Multiple of Impact (MOI) Calculator

Overview

The Multiple of Impact (MOI) Calculator is based on AfricInvest’s original tool that quantified the monetary value of environmental and social effects, including employment outcomes. Recognizing its relevance for measuring project impact, the Alliance worked with AfricInvest to further develop and launch the tool as an accessible online portal with funding from the initiative’s sponsor, the French Treasury, and implementation support from IFC in its Secretariat role. The enhanced MOI Calculator places a strong emphasis on job creation and enables investors, development finance institutions, fund managers, and ecosystem partners to more effectively assess and measure the broader development impact of their investments.

The MOI shifts impact measurement from outputs to outcomes, mapping a company’s activities across six forms of capital: financial, manufactured, intellectual, human, social, and natural. By pricing externalities, it lets investors and companies weigh risk, return, and impact in one integrated framework, and shows which activities drive the most impact and create the most value over time. Of note, Transform Health Fund (one of AfricInvest’s funds) had its impact management practices independently assessed by BlueMark in early 2026. BlueMark recognized the sophistication of the Multiple of Impact (MOI) methodology and its consistent application across the investment lifecycle.

For now, the MOI Calculator covers the human capital focused on job quality: with SMEs the continent’s primary source of employment, the MOI values job quality and treats people as an asset rather than a cost. Future iterations will add the natural, social, and financial capital pathways, including environmental effects such as emissions, water use, and climate adaptation. In the meantime, the full MOI methodology, spanning all six capitals, is available as an Excel tool. By combining financial and impact considerations, the MOI Calculator supports investment decision-making, portfolio analysis, and impact reporting, providing a structured approach to understanding the development value created by investments and the role of SMEs in driving inclusive growth across Africa.

Methodology

The MOI methodology provides a practical framework for assessing how investments translate into economic and social outcomes, enabling users to estimate and visualize the impact generated through capital deployment. The tool helps users explore the relationship between investment activity and outcomes such as job creation, income generation, economic growth, market development, and broader benefits across communities and value chains.

Job Creation Focus

A particular emphasis is placed on job creation and employment, which remain among the most important development priorities across Africa. Given the central role that SMEs play as the continent’s primary source of employment and economic opportunity, the tool helps illustrate how investments in SMEs and entrepreneurship can contribute to sustainable job growth and wider economic impact.

Analysis

By combining financial and impact considerations, the MOI Calculator supports investment decision-making and portfolio analysis, and produces reports that provide a structured assessment of the development value created by investments and the role of SMEs in driving inclusive growth across Africa.