News and Views

Over-ambitious return expectations? Inspiration for the rest of the world? Too London-focused? As the UK’s social investment wholesaler marks its tenth anniversary, we canvassed a range of views on its successes and failures so far.

Christian social entrepreneurs should receive more support from their churches, says think tank, which wants to see “biblical vision” of our economy.

£10,000 prize will support CEOs to develop their leadership skills and grow the impact of their businesses, in fields ranging from diversity in children’s books to supporting domestic abuse survivors finding new careers.

INTERVIEW: The Conservative MP – and former charity boss – is among the cheerleaders in Westminster for social enterprise and social investment. Is the rest of Boris Johnson's government ready to listen? We caught up with Danny Kruger to find out.

Impact investors have a long way to go to get impact management right. They need to get better at it, or risk meeting the same fate as ESG investing – being branded as a scam – and fail in their mission to save people and planet.

Just 28% of BlueMark's US$160bn-strong sample commit to “critical” practice, with impact investors that target below-market rates scoring better overall on impact management practices than market-rate peers.

PLUS: LeapFrog reaches 5% of low-income population; philanthropists back maternal and child healthcare fund in Asia; BlueOrchard launches financial inclusion fund; and more.

Social investment counts for just 1.4% of all UK business lending. So how can we get mainstream banks to play a much bigger role in the social economy? By changing the incentives – and therefore the culture – of banking, says the Big Issue Invest CEO.