Glossary
This glossary has been developed to establish a shared conceptual foundation for all stakeholders operating in the fields of impact investing and the impact economy.
Impact investing, impact measurement and management, outcomes-based financing, and related concepts—which are increasingly used across finance, public policy, entrepreneurship, and social impact—are explained with reference to international frameworks while taking the Turkish context into account.
The aim is to create a consistent terminology across disciplines, reduce conceptual ambiguity encountered in practice, and support the wider adoption of impact-oriented approaches.
EYDK Dictionary
There are currently 19 names in this directory beginning with the letter C.
C
Capital Markets
Capital Markets are financial markets where long-term funding is raised and traded, enabling the transfer of capital between investors and institutions through instruments such as bonds, equities and investment funds.
Capital Provider
A Capital Provider is an individual, organization or institution that supplies financial resources to projects, enterprises or funds, including investors, DFIs, governments, foundations and private funds.
Catalytic Capital
Catalytic Capital is a form of capital that, compared to prevailing market conditions, is more flexible, has a higher risk tolerance, and is long-term in nature, enabling investments in areas where private sector capital struggles to participate. Its purpose is to activate markets, improve investment viability, and scale social and environmental impact. Catalytic capital attracts other investors by absorbing risk through instruments such as concessional finance, first-loss capital, guarantees, and similar mechanisms.
Causality
Causality refers to determining whether and to what extent the observed change is a direct result of the intervention, forming a core element of credible impact evaluation.
Charity
A Charity (or Philanthropic Organization) is a non-profit entity established to serve public benefit, operating without distributing profit, and typically funded through donations, grants and voluntary contributions. Its mission is to address social needs, support vulnerable groups and enhance societal well-being. Within the impact ecosystem, charitable organisations are increasingly assuming a more strategic role by adopting impact-oriented, measurable and sustainable approaches to social value creation.
Clean Technology
Clean Technology (Cleantech) refers to environmentally friendly technologies that reduce emissions, minimize environmental harm, improve resource efficiency and support sustainable production and consumption, including renewable energy and efficiency solutions.
Climate Risks
They are risks arising from extreme weather events or long-term environmental changes caused by climate change (such as floods, droughts, and rising temperatures).
Climate Tech
Climate Tech refers to technological solutions and systems designed to mitigate climate change, reduce carbon emissions, support adaptation and accelerate sustainable transformation. It includes renewable energy technologies, energy efficiency innovations, carbon capture systems and circular economy technologies.
Climate-Related Physical Risks
Climate-related physical risks arise from the physical impacts of climate change, including extreme weather events and long-term environmental shifts.
Collective Impact
Collective Impact is a collaborative approach in which multiple stakeholders from different sectors work together through shared goals, common measurement systems, coordinated actions and continuous collaboration to address complex social and environmental challenges. Impact is generated through joint effort rather than individual action.
Concessional Finance
Concessional Finance refers to funding provided under more favorable terms than market conditions, such as lower interest rates, longer maturities or flexible repayment structures, often supplied by public, development or philanthropic capital. It aims to de-risk investments and mobilize private capital into high-impact areas.
Concessionary Investment
Concessionary investment refers to an investment made with the intention of generating social or environmental impact while accepting below-market financial returns or higher levels of risk compared to conventional investments. Such investments are often used to support impact-oriented enterprises in markets where commercial capital is limited and to help mobilize additional investment. Concessionary investments are commonly applied within impact investing, blended finance and catalytic capital approaches.
Conference of the Parties (COP)
The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the primary global forum where parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change meet to negotiate, decide and coordinate international climate action.
Continuum of Capital
Continuum of Capital refers to the spectrum of financing instruments with different risk, return and impact expectations. It highlights how grants, catalytic capital, patient capital and market-rate investments can be combined to mobilize capital for social and environmental impact. In the impact investing literature, this concept is typically expressed through the following sequence: Grant → Catalytic Capital → Concessionary Impact Investment → Market-rate Impact Investment
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to companies’ voluntary commitment to act ethically and responsibly toward society and the environment, beyond their economic and legal obligations. Increasingly, CSR is evolving from charity-based initiatives toward more strategic and measurable impact-focused approaches.
Cost Allocation
Cost Allocation is the process of systematically distributing costs across specific activities, departments, projects or impact areas within an organization. In the impact context, it helps accurately assess impact creation costs, analyze efficiency and support strategic resource management.
Counterfactual
Counterfactual refers to the change that would have occurred through alternative pathways even in the absence of an investment, intervention, or programme. This concept enables the distinction between the portion of an observed impact that is genuinely attributable to the intervention and the portion that results from natural or external processes.
Cross-cutting Goals
In the context of SDG Impact Standards, goals that may not necessarily be considered a priority in a particular context but are a priority at a systems level and require collective action to achieve the SDGs by 2030.