PlusValue-led consortium secures EU Commission grant to develop first impact investment index for social infrastructures: an innovative tool for portfolio valuation, capital attraction and allocation, investment opportunity assessment.

· PlusValue, IFAB and IOBE awarded €750,000 grant to develop the first index correlating social impact and financial value for investments in the asset class.

· The index aims to serve asset managers, lenders, project promoters and decision makers active in the sector.

· Social infrastructures are real assets with intrinsic social value dedicated to social and affordable housing, health, education.

· The funding will be deployed to develop a proprietary methodology, a SaaS platform and an advisory service.

· The project is supported by leading market players, institutions, and investors.

Brussels, February 25th, 2025 – PlusValue (or “the Firm”), a social impact solutions firm based in Milan and London, is pleased to announce that it was awarded a European Commission grant worth €750.000 to create Si4 – The Social Infrastructure Impact Investment Index. Once developed, this will be the first composite index assessing the social value of investments in social infrastructures and its correlation to their financial value.

The grant was won by a consortium led by the Firm in partnership with IOBE – an independent economic think tank based in Athens which among others participates in the monitoring and evaluation of EU investment programmes, such as the ESIF, the EFSI and InvestEU – and IFAB – the International Foundation Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for Human Development, an anchor foundation of the Bologna technopole.

Social infrastructures are real assets dedicated to social and affordable housing, health, education, culture and sport. Recent EU data estimated that investment in the sector amounts to c. €165 bn per year and is mainly driven by public sector investors. According to that same data, the scarcity of capital commitments from private investors leads to an annual gap in investments of approximately €140 bn. The EU, several governments around the world and international organisations have acknowledged the importance of these assets for social cohesion, innovation and competitiveness. In recent years, a growing number of public investment banks have also dedicated investment programmes targeted to these assets, which bring long-term returns in the high single digits.

By assessing the correlation between social and financial value, the index will identify the aggregate and long-term value of social infrastructure investments, offering clarity on return perspective to public and private institutional investors. This will provide investors, lenders and institutions with an innovative tool for portfolio valuation, capital attraction and allocation, investment opportunity assessment, and public accountability.

The €750,000 will be invested by PlusValue and its partners to develop a methodology, software-as-a-service platform and advisory practice. The first step will be to finalise the proprietary methodology based on industry impact metrics, as well as quantitative and qualitative real market data, on social and affordable housing, healthcare and education infrastructures. The index will

ultimately be delivered to clients through a user-friendly SaaS developed by using machine learning technology. Additionally, the consortium will set up an advisory service dedicated to strengthening the social impact strategies of clients operating in the sector. The funding, which will be progressively disbursed between February 2025 and February 2027, is conditional upon the achievement of the milestones predetermined by the Commission, including validation of the end product by the market.

As part of the product development, the PlusValue-led consortium will also benefit from the support of major industry players and investors, including: development and promotional banks such as Bulgarian Development Bank, Council of Europe Development Bank, Nordic Investment Bank, NWB Bank; banking foundations such as Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo; industry and third sector associations such as Legacoop, Fondazione Housing Sociale; asset managers such as Invimit, REDO Sgr, Whitewood, Silver Fir Capital.

Filippo Addarii, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at PlusValue, commented: “The EU funding represents a significant milestone in the development of the index. By establishing the correlation between social impact and capital, our index will uncover the aggregate, long-term value of social infrastructure investments, offering new clarity on return perspective to investors which would traditionally overlook this asset class. Our goal is to create a solution that responds pragmatically to the social crisis in Europe by developing a market solution capable of driving investments in assets that bring value to society, offer long-term, attractive returns to investors and drive a just transition.”

Marco Becca, Director at IFAB, added: “Artificial Intelligence is a key ally in measuring the social impact of investments and promoting sustainable development. This project is aligned with IFAB’s mission and will enable the creation of an innovative model for social infrastructures that combines economic value and community benefit, offering investors and decision-makers concrete and data driven tools for more effective capital allocation.”

Nikos Vettas, Director General of IOBE concluded that data-driven metrics are essential for assessing the social value of investments that go beyond economic performance to generate high-added social benefits. Developing a robust indicator for social investment assessment will enhance transparency, inform better policy decisions, and ensure that resources are allocated to projects with meaningful societal impact.

About PlusValue

PlusValue is a social impact firm based in London and Milan specialised in innovative finance tools, strategies and advisory for social infrastructures, innovation districts and urban transformation. Set up in 2015 as spin-off of British social innovation leader Young Foundation, PlusValue has a strong track record in EU-funded research and innovation projects and embedding social innovation in large developments with public and private sector partners. Further information is available at www.plusvalue.org.

About International Foundation Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for Human Development (IFAB)

IFAB is a private non-profit foundation with over 40 members and affiliates, including companies of all sizes and major industry associations. Founded in Bologna in 2019 and supported by the

Emilia-Romagna Region, it operates at the heart of Italy’s Data Valley, where one of Europe’s leading AI factories is emerging: the AI Factory IT4LIA, built on advanced HPC supercomputing infrastructure. IFAB aims to be an independent and authoritative reference point in the global scientific and cultural debate on human development, sustainability, and new science. It actively participates in major national and international supercomputing networks and serves as a “bridge” between technology, research, and their real-world applications in industry and society. www.ifabfoundation.org

About Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE)

IOBE is a private, non-profit, public-benefit research organisation. It was established in 1975 with the dual purpose of promoting research on current problems and prospects of the Greek economy and its sectors and of generating reliable information, analysis and recommendations in the context of regional, national and wider EU economic policy making. In that sense, IOBE holds a unique position in Greek society: it is the only politically independent, non-partisan body dealing with major issues of the economy, and proactively seeks to identify, at an early stage, economic trends and challenges that can become crucial in the future and to propose timely solutions for these.