Originally published here.

At the start of this year, the vibe around impact investing was cautious. So, we ran the biggest pulse-check ever — 660 founders and investors across Europe — to find out where impact is really headed, what’s driving it forward, and what’s still slowing it down. Turns out, the mood has flipped, and optimism is now in the air.

Confidence is back. 61% now rate the outlook of impact companies in Europe as favorable, and true pessimism is rare (only 7% of founders and 4% of investors say the future looks “very challenging”). Confidence is shared across both sides of the table: those backing the companies, and those building them.‍

The appetite is undeniable: three out of four investors say they’ll increase their allocations to impact over the next five years. Only 6% expect to invest less. The numbers signal a robust pipeline of new capital for impact-driven founders in the years ahead.

Investors are flocking to where profitability and impact overlap. Energy & Electrification (53%) tops the charts, with Industrials (41%) and Healthcare (39%) close behind. Clean power, smart manufacturing, and digital health are now seen as Europe’s backbone industries for the future.

But here’s the catch: almost half of founders say regulatory differences between EU countries have held back their ability to scale. For a “single market,” that’s a big problem, and a big opportunity. Harmonisation alone could unlock enormous growth potential.