Impact Investing Australia

What Impact Investing Australia does

Impact Investing Australia (IIA) is an independent, not-for-profit organisation founded in 2014 and headquartered in Melbourne. It operates as Australia's peak body and market builder for impact investing, representing Australia as the national partner of GSG Impact within a global network of 33+ countries. IIA's core offerings are market infrastructure assets: the Impact Deal Tracker (deal listings by deal type, asset class, value and area of impact); the Benchmarking Impact Report series (the primary Australian impact investing market sizing and performance dataset); the SEDI Grants and Impact Investment Ready Growth Grant programs (capacity-building grants of up to $120K and $100–140K respectively for social enterprises); the IIA Investor Network (peer-to-peer investor community); and specialized resources such as the Gender Lens Investing Roadmap and the Endowments for Impact Challenge.

IIA serves four primary stakeholder groups: social enterprises and for-purpose businesses seeking investment readiness and growth capital; impact investors seeking deals, measurement frameworks and market intelligence; government agencies advising on social impact investing policy and outcomes-based contracting; and philanthropic foundations/endowments aligning portfolios with mission. The underlying technology is content, data and program infrastructure rather than software — there is no proprietary platform or AI component disclosed.

Revenue is derived almost entirely from government grants (principally the Australian Government Department of Social Services, including the $11.6M Social Enterprise Development Initiative and ~$7M Sector Readiness Fund) and philanthropic contributions from supporters including Equity Trustees, Lord Mayors Charitable Foundation, Perpetual, QBE Insurance and NAB. Core services are provided free to eligible recipients, consistent with a not-for-profit, grant-funded market-builder model. Operations are led by CEO David Hetherington (appointed 2023) with a small executive team (COO Bruce Campbell plus communications, social enterprise development and project officer roles).

Name

Impact Investing Australia

Legal name

Impact Investing Australia

Website

https://impactinvestingaustralia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Impact Investing Australia is an independent not-for-profit market builder founded in 2014 that grows Australia's impact investing ecosystem through market infrastructure, benchmarking research, grant programs, investor networks, and policy advocacy for social enterprises, investors, government, and philanthropic foundations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Impact Investing Market Infrastructure

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Miscellaneous Intermediation (52391)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Impact Investing & Social Finance (Funds, CDFIs, Microfinance) (BPAGALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Impact Investing (Intentional, Measurable Social/Environmental Outcomes) (FSAAALAC), Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure) (FSAAALAG), Social Impact & Inclusive Finance Funds (FSANAJAH)

Keywords

• Impact investing
• Social enterprise grants
• Market infrastructure
• Investor networks
• Impact measurement

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Primary revenue comes from government grants (Department of Social Services) and philanthropic contributions from supporters to fund operations and grant programs like SEDI Grants.
2. Philanthropic Support: Funding from trusts and foundations including Equity Trustees, Lord Mayors Charitable Foundation, and Perpetual for grant programs and market building activities.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Impact Investing Australia operates as a not-for-profit market-builder for impact investing in Australia. It administers grant programs (SEDI Grants and Impact Investment Ready Growth Grants) for social enterprises, publishes annual Benchmarking Impact research reports, maintains the Impact Deal Tracker (a deal-listing resource), and runs an Investor Network for peer-to-peer collaboration among impact investors. The organisation also represents Australia as the national partner of GSG Impact.

Product overview

Impact Investing Australia operates as a not-for-profit market-builder offering a portfolio of interconnected programs and resources to accelerate the growth of impact investing in Australia. The core offerings include the Impact Deal Tracker (a deal listing resource), SEDI Grants and Impact Investment Ready Growth Grant programs (capacity building grants for social enterprises), Benchmarking Impact Reports (annual market research), an Investor Network (peer-to-peer collaboration platform), and the Gender Lens Investing Roadmap (specialized investment guidance). These products work together to provide market infrastructure, funding access, research data, and networking opportunities that support the entire impact investing ecosystem from social enterprises seeking capital to investors seeking impact opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Impact Deal Tracker A dedicated online resource tracking the latest impact investing deals and opportunities in and from Australia, with listings across deal type, asset class, value and area of impact. Used by impact investors and intermediaries seeking deal flow visibility.
• SEDI Grants (Social Enterprise Development Initiative) Capacity-building grants program supporting social enterprises with grants up to $120,000 to become more efficient, effective, and deliver social benefits to vulnerable Australians. Targets not-for-profit organisations and social entrepreneurs seeking growth capital.
• Impact Investment Ready Growth Grant Grant program providing up to $100,000-$140,000 for business, financial, legal and capacity building support to help social enterprises and mission-driven organisations raise capital and scale their impact. Deployed over $1.4 million in grants, generating 23x median leverage and supporting 22 organisations.
• Benchmarking Impact Reports Annual research reports providing comprehensive analysis of Australia's impact investing market, including market sizing, investor insights, activity, and performance data. The Benchmarking Impact Report 2025 revealed $157 billion+ invested in Australia's impact market.
• Gender Lens Investing Roadmap Comprehensive guide helping Australian investors adopt gender lens investing to improve operational and investment performance, uncover opportunities and reduce risks while contributing to gender and racial equity outcomes. Introduces the 3i Framework (Internal, Investment, Influence).

Quantifiable outcome

• Market growth from $20 billion (2020) to $157 billion+ (2025)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• UNSW Centre for Social ImpactcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 November 2025Collaborated on the Benchmarking Impact Report 2025, providing the most comprehensive current analysis of the Australian impact investing market.
• Capital HumancoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2022Co-authored 'A Roadmap for Australian Investors' - a comprehensive resource on gender lens investing, using the 3i Framework (Internal, Investment, Influence).
• Philanthropy AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 February 2017Joint initiative 'Impact Investment Ready' launched to help not-for-profit organisations and for-purpose businesses explore impact investing activities, comprising Discovery Grants (managed by Philanthropy Australia) and Growth Grants (managed by IIA).
• GSG ImpactcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRepresents Australia as the national partner on GSG Impact and works closely with its 33+ member countries to grow opportunities for investments that deliver measurable social, environmental and cultural benefits alongside financial returns.
• University of MelbournesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for blended finance webinar exploring case studies from across the capital spectrum.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/impact-investing-australia
• Xx.com/ImpactInvestAus

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Impact Investing Australia