Save the Children Global Ventures is a pioneer in Child Lens investing, having developed one of the first investment funds in the market specifically focused on children
Strategy
Save the Children Global Ventures (SCGV) designs its strategies around an intensive Child Lens investment approach, which delivers intentionality, integrity and rigour to investing in and for children. One of these funds is Save the Children Australia’s Impact Investment Fund, a child lens investment fund focused on technology-enabled solutions to drive impact at scale for children.
“We deploy patient capital and provide support to enterprises to scale tech-enabled innovations that help solve some of the most significant challenges facing children globally, while delivering a financial return to our investors.” — 2024-2025 Annual Impact Report. This is achieved through targeted investment across four core thematic areas:
- Education: Increasing access to quality education, ensuring girls and boys learn in safe and positive environments. Investing in education technology, capacity-building for teachers and enriching data usage.
- Health: Improving the health of children and families to ensure fewer children die of preventable illnesses. Investing in health tech innovations.
- Child Protection: Ensuring children are safe and preventing their exposure to abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence. Investing in organisations reducing opportunities and risks for harm, particularly through tech solutions.
- Other Enablers: Building capacity and infrastructure needed to enable social impact. Investing in tech strengthening for the not-for-profit sector.
Fund attributes
| Attribute | Details |
| Manager | Save the Children Australia advised by Save the Children Global Ventures |
| Fund name | Save the Children Australia Impact Investment Fund |
| Instruments | Predominantly equity, complemented by debt and social impact bonds where appropriate |
| Fund size | AUD 7.4 million |
| Ticket size | AUD 500,000–1,000,000 |
| Estimated % of investments intentionally considering children | 100% (fully deployed) |
| Key investors and partners | QBE |
Applying a Child Lens to investing
Save the Children Global Ventures has developed a comprehensive set of aims and metrics relating to measuring the impact of Child Lens Investing. These include the number of children reached, the number of children with access to enhanced quality education, the number of schools and teachers supported, the number of children screened for health conditions, the number of health facilities supported, the number of children with reduced exposure to indoor pollution, the number of children protected, and the number of organisations with strengthened safeguarding.
To find out more information on impact measurement, read the Fund’s latest impact report.
The investment case
Lisa Fedorenko, Head of Impact Investing Save the Children Global Ventures explains:
Improving financial investment decisions
“Whilst everyone is born and experiences childhood, this continues to be an underserved market often considered niche. Whilst children are so central to core decisions, they remain exempt from financial investment choices. Our specialisation and nuanced knowledge in this space creates an opportunity to better serve this market.”
Enhancing impact outcomes on children
“Child Lens Investing is about intentionality and measurability. We consider impact on underserved children and families across the investment process – from initial assessment, to due diligence and portfolio support and measurement thereafter. Beyond the initial value of children served, we consider second and third order effects on the depth of impact to children reached.”
Supporting fundraising
“Our Child lens Investing specialisation is unique in addressing the next generation, this creates a Unique Selling Proposition for Investors keen to access the next generation.”
Portfolio highlights
The Fund invested in Inquisitive — a lesson planning tool which supports teachers to deliver better lessons faster, unlocking greater learning outcomes for students and improving teachers’ wellbeing.
Quality teaching remains one of the biggest drivers of inequality in education and differences in children’s learning outcomes. Especially in under-resourced schools, many teachers lack time or support to plan high-impact lessons, so Inquisitive’s platform helps to address this gap, freeing up more time to support children in other ways they might need.
This case study is provided for information only and should not be interpreted as constituting investment advice or any regulated activity. The information and figures provided are accurate as per the latest information publicly available and/or made available to the Impact Investing Institute for the purpose of this research at the time of publication