By Yaquta Fathi, Program Manager, WDI Impact Monitoring and Management
There have been a number of critiques of impact investing in recent months, targeting several common investor practices. Yet these appraisals rarely come from entrepreneurs, who often receive feedback from investors, but typically lack the ability to respond in kind. She shares a new research initiative by Acumen and WDI called “Founders in Focus: The State of Impact Capital” that aims to change this dynamic: Instead of focusing on what entrepreneurs need to do differently to attract investment, it invites founders to capture their experiences with investors — both the good and the bad — in a structured manner that can spark actual change in the investing ecosystem. The survey is open to founders and C-suite executives across Africa, Asia and Latin America who have raised capital in 2024-2025.