The Social Capital Navigator
Appendix A13 / 20

Glossary of Key Terms

Language of the trade

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  • Additionality — The development contribution a DFI or impact investor provides beyond what commercial capital would deliver on its own.
  • Anchor Investor — The first institutional investor whose commitment unlocks subsequent capital.
  • AIMM — IFC’s Anticipated Impact Measurement and Monitoring framework.
  • Blended Finance — Strategic use of catalytic capital to mobilise private investment. A structuring approach, not an asset class.
  • Catalytic Capital — Patient, risk-tolerant, concessional capital accepting disproportionate risk or below-market returns.
  • Concessional Finance — Financing on better-than-market terms.
  • Conditions Precedent (CPs) — Requirements that must be satisfied before disbursement.
  • Development Impact Bond (DIB) — Results-based instrument repaid by an outcome payer if pre-agreed outcomes are achieved.
  • DFI — Development Finance Institution. Multilateral (IFC, AfDB) or bilateral (Proparco, FMO, BII).
  • ESIA — Environmental and Social Impact Assessment.
  • ESMS — Environmental and Social Management System.
  • First-Loss Tranche — Layer of capital absorbing initial losses to protect senior investors.
  • GIIN — Global Impact Investing Network. IRIS+ metric system.
  • Guarantee — Commitment to cover losses; capital-efficient de-risking instrument.
  • ICMA — International Capital Market Association. Publishes the Green / Social / Sustainability Bond Principles.
  • IFC Performance Standards — Eight standards on E&S sustainability; the de facto private-sector benchmark.
  • IRIS+ — GIIN’s catalogue of generally accepted impact metrics.
  • Mobilisation Ratio — Private capital mobilised per dollar of DFI own-account investment.
  • MRI — Mission-Related Investment from a foundation’s endowment seeking market-rate returns.
  • PRI — Programme-Related Investment in US foundation context, primarily charitable.
  • Results-Based Financing (RBF) — Payments contingent on outcomes. Includes SIBs and DIBs.
  • SDGs — UN Sustainable Development Goals (2015).
  • Second-Party Opinion (SPO) — Independent assessment confirming bond framework alignment with ICMA principles.
  • Social Impact Bond (SIB) — Investors fund a programme; government repays if outcomes achieved.
  • Sport Satellite Account (SSA) — Framework quantifying sport’s contribution to GDP (UN/Eurostat Vilnius 3.0).
  • Technical Assistance (TA) — Non-financial support alongside investment.
  • Waterfall — Distribution sequence determining return order and loss absorption in a blended fund.
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