Global social innovation round-up #15

Goldman Sachs buys San Francisco impact investment firm

Global investment bank Goldman Sachs continues to delve into the world of social impact investment by purchasing Imprint Capital. Imprint Capital is an asset management firm based on the west coast of the US, which advises clients on social and environmentally responsible investing. According to Bloomberg, the firm has “more than $550m of assets under advisement” and 17 employees. 

Scottish social investment fund reaches £300,000 as it nears close

Social Investment Scotland’s Community Capital Fund has raised over £300,000 worth of investment to support the growth of between five and 10 charities and social enterprises in Scotland. It is one of the first funds to make use of social investment tax relief, meaning that investors in the fund will be provided in the form of a 30% relief on their investment from their income tax liability. The fund will close to investors on 31st August – unless the half a million pound target has been reached before then – and will launch in May next year.

16 social ventures flock to the US for a share of $750,000

UK-based not-for-profit beer company Two Fingers Brewing joined 15 other social ventures in San Francisco for the final round of The Venture – a global competition created by multinational whisky specialist Chivas, which offers businesses a share of $750,000. Despite missing out on a share of the cash prize, the Two Fingers team have succeeded in using their position as finalists to secure international media coverage promoting the social enterprise sector.

Five of the finalists were awarded prize money over the weekend including the founder of Japanese enterprise SenSprout, which helps people produce more crops using less water. 

Santander awards UK social enterprises over £900,000

More than 100 UK-based social enterprises have received awards of £5,000, £10,000 and £20,000 from banking giant Santander as part of its annual Social Enterprise Development Awards (SEDA). This year’s winners include Scottish sandwich company Social Bite, whose founder last week shared his “purist” vision of social enterprise with SE100 Insight event attendees. Each of the winners will receive business support in the form of funded internships and webinars in addition to the funding. 

25 social enterprises selected for Malaysian accelerator

Government-funded MaGIC (Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre) has picked 25 social enterprises and 52 start-ups out of a pool of 1,000 applications to take part in its four month accelerator programme. The programme is said to be the first of its kind in Malaysia and aims to develop early stage social enterprises from Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak, Johor, Selangor, Penang, Kedah, and Pahang into sustainable business models that tackle social and environmental issues. 

National Business Awards recognise UK social enterprise success  

London-based youth marketing agency Livity has been shortlisted for the Social Enterprise of the Year award at the Lloyds Bank National Business Awards. Livity is one of 10 social enterprises to be shortlisted in the category. Other shortlisted enterprises include not-for-profit affordable housing provider Luminus and Ex-militarycareers.com, which aims to help ex-servicemen find employment. 

The awards will take place in London on 10th November. To read the full shortlist, click here.

 

Photo credit: Sebastien Gabriel