About this guide

The report identifies that significant pools of global capital exist but frequently fail to reach the enterprises and projects delivering solutions on the ground, particularly in emerging and underserved markets. Impact vehicles, such as funds, financing facilities, and outcomes-based mechanisms, play a critical role in bridging this gap. These vehicles aggregate capital and deploy it through structured financial mechanisms with the intention of generating positive, measurable social or environmental impact alongside financial returns. This guide provides a practical, replicable roadmap for organisations seeking to catalyse capital flows into local impact economies by demystifying the process of designing and structuring these vehicles.

Six-step roadmap

The guide presents a non-linear and iterative six-step roadmap for structuring impact vehicles. This framework covers the journey from initial market diagnostic to final operationalisation. The core elements involve identifying market gaps, establishing institutional partnerships, designing the investment and financial architecture, defining a clear impact strategy, mapping capital providers, and setting up the governance and management systems required for launch. The roadmap is supported by a library of seventeen case studies sharing practical lessons and real-world structuring experiences from across the GSG Impact Partnership.

Step 1. Assess market gaps and capital needs

Before designing a vehicle, it is critical to understand where capital flows are breaking down in the local ecosystem. This step focuses on identifying underserved investee segments and understanding both demand-side constraints, such as risk perception and ticket size, and supply-side constraints, such as misaligned liquidity or transaction structures. Practitioners are encouraged to ground their designs in ecosystem diagnostics and target systemic barriers rather than just capital shortages. Decisions at this stage include selecting priority investee segments and defining the specific financing gap the vehicle will target, such as tenor, instrument type, or local currency needs.

Step 2. Identify partnerships for implementation

The success of an impact vehicle depends on bringing together a range of capabilities that rarely sit within a single organisation, including investment structuring, fund management, and impact measurement. The report highlights five recurring roles for GSG National Partners: acting as an ecosystem convener, market diagnostic provider, policy catalyst, technical structuring partner, and capital mobilisation catalyst. Engaging partners early to co-design the vehicle helps test assumptions and build stakeholder ownership. Lessons from practitioners emphasize the use of trusted conveners to bridge government, investors, and intermediaries around a shared model.

Step 3. Define the investment strategy and financial structure

This stage translates market analysis into a practical financing model, determining how the vehicle will deploy capital through structures like direct investment funds, fund-of-funds, or outcomes-based vehicles. Instruments range from core financing like debt and equity to catalytic tools such as guarantees, impact-linked finance, and quasi-grants. Blended finance approaches are frequently used to combine concessional and commercial capital. Practitioner recommendations include matching the structure to local market realities and building flexibility into the design to allow for the adaptation of instruments and pathways over time.

Step 4. Define the impact strategy

An impact strategy defines the change a vehicle aims to create and how it will be assessed. Key elements include an impact thesis, a theory of change, and an impact measurement and management (IMM) framework. The framework should support decision-making across the investment lifecycle, from screening to portfolio monitoring. Where possible, frameworks should align with global standards like the Operating Principles for Impact Management and IRIS+. The report stresses the importance of embedding impact into the entire investment process rather than treating it as a separate reporting stream.

Step 5. Map and engage capital sources

Fundraising involves identifying capital providers aligned with the vehicle’s risk profile and investment proposition. Domestic capital mobilisation is highlighted as a defining feature of resilient vehicles, as it reduces foreign exchange risk and improves affordability for investees. Key actions to enable this include advancing regulatory reforms and building partnerships with domestic asset owners like pension funds. Mobilising anchor capital early is essential to building credibility and attracting additional funders. Practitioners are advised to tailor their propositions to specific investor constraints, such as fiduciary duties and return expectations.

Step 6. Operationalise the vehicle

As fundraising progresses, attention shifts to establishing the legal, governance, and operational systems required for launch. This includes selecting a legal structure, such as a limited partnership or trust, and defining a governance framework that ensures fiduciary oversight and accountability. A launch readiness checklist is provided, covering the establishment of a legal entity, the finalisation of governing documents, the appointment of an investment committee, and the identification of an initial pipeline. Practitioners should plan for longer implementation timelines, as structuring and approvals often take more time than anticipated, particularly in emerging markets.

Case study library

The report includes seventeen case studies demonstrating diverse structuring journeys. These include the Ci Gaba Fund in Ghana, a GHS 1 billion target fund of funds designed to mobilise domestic pension capital, and the Social Finance Fund in Canada, a CAD 755 million wholesale facility. Other examples include the Taiwan Green Growth Fund, which uses a NT$10 billion public allocation to crowd in private capital for the net-zero transition, and the JANPIA scheme in Japan, which utilises dormant deposits to address priority social issues. These cases illustrate the importance of local leadership and the need to anchor vehicles in clear market failures or national policy priorities.