Leading voices from UK social enterprise, co-operatives and social investment have raised concerns over a “landmark” definition of the ‘impact economy’ that risks alienating a number of impactful organisations.
Impact Europe today revealed the name of its new chief: Angela Wiebeck, praised for “building bridges” between mainstream finance and impact over her two decades at UBS and Aquila Capital. She speaks to Pioneers Post from Brussels.
OPINION: There’s a message blowing across the Atlantic that the business of investment is to maximise return, and considering people and planet is woke nonsense. This argument is outdated, says GSG Impact chair Nick Hurd.
INTERVIEW: Putting a price tag on a company’s social and environmental impact is the only way to demonstrate its true profit and loss, believes Sir Ronald Cohen, who is now focusing on driving forward the next accounting revolution.
Sleepless nights and weight loss... the telltale signs were appearing. Craig Deaden Phillips explains how finding Headspace saved him from a possible breakdown and helped turn his business around.
Jane Chen is on a mission to produce disruptive health technologies to reduce infant mortality in developing countries. Fergal Byrne talks to her about her low cost infant warmer, which has so far helped 60,000 babies across 10 different countries.
This week, Liam Black turns his attention to social impact measurement and urges social entrepreneurs to "cut through the noise to discern what really works and what is a pointless, tail-chasing exercise".
If you want to "transform lives in a way that hasn’t been achieved before, you need the disruption that social investment creates," says Jeremy Swain from Thames Reach. He talks investment readiness and SIBs with Ellie Ward.
The way in which foundations are run must radically change argues CEO of The Social Investment Consultancy Jake Hayman, who has had it with the foundations that "turn social leaders into perpetual beggars".
Calling all social entrepreneur VIPs – Liam Black has a reality check for you. In an extract from The Social Entrepreneur's A to Z, he questions the glitz and glamour of the social enterprise award calendar and says you must keep your feet on the ground.
"Few organisations are geared up to know if they are creating as much social value as they can with the resources they have" – Jeremy Nicholls argues that better is not good enough, it's time to start optimising social value creation.
The 2015 Sankalp Global Forum is well underway in Delhi – putting policy makers, social entrepreneurs and impact investors in the spotlight and exploring innovative solutions to pressing social and environmental challenges.