In today’s business world Social Investment has generated great hopes among many investors which are driving a need to measure and demonstrate social impact. Impact measurement can help create systemic, sustainable change and it also drives value creation for an organisation. Now more than ever, corporate, government and philanthropic investors are seeking an impactful return on their investment.

Social Impact Assesment and Social Audit

Social Impact Assessment refers to the process that is carried out with the aim of understanding, measuring, reporting and enhancing the complete ethical performance of an organisation and for this purpose, the involvement of its stakeholders such as its clients, employees, customers, creditors, suppliers, vendors, shareholders, and society is very significant. In other words, it is a process that is used to evaluate an entity’s involvement in social endeavours.

Accurately showing how the companies are addressing the environmental and social negative issues coming from their activities plays a very important role in avoiding business risks. Meanwhile, doing so can also unlock new ideas for value creation and facilitate growth and expansion to new markets.

Realising the importance of corporate social responsibility which is becoming increasingly important in today’s business environment, FinX has recently introduced the service of conducting Social Audits for its clients by partnering with internationally renowned organisations like Global Impact Initiative (GII) Australia which creates Impact Investments; seeking both a positive financial return and a positive social impact for its clients and stakeholders. GII works with Sovereign wealth funds, central banks, insurance companies, corporations, pension plans, endowments, foundations, family offices, private banks and retail investors to create bespoke investment solutions in partnership with some of the world’s largest and most successful organisations.
In September 2020, GII was announced as one of the forty-one (41) Global Compact LEAD companies, recognised for their high levels of engagement in the United Nations Global Compact. GII has been a UN LEAD since 2019.

These strategies map the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. GII believes that a structured, systematic and results-orientated approach leads to profitable and sustainable change.

The business works under five key pillars

GII associated with FinX to deliver an innovative social impact measurement process and report for one of its clients, Virutcham Microfinance Limited (VML), which is a leading Microfinance Institution in southern India. Being the first MFI in India to get the UN recognition for creating a positive social impact on its customers, VML contributes to 9 out of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The report highlighted the enormous impact that VML is having on positively influencing the lives of women in underdeveloped areas and underserved communities to uplift their social and economic status. GII-Australia and FinX worked diligently to drive the project so that all parties received mutually beneficial results.

Virutcham Microfinance Limited is an active member of the AVPN (Asian Venture Philanthropy Network), a membership network made up of organisations that are deploying financial, human, and intellectual resources to increase social impact in Asia. 

As Asia’s #1 social investment network, AVPN is an ecosystem builder that works to increase the flow of capital towards impact in Asia, ensuring that resources are most effectively deployed.

 

Whom to Contact

  1. Veena Lakhwani : veena@finx.org.in