Creating Value with a Purpose: Impact Sourcing State of the Market 2024

The impact sourcing ecosystem is rapidly expanding due to the growing interest in sustainable and socially responsible business practices. Enterprises and providers are increasingly incorporating diverse and underserved talent into their operations due to cost efficiency, access to specialized talent, and alignment with ESG and SDG objectives. Traditional providers dominate hiring volumes, while specialists see steady growth in revenue and headcount as they refine talent initiatives and partner with NGOs and educational institutions. Buyers recognize the dual value of cost benefits and corporate citizenship, advocating for more robust reporting and impact sourcing policies’ disclosure. In response, providers are investing in enhanced training programs, certifications, and technology upskilling, enabling impact workers to transition to more complex, higher-value roles. Despite generative AI’s disruptive potential concerns, agentic AI emerges as a promising tool to empower the impact workforce. Key market trends include the CXM industry’s increasing contribution to impact sourcing revenue, growing adoption of impact workers in MEA and APAC regions, and alignment with regulatory frameworks promoting fair labor practices. Governments support impact sourcing through incentives and regulations, while providers adopt inclusive hiring strategies and offer tailored employee support to complement workforce diversity and drive social impact.

In this report, we explore macroeconomic drivers, buyer feedback, and generative AI’s influence on the impact sourcing space. Africa stands poised to lead the global impact sourcing growth, showing this approach’s transformative potential in fostering a purpose-driven and sustainable business landscape. The report aims to enable enterprises and providers to incorporate impact sourcing and other inclusive talent management strategies in their organizations.