Roots Of Impact

Roots of Impact, founded in 2015 by Björn Strüwer, is an international market leader in Impact-Linked Finance (ILF). Based in Frankfurt, Germany, the company works closely with public funders, philanthropic organizations, and impact investors worldwide to develop innovative financial solutions that align positive social and environmental impact with economic sustainability.

• Impact-Linked Finance (ILF): Roots of Impact has significantly shaped the ILF approach, where financial conditions, such as interest rates or repayments, are directly tied to the achievement of predefined impact goals. The better the financed company achieves positive impact, the lower the financing costs[3][5].
• Social Impact Incentives (SIINC): These funding instruments reward high-performing companies with premium payments for achieving social impact goals[2][3].
• Impact-Linked Finance Funds: The company manages special funds aimed at mobilizing and scaling private investments for sustainable development[2][4].
• Education and Consulting: Through the Social Finance Academy (SFA) and the Initiative for Blended Finance (IBF) at the University of Zurich, Roots of Impact offers comprehensive educational and consulting services to support and professionalize impact entrepreneurs and investors[1][4].

The mission of Roots of Impact is to align capital with incentives to drive positive change for people and the planet. The company is committed to empowering entrepreneurs to realize their full impact potential and is working to make ILF the new normal in the financial world[1][2].

• Mobilizing Private Investments: Roots of Impact focuses on mobilizing private investments for sustainable development by developing and implementing innovative and blended finance solutions[1][4].
• Impact Assessment: The company places great importance on impact assessment to ensure that financial solutions are designed to fairly balance risks and returns and provide impact-aligned incentives[1].
• Digital Platform and Community of Practice: To support practitioners, a digital ILF platform and a "Community of Practice" will be established, offering training and targeted resources to efficiently implement ILF transactions[2][3].

Roots of Impact recently completed a seven-figure funding round, which included participation from bmh Beteiligungs-Managementgesellschaft Hessen mbH, the Delta Fund, the European Social Innovation and Impact Fund (ESIIF), and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (DEZA). This funding will be used to build the necessary infrastructure to further scale its offerings and establish ILF as the new norm in the financial world[2][3].

• 1 - https://www.roots-of-impact.org
• 2 - https://www.bmh-hessen.de/downloads/Bmh-investiert-in-Roots-of-Impact_Juni-2024.pdf
• 3 - https://station-frankfurt.de/2024/07/16/roots-of-impact-sichert-sich-siebenstellige-finanzierung/
• 4 - https://www.roots-of-impact.org/what-we-do/
• 5 - https://sigu-plattform.de/deep-dive/deep-dive-i-outcomes-based-contracting-und-impact-linked-finance/