Overcoming Data Barriers to Identify Potential High-Impact Projects

A persistent barrier is blocking development capital from reaching the communities that need it most: a lack of accessible, science-based, and standardised data, especially in emerging markets.

As researchers from Oxford University recently highlighted, companies and projects with real potential for development impact are often excluded from investment - not due to a lack of impact potential but because they cannot meet the complex and costly data requirements expected by investors. This can reinforce a dangerous paradox: capital is diverted away from regions where development needs are greatest, perpetuating the very inequalities that impact finance is meant to address.

Turning Data Scarcity into Direction

Harnessing data more effectively can change this equation, even in data-scarce environments.

Through automated, science-based assessments of social and environmental outcomes, it becomes possible to identify priority development needs in specific countries and align them to the activities most likely to generate positive impact.

Vested Impact’s platform, for example, analyses over 200 million academic papers and global development indicators to identify where capital can have the greatest impact, even when conventional ESG or disclosure data is unavailable.

What have we found?

• 9 of the 10 countries most in need of investment to achieve universal energy access (SDG 7.1), and

• 8 of the top 10 most in need of sustainable infrastructure (SDG 9.1) are in Sub-Saharan Africa — where projects can be overlooked due to data scarcity.

The activities with the highest positive impact potential? Electric power generation, grid operations, and water and wastewater management consistently emerge across countries and indicators.

Example: Infrastructure Investment in Mozambique

Consider Mozambique, one of the top countries identified in our data for both energy and infrastructure development needs. The African Development Bank has recently approved $43.6 million in financing for the development of the Namaacha–Boane Transmission Line, a project aimed at enhancing the national grid and improving energy access.

Our assessment of this project highlights potential positive outcomes on SDGs 7.1 and 9.1 — while also surfacing important considerations around water quality (SDG 6.3), natural resource efficiency (SDG 12.2), climate adaptation (SDG 13.1), and biodiversity (SDG 15.5) – backed by indicators monitoring land degradation, direct loss of vegetation units and habitat. 

By identifying these risks early, project designers and investors can make informed decisions that maximise net positive outcomes.

Toward Smarter, More Equitable Finance

This is where data can transform development finance. Rather than relying on anecdotal assumptions or being paralysed by data scarcity, development banks, investors, and policymakers can make decisions based on robust, rapid, and standardised insights.

As the upcoming UN Financing For Development Conference rightly calls for, improving the availability, quality, and accessibility of risk and impact data is essential to delivering more equitable and effective financing. 

That's the gap Vested Impact is helping to close

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