The report outlines a roadmap to promote impact-linked finance which refers to a finance solution that further incentivises businesses to deliver additional outcomes and beyond paying for effects that would have happened without financial incentives. The report defines the major categories of constraints and explores solutions that could eliminate the potential difficulties of implementing these initiatives.

The report outlines six major categories of constraints: experience, knowledge, regulatory, attractiveness, capacity, and data. Each of these categories was found to present a unique set of roadblocks to the implementation of impact-linked finance. A change in mind-set, common guidelines and standards for implementation of finance solutions and building identity are required to overcome these roadblocks.

The report also highlights the potential of social innovations such as inclusive finance and fair trade as examples that could guide the development of impact-linked finance. Inclusive finance, for example, benefited from a pooling of funds to access new classes of institutional investors that improved efficiency. Similarly, fair-trade certification created financial incentives for agricultural exporters to address ethical and sustainability concerns.

The report recommends building momentum and consensus in the finance sector by educating stakeholders and pooling knowledge to promote better planning and implementation of impact-linked finance solutions. It also suggests an open knowledge platform for sharing best practices and practical implementation guidelines with stakeholders.

The report concludes that impact-linked finance presents a significant opportunity to finance and incentivise organisations to deliver positive impact outcomes. However, it is essential to navigate the challenges in its implementation through a change in attitude and common definition, principles, and guidelines if these solutions are to scale and accelerate beyond current impact-linked finance initiatives.

ESG issues discussed in the report include social and environmental impact, in addition to economic issues such as investment characteristics, risk-return profiles, and transaction cost efficiency. The report suggests that necessary trade-offs must be made with respect to these issues when designing impact-linked financial solutions.