introductory resource to unpack impact investing. The author brings in lot of case studies and interviews contextualising how impact investing works in the real world!

[Renzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author is an expert on the topic and provides a great framework on impact investing.

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am diving into the topic of social impact and investment these days, and would like to highly recommend you the new book written Kusi Hornberger. He is very passionate about the use of innovative finance and technology to accelerate the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and was generous enough to spend a lot of time to share his knowledge and vision in a book.

It is a phenomenal resource for anyone interested in the field of impact investment and blended finance. The book is written in a clear and concise manner, making it easy to understand even for those new to the subject. The density of useful information exceeded any of my expectations.

One of the most impressive aspects of the book is the way it provides practical guidance on how to invest for impact. Kusi Hornberger explains the various strategies and tools available for investors to achieve both financial returns and positive social or environmental outcomes. This includes a detailed discussion of blended finance, which is becoming increasingly popular as a way to leverage public and private capital for impact.

Another standout feature of the book is its optimistic and empowering tone. Rather than focusing on the challenges and limitations of impact investment, Hornberger highlights the many opportunities and potential solutions. He encourages readers to embrace a mindset of innovation and experimentation, and to think creatively about how to maximize impact through investment.

Overall, I would highly recommend “Scaling impact” to anyone interested in impact investment or blended finance. It is a valuable resource for investors, fund managers, social entrepreneurs, and anyone else looking to use finance as a force for good.

The book is well-written, informative, and inspiring, and I believe it has the power to make a real difference in the world.

[Spencer Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this book 6 out of 5 stars, I would. "Scaling Impact" explores how we can make capitalism more effective in addressing critical challenges like climate change, poverty, and inequality—issues that are central to my work. It felt as though the author, Kusi Hornberger, had taken the ideas right out of my skull and put them in a book in a logical and well-written manner.

An added bonus was that I reached out to the author and he actually responded! We discussed my thoughts on the book and I had the opportunity to question him about some of its themes.

The book is relatively technical but accessible enough for anyone interested in how impact can be scaled effectively. Here’s a quick summary of the key levers we need to pull to shift finance towards investing in change-making initiatives:

1. Seek financial health, not just financial access
2. Provide patient capital, not venture capital
3. Be an impact-first investor, not just an ESG investor
4. Offer catalytic finance, not just blended finance
5. Measure success based on results, not activities
6. Provide capacity building, not just capital

Overall, this is a great book that is informative, easy to read, and not overly long. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in making a positive impact through finance.

[Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ive long been interested in impact investing and really enjoyed this book. While it is clear the amount of work that went into writing this book, Kusi did an excellent job of making what is pretty complex topic accessible, including for folks who may only be starting to think about impact investing, while also making it valuable to impact investing professionals. The book summarizes and provides background on historic impact investing models while introducing newer frameworks and approaches for people to consider. An excellent mix of history, theory and practical examples. Highly recommended
for investors, entrepreneurs and anyone thinking about how their work and their investments can have more impact!

[Marius Ciuzelis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a good intro into the topic with detailed instrument and/or approaches description accompanied with a bunch of statistics. However I missed insights what’s all of it for me, the reader, working in NGO space for 9 ys already and always looking for impact innovations. How do I fit, may addapt, use those approaches described. The feeling after reading the book is “good to know stuff, but it’s about them, not me”.
4 starts for the theory, but only 2 for the value.

[Julia Brethenoux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a brilliant book!
It presents in an accessible way all the interconnected facets of what impact investing is about.
It is derived from the first hand experience of a professional that has seated at all the sides of the table.
It is well researched and informed, it clearly outlines what works, what doesn’t and shades some light about the future of impact investing, by bringing in a diverse set of perspectives.
For anyone willing to scale impact through investing!

[Vishal Kothari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insights into how to invest for impact

[Phoebe Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive insight into development financing that looks outside of traditional funding methods.