[Tokyo = E-Daily Marketin Reporter Soyoung Park ] “There is ample capital in the Asian impact market. The problem is that there aren’t enough investable deals.”

Analysts have concluded that building a pipeline of investable companies and projects is more urgent than increasing capital in the impact investment market. Vikas Arora, Head of Impact Investment and Blended Finance at AVPN, made these remarks on the 1st while attending “IMPACT GALLERIA TOKYO 2026” held at the University of Tokyo. He emphasized that entrepreneurs must develop the ability to explain their businesses and projects more clearly to investors so that capital can find appropriate investment opportunities.

On this day, the first plenary session was held under the theme “Beyond Capital: Building Corridors Across a Fragmented World.” Participants diagnosed that the fundamental bottleneck in the impact market lies not in a lack of capital itself, but in the fragmentation of the ecosystem. They also agreed on the need for new structures to connect different types of capital, organizations, and regions.

Ken Shibusawa, CEO of Shibusawa & Company and CEO and Chairman of Commons Asset Management, echoed Mr. Arora’s remarks, stating, “For the impact investment ecosystem to move to the next stage, companies that actually create impact must take center stage, rather than investors who merely provide capital.”

Nanako Kudo, Executive Director of the Social Innovation Investment Foundation (SIIF), pointed out that while Japan’s impact investment market has grown, a significant portion of funds remains concentrated in established companies and publicly traded stocks. She explained that risk capital supplied to startups and other entities creating new solutions is relatively scarce. “We must examine not only the scale of impact capital but also its quality and types,” she emphasized.

Mr. Arora proposed cross-border cooperation and the establishment of partnerships as a solution. Specifically, he explained that for Japanese impact capital to expand into other Asian countries, an understanding of local regulations and the establishment of trustworthy partnerships must come first.

Sir Ronald Cohen, known as a “pioneer of impact investing,” delivered the keynote address at the event. Sir Cohen emphasized that the impact economy has reached a critical “watershed moment.” The impact economy does not pursue risk and return alone; it refers to an economy that optimizes risk, return, and social impact simultaneously.

He warned that, as examples of ESG investing show, failing to measure the actual impact generated could lead to a loss of market trust. He cited Bloomberg as an example. According to him, Bloomberg recently piloted data on its terminals that converts the carbon emissions impact of 16,000 companies into monetary value. He described this as a significant turning point that laid the foundation for impact accounting. He continued, “If we can ensure that capital flows to companies and entrepreneurs seeking to optimize risk, return, and impact simultaneously, we can solve the environmental and social challenges we face.”

Meanwhile, the event was attended by global partners from various countries, including the United States, China, and Singapore. From South Korea, Edaily served as a media partner. SOVAC, South Korea’s largest private social value platform launched by SK Group in 2019, participated as one of the 10 co-hosting global partners.