Secondly, we can distinguish problems at two levels at once. At the level of the implementation efficiency, it should definitely focus on stimulating the growth of investment, but now there is more reliance on the registration of existing CSR programs of the large corporations, which are invited to move their existing programs into the new format.

"On the other hand, like any investment, SIBs must be appropriate for the market conditions – this applies to the conditions of return on investment, which are dependent on achieving the social target, unlike in ordinary investment contracts. Currently, this question is not raised at all", Vladimir Vainer notes.

The concept of "social impact" does not currently exist in Russian law, which also imposes a number of restrictions.

"There are always questions with its definition, measurement, its stretch in time. If you think in terms of "customer – contractor – subcontractor", there is a service provided and the result of that service. Since it is not defined in the Budget Code of the Russian Federation or in any bylaws, no one understands how to work with this, everything is quite complicated. SIB projects are usually expensive, they are more difficult in implementation and achieving social impact than ordinary social projects. In each specific case, the risks of the project participants must be insured, which is especially difficult in case of large investment amounts. These difficulties will likely prevent SIBs from becoming really widespread", says Yakov Samokhvalov, General Director of the Yugra Center for Civic and Social Initiatives foundation.

Here is an example. All social projects are aimed at improving the quality of life of their beneficiaries, in one way or another. Take the area of smoking prevention. Let’s say the project authors claim that 300 students participating in the project will stop smoking after five years. That is, the social effect will be achieved over a span of five years. But from the point of view of the Russian law, the project should be closed and reported on after one or two years in implementation. Also there is no norm that would allow a social project to be recognized as unsuccessful if the social effect is not achieved, the technology does not work, or the results are affected by some external factors, like deteriorating social and economic situation. You can go ahead and criticize the project, saying that there is no proof that the respective social effects were achieved as a result of the project. If the targets are not reached, however, then the supervisory authorities will certainly have questions as to why it happened.

Olga Balabkina, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), emphasizes that once a SIB project is successfully implemented, it can be repeated in other territories. Or, by testing how a particular innovation works, you can extend it to a new project to reach more beneficiaries.

"In this case, such projects will be more attractive to the investor (lower risk of failure in achieving the results), and on the other hand, the project could potentially become cheaper to implement, after cutting out all the inefficiencies, which the customer will appreciate. Finally, there are ideas of dividing complex projects into separate components, which have proven effective, and their further implementation will take place individually", she says.

The growth of impact investing can also occur without government involvement, when private funds are invested either by venture capitalists or investment funds, or by foundations that provide loans or grants to achieve social effects. At the end of 2021, there was a growing interest in return impact investing, in entering the capital of startups whose activities led to an impact in the social or environmental sphere, Tatyana Burmistrova says.