Client Organizations Founded: Total (PI7869)

Number of client organizations as of the end of the reporting period in which half or more of the lead founder(s) represent a specific group (for example, women).

Reporting Format Decimal
Metric Type Metric
Metric Level Organization
IRIS Metric Citation IRIS, 2021. Client Organizations Founded: Total (PI7869). v5.2.

Footnote

Organizations should footnote all assumptions used, including source of data. Organizations should also footnote the types of enterprises that were clients, using Client Type (PD7993).

Usage Guidance

This metric is intended to capture the number of client organizations founded by individuals representing a particular group through use in combination with Target Stakeholder Demographic (PD5752) to first define the group of interest (for example, women, historically marginalized or excluded groups, or persons with disabilities). Then, this metric can be used to capture the number of investee companies within a portfolio who were founded by that group.
Founder(s) counted must retain an active role in the organization as of the end of the reporting period. An active role may include acting in an advisory capacity for key decisions. It need not necessarily require a full-time role at the organization.
Client organizations are synonymous with investees for impact investors.
If using this metric to capture the number of women-founded investees, practitioners may refer to specific gender benchmarks and application guidance as needed, such as those specified by the 2X Challenge (www.2xchallenge.org).
This metric may help describe the HOW MUCH Scale dimension, which helps estimate the number of the targeted stakeholders experiencing the outcome. For more on the alignment of IRIS metrics to the five dimensions of impact, see IRIS+ and the Five Dimensions of Impact (https://iris.thegiin.org/document/iris-and-the-five-dimensions/). No single metric is sufficient to understand an impact; rather, metrics are selected as a set across all dimensions of impact. The selection of metrics to measure and describe the five dimensions should be based on best practice and evidence.

Impact Categories & Themes

Cross Category

Metrics identified as "cross-category" are those that are relevant to any IRIS+ Impact Category or Impact Theme (i.e., these metrics are not specific to any particular industry/category or theme).

Joint Impact Indicators (JII)

Client Organizations Founded: Total (PI7869) and Target Stakeholder Demographic (PD5752) are both required for Joint Impact Indicator: Number of Female Founded Enterprises.

Alignment comments: Alignment to the JII indicator requires using IRIS metrics Client Organizations Founded: Total (PI7869) and Target Stakeholder Demographic (PD5752). Refer to each metric's usage guidance for details.

JII definition: Number of enterprises in which there is an active female founder(s). Female founder(s) must retain an active role in the organization as of the end of the reporting period. An active role may include acting in an advisory capacity for key decisions and does not necessarily require a full-time role at the organization.

JII guidance: Practitioners may refer to specific gender benchmarks and application guidance as needed, such as those specified by the 2X Challenge (www.2xchallenge.org).

JII applicability: Direct Equity client, General Partner of a Debt or Equity Fund client, and investment fund investees. For investment fund investees, refer to guidance for “Number of Active Fund Investments in Female Founded Enterprises” and “Number of Realized Fund Investments in Female Founded Enterprises.”

Metric History

June 2022 - IRIS v5.3 Released (current version)

Immaterial change. Minor revisions to definition and usage guidance for clarity.

Footnote

Cross Category

IRIS Metrics Work Better in Sets