Investment that values social, environmental, and financial returns
Ākina is shifting our investment culture whilst creating opportunities for change-making enterprises to scale.
What is impact investment?
Impact investment is investing with the intention of generating a measurable social or environmental impact alongside a financial return.
What is social investment?
Social investment is a way to place positive social outcomes at the heart of our financial decision- making and done right, could be an effective tool in sustaining important social initiatives that foster greater social cohesion, with both far-reaching, and long-tailed impacts.The social investment approach seeks to identify,fundand scale system level interventionsthat willhavethegreatest positive, long-term impact on people. To find out more read our FAQs.
How we’re making investment more impactful
Advisory
Offering advisory services to help organisations understand and transition to impact investing.
Readiness
Growing impact investment readiness through our Impact Investment Readiness Programme.
Fund Management
Managing NZ’s first impact investing fund and advising on the establishment of other funds.
Get in touch about Ākina’s Impact Investment Consulting Services
Impact investing advisory services
Ākina Invest has been building the impact investing market place in New Zealand for almost a decade.
Our experience in supporting impact-driven businesses to grow through investment is unmatched. From creating impact investing funds, to supporting the investment readiness of organisations, we have a deep understanding of impact investing, and have supported a number of other organisations to better understand impact investing.
Ākina Impact Investment Readiness Programme
Aotearoa needs more businesses that make a positive difference in people’s lives and for the environment.
With more investment flowing into impact, there needs to be impact-led enterprises ready for investment. Ākina's Impact Investment Readiness Programme (IIRP) is helping to solve the shortage of investable deals.
Ākina exists to transform New Zealand's economy through the power of impact! One way we're doing this is by helping to grow a stronger and more streamlined impact investing market in New Zealand; one where more funding is available for social and environmental initiatives.
The Ākina Impact Investment Readiness Programme (IIRP) has been running since 2017 and is the only one of its kind in Aotearoa. The programme helps fund impact-led businesses to access the professional services they need, to become ready for investment.
We want this programme to encourage more investment in impact-driven businesses, to increase the overall impact made by social enterprises and other purpose-led businesses in New Zealand.
2020 recipients Social Labour Supply
Recipients of grants from the 2022 programme have already raised an impressive $23.1m in funding, a whopping 77.1x return on the $300,000 of funding allocated.
Sign up to our newsletter, and keep an eye on our opportunities page for future programmes.
Getting ready to take on impact investment
CASE STUDY - HUMANITIX
Humanitix used IIRP funding to set up their successful Australian business in New Zealand. The grant covered the cost of professional services and advice from PWC as well as the legal fees for creating a new New Zealand business structure.
Once this was done they were able to take on investment from a leading Kiwi foundation. Since then Humanitix have continued to grow their revenue, team and impact!
Fund management
Ākina is a partner in the Impact Enterprise Fund (IEF), NZ’s first domestic focused impact investment fund. It is a $8.7 million fund, looking to invest in high growth NZ businesses that deliver tangible societal and/or environmental returns, alongside strong financial returns.
For businesses, this means there is a much needed new source of capital to fuel the growth of both their business and impact. See the Impact Enterprise fund website for more information on the types of businesses the IEF is investing in.
We have experience advising others on the establishment of their own impact investing funds, particularly around effective impact management practices. We are also New Zealand’s only Strategic Partner of the Impact Management Project.
Facilitating investment into businesses that make a positive difference
CASE STUDY - GROUNDED PACKAGING
Through our work with the IEF Ākina enabled investment into Grounded Packaging, providing them with significant funding – alongside other impact co-investors. This enabled them to scale their business and impact. Following investment, the impact of Grounded has increased significantly, and continues to grow. They’ve since launched an online platform for purchasing sustainable packaging and scaled their services.
“Receiving investment from the Impact Enterprise Fund has enabled us to significantly accelerate the growth of our business, and the impact we’re aiming to achieve”