News and Views

  • When fashion faces the future: the biomaterials startups going back to nature

    Our demand for more and more clothes is bad news for the planet. New, nature-derived materials promise a lighter footprint – but can they convince price-conscious shoppers, investors and retailers to take a leap into the unknown?

  • In conversation with Sir Ronald Cohen’s AI chatbot

    Sir Ronald Cohen, the impact investing pioneer, is pre-launching an artificial intelligence avatar which discusses his ideas and reflections. We put it to the test.

  • French savers’ investments in social ventures top €29bn in 2024, latest ‘solidarity finance’ figures reveal

    Data in the Social Impact Finance Barometer 2025 reveals investments in ‘solidarity finance’ grew by nearly €2bn compared with 2023, but its share of total household savings fails to increase substantially.

Matt Downie

Investor in Focus: Venture Studio from Crisis

INTERVIEW: How can impact investors give a meaningful role to people with lived experience in their decision-making? In the UK, the Venture Studio from Crisis is doing just that. We talk to CEO Matt Downie.