Behind every investment decision sits a view of how markets work, how institutions develop and how value is created. This summer, members of the Sarona team share the books, reports and articles that have informed their thinking across impact investing and emerging markets. Bringing together practical experience, critical analysis and current research, the list offers perspectives that challenge familiar assumptions and deepen the conversation around capital, growth and impact.
The Blue Sweater: Patient capital and enterprise-led development
Jacqueline Novogratz, founder and CEO of Acumen, draws on her experience in banking and development to question how capital reaches people living in poverty. In The Blue Sweater, she argues that lasting progress begins with dignity, agency and access to opportunity, rather than approaches that leave communities dependent on aid. Through stories from Africa and other emerging markets, Novogratz shows how patient capital can help locally grounded businesses grow while serving people often overlooked by traditional finance. For impact investors, the book offers a clear account of why local knowledge, commercial discipline and respect for the people behind the numbers matter.
Failing to Win: What founders and investors can learn from failure
Mike Quinn, co-founder and CEO of Boost and former co-founder and CEO of African fintech Zoona, offers a candid account of what happens when ambition meets the realities of scaling a business. In Failing to Win, he traces Zoona’s growth, setbacks and eventual decline, drawing lessons from fundraising, leadership, competition and execution. For impact investors, the book provides a valuable view from the founder’s side of the table, including the pressure that comes with pursuing commercial growth and social purpose at the same time.
Profit vs. Progress: Testing the promises of responsible investment
Brad Swanson, who manages socially responsible investments and teaches at George Mason University, asks whether ethical investment can change corporate behaviour when market incentives continue to point elsewhere. In Profit vs. Progress, he argues that labels, exclusions and investor preferences have limited influence when companies remain governed by the same competitive rules. For responsible investors, the book offers a useful challenge: credible impact requires close attention to the policies, incentives and systems shaping company decisions.
Integrated Investing: Bringing the whole investor into the decision
Bonnie Foley-Wong, founder of Pique Ventures and a founding investor in Pique Fund, begins with a deceptively simple question: what is investing meant to achieve? Integrated Investing presents a framework that brings financial analysis together with social, environmental and personal values. For impact investors, it offers a practical way to clarify intentions, assess trade-offs and make investment decisions that are more closely aligned with the outcomes they seek.
21st Century: Thinking clearly amid disruption
Historian and philosopher Yuval Noah Harari examines how technology, politics, information and social division are reshaping the choices facing institutions and individuals. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century moves across questions including automation, education, nationalism, truth and the future of work. Its relevance to investors lies in the wider forces it brings into view, particularly when assessing institutional resilience, technological change and the long-term direction of markets and societies.
The Big Con: What is lost when expertise is outsourced
Economist Mariana Mazzucato and political economist Rosie Collington examine the growing influence of major consulting firms across government and business. In The Big Con, they argue that repeated outsourcing can erode internal capability, weaken accountability and leave institutions less able to solve complex problems themselves. For development investors, the book raises an important question about technical assistance and advisory support: does the work build lasting local capacity, or does expertise leave when the contract ends?
Value(s): What markets measure and what societies value
Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada and former governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England, examines what happens when market value begins to crowd out the values that support functioning economies and societies. In Value(s), he draws on financial crises, climate change and public policy to explore fairness, resilience, responsibility and sustainability. For investors, the book offers a framework for considering how long-term value creation depends on trust, institutions and outcomes that financial prices may struggle to capture.
Cobalt Red: The human cost inside the energy transition
Researcher and author Siddharth Kara follows the cobalt supply chain to mining communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the mineral is extracted under dangerous and exploitative conditions. Cobalt Red connects these communities with the batteries used in phones, computers and electric vehicles around the world. For investors, the book makes supply-chain due diligence difficult to treat as a distant compliance exercise, particularly in sectors associated with climate solutions and technological progress.
Why Nations Fail: How institutions shape prosperity
Economist Daron Acemoglu and political scientist and economist James A. Robinson examine why similar countries can follow very different economic paths. In Why Nations Fail, they argue that inclusive political and economic institutions support participation, innovation and broadly shared growth, while extractive institutions concentrate opportunity and power. For emerging-market investors, the book provides a useful lens for considering governance, competition, regulation and the institutional conditions surrounding long-term business growth. Their work on institutions and prosperity received the 2024 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
Dead Aid: A challenge to conventional development finance
Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo draws on experience at the World Bank and Goldman Sachs to question the role of long-term government aid in Africa. In Dead Aid, she argues that sustained aid flows can weaken accountability, distort incentives and encourage dependency, while trade, investment and domestic capital markets can support a different development path. The book remains highly debated, which is part of its value for impact investors considering how external capital affects local ownership, institutions and private-sector growth.
At a Loss for Words: Rebuilding meaning in divided conversations
Canadian journalist and former CBC Radio host Carol Off explores how words such as freedom, democracy and truth have acquired sharply different meanings across political debate. In At a Loss for Words: Conversation in the Age of Rage, she considers what is lost when language becomes a tool for division rather than understanding. For investors and development practitioners working across cultures and institutions, the book offers a useful perspective on trust, stakeholder engagement and the care required to build a shared basis for decision-making.
The Value of a Whale: Questioning the financialisation of nature
Researcher and writer Adrienne Buller examines the growing effort to solve environmental problems through prices, markets and financial products. In The Value of a Whale, she critiques carbon markets, green finance and attempts to assign monetary values to ecosystems, asking whether these mechanisms address the causes of environmental decline. For climate investors, the book provides a rigorous counterpoint that can sharpen thinking around additionality, accountability and the limits of market-based solutions.
CAFIID 2025 State of the Sector Report: Tracking Canadian capital in emerging markets
The Canada Forum for Impact Investment and Development examines how Canadian investors are directing capital towards emerging markets and developing economies. Its 2025 report found that CAFIID members managed an estimated CAD 4.6 billion in impact assets in these markets in 2024, representing a 114 per cent increase since 2019. The report also explores gender-lens investing, climate finance, impact measurement and the barriers limiting greater institutional participation. For investors, it provides a grounded view of where Canada’s impact-investment ecosystem is gaining momentum and where further market-building is required.
Sarona 2025 Values Report: Following capital from investors to communities
Sarona’s 2025 Values Report, Navigating Today. Charting Tomorrow., follows the journey of capital through a fund-of-funds model, from investors and fund managers to businesses and the people they serve. It explores how local expertise, diversification and long-term partnerships can help capital reach growing companies in markets where financing remains scarce. For investors, the report offers a clear view of how Sarona connects institutional investment processes with outcomes across employment, gender equality, climate resilience and economic growth.
GIIN State of the Market 2025: A data-led view of impact investing
The Global Impact Investing Network’s State of the Market 2025 draws on responses from 429 organisations across 54 countries. The report examines allocations, financial performance, investor expectations and the sectors attracting impact capital, including financial services, healthcare, housing and clean energy. For investors and fund managers, it provides a useful benchmark for understanding how the market is growing, where capital is moving and which gaps in data and practice continue to shape the field.
Navigating Emerging Markets: Lessons from 15 years of investing
Patrick Hergt, Partner and Head of Business Development at Sarona, draws on 15 years of private-market investment experience across emerging economies. Published by the Responsible Investment Association, the article examines the risks associated with first-time fund managers, the importance of early exit planning and the value of strong local partnerships. For investors considering emerging markets, it offers a direct account of how rigorous due diligence, active engagement and local knowledge can help turn complexity into investable opportunity.
The questions raised across these books and reports reach directly into investment practice, from due diligence and portfolio engagement to impact measurement and market development. Explore the recommendations, share what is shaping your own reading list, or reach out to us to continue the conversation on investing across growth markets.
