News and Views

This week: Schwab Foundation Awards finalists revealed, Impact Europe publishes AI guide for impact investors, and old nightclub turned into homes for people with disabilities.

The Local Access Bradford Fund, said to be the UK’s first of its kind, will offer loans compliant with Islamic law, enabling it to reach those Muslim social entrepreneurs otherwise unable to take on social investment loans.

A new storytelling project from global charity Theirworld involving 10 young education campaigners concludes with the launch of a new annual newspaper and an exhibition attended by world leaders. 

European social enterprises might have a stronger ally than expected in Brussels, but they need to be pragmatic, acknowledge changing priorities and build their narrative accordingly. Euclid Network’s Toby Gazeley reports from European Social Economy Week in Spain.

Family offices have the potential to create major impact, through their money and their influence. But has impact investing truly 'permeated' into the sector? This week's view from the Pioneers Post newsroom.

This week: Musk’s xAI secretly drops benefit corporation status, Japan’s first Orange Bond unlocks US$100m for women and girls, coalition calls for impact recognition in EU regulation, and more.

In the wake of foreign aid cuts, and in its drive to become a world leader in impact investing, Asia needs to find its own sources of catalytic capital to attract more private investment to impact. Where will it come from, and how do we get there, were key questions at the AVPN conference 2025. 

INTERVIEW: Trailblazing family office co-founder – and former child actor – Liesel Pritzker Simmons on why more impact investors should wade into the “muddy” world of politics – and why there’s one topic no one wants to talk about.   

North American and European investors are some of the biggest providers of impact capital to Asia, creating a power imbalance and impeding the continent’s ambitions to become an impact investing leader. What are the solutions? Laura Joffre reports from the AVPN conference in Hong Kong.