Where Do the 4’000 Billion euros Invested Each Year in Impact Finance Actually Go?
Image: In light of the collapse in funding for multilateralism and eco-responsible projects, Geneva’s Broken Chair takes on an entirely new meaning today...
Each year, approximately 4’000 billion euros are mobilized through what is now referred to as impact finance. These amounts reflect a growing commitment to combine economic value creation with societal contribution in a world facing major systemic challenges.
How can international institutions and multilateral hubs like Geneva be better integrated into this momentum?
This phenomenon carries real promise. But it is equally legitimate to ask: how do these financial flows actually circulate? And to what extent can international institutions—such as those within the UN system in Geneva—be fully involved?
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By Mr. Thomas EGLI, Founder and CEO of the Geneva Forum.
A Growing Momentum, but Still Fragile Bridges
The growing interest in impact finance is a major collective breakthrough. Many public, private, and philanthropic actors are already contributing to it with conviction and creativity.
Yet there are still bridges to strengthen—especially between large-scale mobilized funds and high-impact transformative projects, particularly those rooted in local or emerging ecosystems.
Several studies, including the White Paper by the - (September 2025), from a Foundation currently being established in Geneva, highlight a shared observation:
“The abundance of capital has not yet led to an abundance of funded projects. There is a gap between what is available and what is effectively deployed in the field.”
This means acknowledging that Geneva Foundation for the Future, in order to explore how to bridge these two worlds.
a large share of impact finance still flows through channels disconnected from traditional multilateral mechanisms
Geneva: A Role to Evolve, Not to Question
has long held a unique place in the global ecosystem. Its historical role in dialogue, regulation, and coordination remains a valuable resource.
Today, it could also become a strategic convergence space between finance actors, social innovation leaders, philanthropists, and public institutions. Some impact flows already pass through Geneva, via the International Geneva, UNDP, or hybrid funds.
But at the scale of the UNCDF mentioned, the numbers show that 4’000 billion euros:
- The UN Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) reports around the volumes directly channeled through multilateral organizations remain modest in impact investing assets, yet not managed through the UN System or International Geneva.
- The UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub cites nearly USD 1.8 billion aligned with the SDGs—but again, these flows do not transit through these platforms.
- OECD-tracked blended finance flows represent only a small portion of the total market—and are directly engaged in field projects (which is a good thing).
This is not a lack of commitment, but perhaps a call to rethink the forms of cooperation and intermediation, in order to integrate new funding mechanisms and leverage the current expansion of impact finance.
| The Geneva Forum Conference on - brings together financiers from all sectors (family offices, banks, impact funds, major philanthropists, development banks...) and project operators of all kinds, to align the initiatives of International Geneva and the UN System with these new sources of funding. The next edition will be held as part of the 17th Geneva Forum, from December 8 to 12, 2025. |
USD 867 billion
To strengthen this convergence, several levers
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