New research from the UK’s social investment wholesaler shows a 12% year-on-year increase largely driven by a jump in investment in social and affordable housing, while the picture is more mixed in other segments of the market.
Winners across 15 categories were unveiled at a London ceremony last night, ranging from household names Change Please and The Skill Mill to promising newcomers like EcoCoach CIC.
As the Dutch city of the Hague celebrates 10 years as a self-appointed ‘impact city’ – supporting startups working to make a positive difference – Coos Santing tells us what’s working, what’s not, and why rivalry with other urban centres is softening.
‘Major milestone’ for impact investing as revision of Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation acknowledges it for the first time as a distinct practice, but text risks being cut as it journeys through EU legislative negotiations.
Yunus the entrepreneur turned the banking system in Bangladesh on its head and made microfinance a global phenomenon. But Yunus the teacher has still got work to do. At 84 – and facing a possible prison sentence – there's no time to waste.
The UK’s most impressive social enterprises inspire optimism with solutions for people and planet, at our annual NatWest SE100 Awards ceremony in London.
In its last programme The School for Social Entrepreneurs supported 2,400 community business leaders who touched the lives of 2.1m people. Now there’s an opportunity to help hundreds more tackle the social and environmental issues on their doorstep.
The breadth and depth of social enterprise activity across the UK is being celebrated today with the launch of this year’s NatWest SE100 – the list of the UK’s top 100 social businesses.
Both France and the UK have a well-established impact community. While it can easily adapt to political change, it is harder to adapt to political chaos – but the social sector can play a key part to tackle the issues at its roots.
During the recent UK general election campaign, social economy leaders have stressed how, and why, any new government should partner with the impact sector to deliver on their pledges. Now that Labour is at the helm, what can we expect from them?
In Yemen, transformative enterprises can help communities overcome conflict and poverty. But with the state in disarray, crumbling infrastructure and hesitant funders, are the challenges facing aspiring social entrepreneurs insurmountable?
After weeks of silence from UK politicians on potential of social economy to tackle key challenges, former chief secretary to the Treasury Stephen Timms calls for a Labour government to partner with the impact economy – better late than never.
