India’s transition towards a $5 trillion economy brings with it complex and urgent development challenges that demand a diverse mix of capital—philanthropic, impact-first, and commercial. While public funding remains the dominant source of social sector expenditure, accounting for 95% of the total, a significant financing gap persists.
This shortfall, estimated at INR 14 lakh crore (approximately $170 billion) in FY 2024, is projected to widen to INR 16 lakh crore ($195 billion) by FY 20291.
In this context, High Net-Worth (HNW) families are uniquely positioned as stewards of multiple forms of capital. Their ability to invest flexibly across the continuum—from pure grants to impact-first and even commercially viable investments with social returns— offers a powerful opportunity to address India’s development deficit in innovative ways. The rise in the number of family offices from 45 in 2018 to 300 in 2024 reflects a growing commitment to structured, value-aligned wealth deployment. Family businesses now contribute approximately 40%¹ of private philanthropy in India, with the top four business families alone accounting for 20% of CSR contributions from family-owned companies in FY 2023–24.
Yet, despite this growth, Indian HNW families still contribute only 0.1% to 0.15% of their wealth to philanthropy—well below the 1.2% to 2.5% seen among their U.S. counterparts and 0.5% to 1.8% in the U.K. This suggests not only the need for increased giving but also a more strategic approach to capital deployment that breaks down traditional silos between giving and investing.
In 2021, Waterfield Advisors and IIC released the first edition of Unlocking Impact Capital, which focused on understanding how Indian families engage with impact investing. However, that report primarily mapped broad trends in impact investing and did not examine how families view or manage the full spectrum of philanthropic capital—from pure grants to blended and impact-first strategies. It also did not explore whether families are beginning to blur the lines between their philanthropic and commercial portfolios, or if they continue to treat them as entirely separate realms.
This second edition seeks to explore that question more deeply. Are Indian HNW families beginning to view their capital holistically, or do distinct mental models still govern their philanthropic and investment decisions? Through a combination of interviews, secondary data reviews and case studies, this report explores how Indian families are—or are not— deploying catalytic capital across the spectrum. In particular, we examine the awareness and adoption of blended finance structures, which combine public, philanthropic, and commercial capital to de-risk investments and crowd in private sector funding.
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