Development of the impact investing ecosystem in Ukraine

Abstract

The impact investing ecosystem is currently in its infancy in Ukraine. The aim of the paper is to identify the problems of impact investing development in Ukraine and to propose the ways to develop the ecosystem of social investment in the country. In the course of the research, general scientific methods of analysis were used: formal, logical, and comparative. Results of the research suggest that theory and practice of state regulation in Ukraine still lack the conceptualized mechanisms of impact investing and the corresponding institutional environment. On the other hand, there is a high level of interest and engagement in it from both the public and potential and current investors. The data obtained prove the importance of civil society cooperation in creating a favorable ecosystem of impact investing to maximize its integration into the economy. The development of impact investing ecosystem in Ukraine depends on certain socio-economic and legal barriers at an initial stage such as: low level of public understanding about the problem, absence of clear legal regulation and uncertainty of the “rules of the game” at the legislative level, openness and publicity of enterprises, which is not a characteristic feature of the economic environment in the country today. Furthermore, effective directions and mechanisms for development of the impact investing ecosystem are proposed.