On 24 March we participated in Andalucía Impacta 2026, the first gathering in Andalusia to align investment, public policies and purpose-driven entrepreneurship. Promoted by the Diputación de Málaga and Fundación Foro NESI, with the collaboration of SpainNAB among others, it brought together more than 100 key ecosystem actors — investors, public administrations and social entrepreneurs — with a shared objective: to mobilise capital towards solutions that address the major social and environmental challenges of the Andalusian territory.
Impact investors: criteria, theses and direct connection with the ecosystem
The day opened with a distinctive moment in which different impact investment actors shared their theses, criteria and priorities, reversing the usual ‘pitching’ dynamic: this time, it was impact funds and managers who took centre stage.
In this first part, our member organisations played a particularly relevant role, providing a practical perspective on how capital is being channelled towards projects with real impact. From venture philanthropy models to funds specialised in climate, energy transition or inclusion, the diversity of financial instruments and approaches currently shaping the market was made evident.
Beyond the presentations, this space functioned as an exercise in transparency and alignment: what investors seek, which metrics they value and what conditions facilitate access to the financing they offer. A key step in reducing friction between capital and projects. Thanks to Open Value Foundation, Fondo de Fundaciones, Global Social Impact Investments, Inclimo, Creas, Repsol Impacto Social, Goparity, Phitrust and Spainsif for sharing their contribution and opening their strategy to the Andalusian ecosystem.
Catalytic public capital and financial innovation
One of the most conceptually relevant threads of the day came from Mercedes Valcárcel, Director General of SpainNAB.
During the dialogue she moderated, the role of public capital as a catalyst for the impact market was addressed, underscoring the need to advance towards blended finance schemes that reduce risks, attract private investment and scale solutions.
This approach was not presented purely theoretically. In the local context itself, concrete learnings were shared about the social impact contracts promoted in Málaga, which are setting a precedent in Spain. In the conversation with Jorge Martínez, Comptroller of the Ayuntamiento de Málaga, the technical and legal work required to make this type of instrument viable from within public administration was recognised, demonstrating that financial innovation also involves adapting existing frameworks.
Likewise, Alfonso Ciarán from the Social Impact Fund (FIS) of Cofides brought the capital perspective, highlighting how these types of structures make it possible to align incentives between administrations, investors and service providers, linking financing to measurable outcomes. The opportunity was highlighted for private capital to be genuinely catalytic by assuming risks that allow private capital to enter at scale and give true impetus to solutions that would otherwise struggle to access the resources needed to scale their impact.
Taken together, these experiences reinforce a key idea that ran throughout the day: financial innovation is already happening, and social impact contracts are a concrete tool for activating catalytic capital in the territory.
Institutional alignment: a shared agenda
Next came the institutional panel, which brought together representatives from three territorial levels: the Ayuntamiento de Málaga, the Diputación de Málaga and the Junta de Andalucía, moderated by Myriam Estarrona of Open Value Foundation.
This dialogue demonstrated how impact is no longer understood as a peripheral concept, but as a strategic tool for designing more effective public policies. The alignment between administrations and their willingness to work with investors opens a real opportunity to structure territory-based impact projects.
From concept to practice
A second part of the day consisted of separate gatherings in which funders and public administrations sat around two major territorial challenges: the rural challenge and the climate challenge, and the challenge of employment, inclusion and other urban challenges, with the intention of aligning public policy strategies and exploring the potential incorporation of impact capital through financial innovation formulas to address the necessary solutions in depth.
The day also focused on those who are called upon to deliver that impact: entrepreneurs and impact enterprises. The workshop facilitated by María Molina, Director of Alliances and Impact Ecosystem at SpainNAB, offered a practical space to align impact concepts with the expectations of capital. Beyond theoretical definitions, work was done on how to translate impact into understandable and compelling proposals for investors.
These types of spaces are key because they act as a bridge: they help projects understand what it truly means to be ‘impact investment ready’, and how rigour in impact measurement and narrative can become a competitive advantage.
An ecosystem moving towards collaboration
Andalucía Impacta 2026 confirms a clear trend: the impact ecosystem in Spain is evolving towards more collaborative models, where capital, public policies and the social ecosystem are beginning to speak a common language. And for that, the capillarity and involvement of all public and private actors in each territory is fundamental.
The challenge now is to maintain this momentum and translate these connections into concrete alliances and operations. Because impact is not merely an aspiration: it is a tangible opportunity to transform territories through investment.
