Impact investing is investing in for-profit companies to generate
both financial returns and social impact. The theory is that impact
investing can increase the capital available to a company, allowing it
to create more positive social outcomes than would otherwise have
occurred.

For impact investing to do good, it has to provide a company with more
capital than it would have otherwise received. This condition is easier
to meet when the investment is *concessionary* (sacrifices some level of
financial return against the market rate) or occurs in a private market
where other investors are unable or unwilling to invest.^[1]

Impact investing is one form of socially responsible investing.