Impact, sales – and optimism – have all been going up for the UK's leading impact pioneers, as evidenced by the latest SE100 Index, the annual list and survey of the UK's Top 100 social enterprises, published this week.
With a revolutionary approach based on seismology, the Earth Rover Program is making waves in soil health testing and is aiming for the “Holy Grail” of farming: high crop yields with low environmental impacts.
With the next EU budget on the horizon, now is the time for the bloc to drive forward global efforts for a more sustainable and social economy. But without action, the social economy could miss out, writes Euclid Network’s Toby Gazeley.
Funders must see disability as at the “intersection of everything”, say entrepreneurs at the Skoll World Forum, where a cohort of leaders championing inclusive public health took to the stage.
Women workers outnumber men in social economy organisations; leadership and pay gaps are also lower than in the wider economy. But a “considerable glass ceiling” persists. The OECD argues this needs to change.
The Mumbai slum romanticised in the film Slumdog Millionaire is to be redeveloped – but current plans ignore its function as a hub of enterprise and creativity. Sustainability-linked finance could unlock an alternative future.
Access to funding for diverse entrepreneurs is not a "pipeline problem", we hear at this week's Impact Shakers Summit in Brussels. Plus: new backers for Suzanne Biegel's legacy fund and why a UN resolution on the social economy matters.
UN recognition of the social economy builds on progress in many countries, from Senegal to South Korea. The next step is widespread implementation, say Victorine Anquediche Ndeye, Marlène Schiappa, Chantal Line Carpentier, Frédéric Bailly and Francois Bonnici.
PART 2: Shallow self-knowledge about what's driving you will crumble quickly when you face resistance. So: why you? Why do you care? Tough questions from the gloves-off mentor for aspiring social entrepreneurs.
IMPACT 101: What exactly is being blended in blended finance? Why do we need this strategy – and what are the challenges of making it work? Catch up in our explainer with Dalberg's Marcos Paya.
Ahead of this week's Impact Shakers Summit, founder Yonca Braeckman tells Tim West what drives her to back inclusive entrepreneurship – and how her career took her from Belgian chip-shop, to virtual reality filmmaking, to impact investor.
