Quona Obtains Platinum Rating in BlueMark’s Fund ID Pilot

By Kristin Sadler

In late 2023, Quona completed its second successful Impact Principles alignment impact verification with BlueMark, a leading provider of independent impact verification and intelligence. In this verification, Quona achieved the highest possible (“Advanced”) score on 7 of the 8 principles measured, and scored in the top quartile of BlueMark’s benchmark for these principles.

Recognizing Quona’s ongoing efforts to elevate the impact industry, Bluemark invited Quona’s Fund III to participate in the pilot of its new Fund ID initiative. The purpose of Fund ID is to offer prospective LPs and other stakeholders an unbiased, easy-to-interpret, holistic, benchmarked assessment of a fund manager’s impact approach across four key pillars: strategy, governance, management and reporting (see full Fund ID report here). We are proud to share that Quona’s Fund III was one of just seven funds to receive a Platinum rating in BlueMark’s Fund ID assessment, once again demonstrating Quona’s alignment to impact industry best practices.

Quona’s Fund III outperformed its peers across each pillar, as detailed below:

Impact Management

This pillar evaluates a fund’s approach to assessing, monitoring and managing impact throughout the investment lifecycle. Quona earned an Advanced rating of 86% for Impact Management, outperforming the benchmark average of 61%. This result showcases Quona’s comprehensive impact due diligence, monitoring, and management systems. Key drivers of this Advance score include:

• Impact Scorecards: Used to assess current and potential impact for each new investment, as well as to monitor progress for follow-on investments and on an annual basis.
• Annual Impact Performance Review: Leverages categorical impact scorecard data to provide a firm and fund-wide snapshot of impact performance in line with the “ABCs of Impact.”
• Stakeholder-Centered Impact Outcome Data: Incorporates outcome-level data from customer insights projects with 60 Decibels, strengthening Quona’s ability to validate and assess impact.

Impact Reporting

This pillar assesses a fund’s transparency and consistency in sharing impact results with stakeholders. Quona received an Advanced rating of 76%, far exceeding the pilot average rating of 36% for Impact Reporting. This accomplishment underscores Quona’s dedication to transparent and comprehensive impact reporting, and reflects our:

• Regular, detailed reports to LPs with consistent investment and portfolio level impact data and insights.
• Annual public impact reports demonstrating firm and fund-level impact performance.
• Use of standardized impact reporting formats, transparent definitions, and meaningful context to enhance stakeholder understanding.

Impact Strategy

Strategy assesses the clarity, ambition and structure of a fund’s overall impact objectives. Quona received a High rating of 70% on Impact Strategy, compared to a 52% pilot average. This rating highlights:

• A clearly defined impact strategy for Fund III, centered on reshaping financial services in emerging markets to meet the needs of underserved consumers and MSMEs
• An evidence-based Theory of Change at the fund level, and clearly delineated Impact Pathways for each investment aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets.
• Active leadership and participation in industry networks and events, reflecting Quona’s commitment to advancing the impact investing industry.

Impact Governance

This pillar assesses a fund’s commitment to integrating impact into its decision-making processes. Quona received an Advanced rating of 85%, compared to a pilot average of 56%. Our score reflects:

• Clear impact and ESG governance mechanisms, including dedicated leadership roles within the firm.
• Integration of impact across Quona’s teams.
• Standardized processes for evaluating both positive and negative impact in investment decision-making.

Advancing Impact Investing Together

Quona’s top-tier performance in the Fund ID assessment reflects our commitment to authentic impact and our dedication to advancing the impact investing field. As BlueMark continues to refine and expand Fund ID as a benchmarking tool, we are proud to demonstrate how rigorous, transparent impact management can drive measurable change in emerging markets.

Quona’s full Fund ID Verifier Statement can be found here.