NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, July 17, 2014

As sustainable seafood markets grow, philanthropists, nonprofit leaders, and entrepreneurs see opportunities for impact-minded investors to make profits while creating positive change in the oceans. But what makes the conditions right for impact-minded investors to enter a relatively new field such as this one?

We have been wrestling with this question in relation to sustainable seafood and learning from other social impact sectors like sustainable agriculture and microfinance. As discussed inPriming the Pump by the Omidyar Network, impact investors helped these fields grow, and we can learn from their patterns of success and failure over time.

Building on these lessons, our Manta Consulting team developed a model of how four market conditions – the state of business development, policy, market infrastructure, and investment – are linked and must evolve together to drive positive change.