[Tokyo = E-Daily Marketin Reporter Soyoung Park ] "ESG is over. Now it’s all about impact."

On the 1st, at the Ito Hall at the University of Tokyo, where the daytime high temperature approached 37 degrees. Even before the event began, the word “Impact” was being bandied about incessantly. Investors who had flown in from the U.S., Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Cambodia discussed the climate crisis, space debris, care services, and the content industry, while venture capital (VC) analysts exchanging business cards immediately asked, “Do you have any good deals?”

While ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) was the hot topic in the investment industry just a few years ago, global capital is now rapidly shifting toward impact investing, which assesses “how effectively social problems have been solved.”

According to the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) on the 6th, the global impact investing market is estimated to be worth approximately $1.6 trillion (about 2,285 trillion won). The market has grown at an average annual rate of 21% since 2019. Whereas ESG was an era of evaluating companies, impact investing directly nurtures companies that solve social problems. Capital markets are paying close attention to impact investing because addressing social issues is not a cost but rather a source for creating markets and driving growth.

A large number of South Korean investors attended “Impact Galleria Tokyo 2026,” which was held that day. SOVAC, South Korea’s largest private social value platform launched by SK Group in 2019, was listed as one of the 10 global partners co-hosting the event, alongside Impact Square and MYSC—accelerators (ACs) specializing in impact investing—and UDI Impact, a comprehensive ESG solutions provider.

In South Korea, strategic investors (SIs) from major conglomerates—who had previously focused on ESG—have been concentrating on impact investing since last year. Financial investors (FIs) are also moving away from an approach that focused on abstract values, such as how companies address environmental and social issues. They are now refining their methods for measuring investment value, such as assessing corporate value or risk based on key performance indicators (KPIs).

Participants gathered in Tokyo that day unanimously agreed that it is time to focus on identifying investable deals that will allow for the efficient allocation of impact capital. They assessed that building a pipeline of investable companies and projects is more urgent than simply increasing capital in the impact investment market. They identified strengthening global cooperation as the key to solving this challenge.

A South Korean VC investment analyst interviewed at the event said, “While South Korea tends to rely on government-backed funds, Japan has many private limited partners (LPs) interested in impact investing, which not only makes it easier to secure funding but also allows for more efficient investment execution,” adding, “We are currently working to establish a jointly managed fund.”