Case Study

Enimpacto Brazil: A national strategy for an impact economy

An inspiring example

Enimpacto is an inspiring example of how governments can bring together public and private entities as well as civil society organisations to co-create and implement shared strategies to work towards a wellbeing economy. In 2017, Brazil launched its first national Impact Investment and Business Strategy (ENIMPACTO). This strategy was designed to increase the number of impact businesses and foster a supportive institutional and regulatory environment that enables impact investments and businesses to thrive.

By 2023, the original 2017 ENIMPACTO strategy evolved into a broader and more ambitious National Impact Economy Strategy to contribute to the government's objectives of promoting inclusivity, equity and a regenerative economic system. The 2023 National Impact Economy Strategy includes objectives to create a favorable macro regulatory environment for positive impact businesses to thrive, expand the supply of capital to impact businesses, generate data on the sector and encourage the inclusion of socio-environmental impact solutions in the supply chains of companies and governments.

Deep collaboration

The development and implementation of the 10-year ENIMPACTO strategy (2023-2032) builds on deep collaboration between the Brazilian government, sector representatives and civil society organisations. The Impact Economy Committee that oversees the development and implementation of the strategy is presided by the Minister of Development, Infrastructure and Commerce and comprises 50 people, of whom 25 are government representatives, including government agencies and public banks, and 25 represent either business sectors or civil society organisations.

There are 5 working groups in the Impact Economy Committee, corresponding to the five pillars of the 10-year Impact Economy Strategy:

Expansion of capital availability for the impact economy
Increase in the number of impact businesses
Strengthening of intermediary organizations
Promotion of an institutional and regulatory environment favourable to impact investments and businesses
Inter-federative coordination with States and Municipalities to foster the impact economy

Similar to the overarching Impact Economy Committee, each working group is co-led by a representative of the federal administration and a representative of business and civil society. Every working group member can bring in proposals and if there is enough support within the working group, the initiative will be taken forward for further exploration. Although the Impact Economy Committee operates at the federal level, cooperation agreements have been established with regional governments to work on regional Impact Economy strategies, goals and regulation.

Examples of practical implementation to date

The development of a green taxonomy - a framework for defining what can be called environmentally sustainable investments, to tackle “greenwashing” and help companies and investors make more informed choices.

Expansion of regulation for microcredit regulation
Initiation of the development of an intergenerational wellbeing framework for Brazil
Creation of a national public database of impact businesses
Launch of books, publications and courses for policymakers and businesses on the Impact Economy
Structuring of socio-sustainable impact funds

Through its collaborative approach, Brazil is not only paving the way for a more inclusive and sustainable economy but also setting a global precedent for how strategic partnerships can drive meaningful change.