Autocracy is on the rise worldwide, and impact investors seem reluctant to step in. But large-scale transformations to health, education or the environment need a strong democratic base, the Latimpacto event heard last week.
Social Enterprise World Forum’s Social Investment Manifesto calls for a reframing of social investment, as social enterprises remain excluded from investment opportunities in a market still split between profit maximisation and philanthropy.
Europeans have been hit hard by unprecedented crises over a hellish summer. As the EU negotiates its next multi-year budget, it’s time for the social economy to show both policymakers and citizens it has proven solutions to tackle them, writes Toby Gazeley from Brussels.
Travel is said to broaden your horizons, and the Latimpacto conference in the Brazilian city of Manaus this week gave delegates an ideal opportunity to bring fresh eyes to their work. We asked them what they were reconsidering.
Is your business making ‘counterfeit profits’? As a new guide shows directors how to prepare ‘true and fair’ financial statements, our columnist says responsibility means accounting for the ‘hidden costs’ on society and the planet.
BRUSSELS BRIEFING: The social economy could face serious headwinds as EU policymakers shift priorities. Now is the time for social enterprises to show they can make the bloc more competitive – with added impact, writes Toby Gazeley.
Women impact entrepreneurs still struggle to raise capital, but they have enormous untapped potential. This week’s view from the Pioneers Post newsroom.
Thirteen representatives of impact investors, local government, asset managers and institutional investors will advise the Treasury on the development of a new social impact investing vehicle – but no social entrepreneurs are included.
This week: impact investors unite against US foreign aid freeze; sustainability gets lukewarm embrace at Paris AI summit; concerns raised about UK government’s social investment advisory group members; and more.
The EU’s position as a leader in building sustainable economies is at risk, warn impact leaders, as complex sustainability laws are threatened by the bloc’s drive to become more competitive.
Women entrepreneurs still struggle to raise capital, and it is because of systemic gender bias, says Marta Zaccagnini. Her experience with impact-focused founders proves that women have enormous untapped potential.
USAID's near-shutdown is a reminder of the importance of catalytic capital in impact investing – and also of the question of whether access to cheaper money is necessary for impact investing to really work.
This week: the financial fragility of Black-led social enterprises and charities in London, a bonanza of multiyear grant funding for creative enterprises in Scotland and a bumper harvest of payouts for employee-owned veg box firm Riverford.
