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 This argument is outdated, says GSG Impact chair Nick Hurd.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.
More than a fifth of Japanese consumers have heard of impact investing, with younger generations showing more interest in the practice, according to a new survey by the Japan Social Innovation and Investment Foundation.
EXPERT INSIGHT: Being a 'future-fit' social enterprise is not about scale. It's about resilience, says award-winning social enterprise CEO Dr June O'Sullivan OBE.
The 'social economy' is well established in many parts of the world, but the newer concept of 'impact economy' is increasingly taking ground – and it's not to everyone's liking. This week's view from the Pioneers Post newsroom.
OPINION: Have heads of state and business leaders lost sight of the importance of social innovation? At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Daniel Nowack found social entrepreneurs continuing to inspire politicians and corporations.
Partnering with philanthropists, impact investors and mission-led businesses should become the norm across government, says Darren Jones, but concerns emerge that grassroots organisations might struggle to be heard by policymakers.
EXPERT INSIGHT: From homelessness to elderly care, 75% of local authority spending is on people-focused services. But the way these services are commissioned is based on law designed for products, stifling new solutions and deterring investors.
NPC’s new mapping of the UK’s ‘impact economy’ has triggered a debate on what should and shouldn’t be included in this ecosystem. To be expected, but was it really the primary purpose of the research?
OPINION: The £28bn National Wealth Fund’s new strategy firmly closed the door on social enterprises and charities, says Social Investment Business’s Jack Wakefield. The social economy should have equal access to public finance.