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.
Government says new ‘central point of contact’ for impact economy recognises the ‘untapped potential’ of the country’s social impact sector, while the movement welcomes ‘joined up’ support.
Small rural communities are discovering they can generate sustainable income without compromising their traditions and culture. Visitors from around the world discussed ideas at the Rural Social Enterprise Gathering 2025.
Ukraine posts second highest number of climate-focused, blended finance transactions in the world in 2024 – and enters top 10 countries for first time – as blended finance identified as “form of crisis financing” – new Convergence research.
This week: news from Social Nest Foundation, British International Investment, Sitawi in Brazil, Democratic Finance Scotland and the Social Business Wales Awards.
Better Society Capital, the UK’s social investment wholesaler, reveals 7% growth in the market since 2022 plus a new analysis of the most prolific types of investor.
Updated: Student doctor scoops £20,000 top prize for his AI-driven platform to support medical professionals, in a new contest to support the most innovative start-up social enterprises coming out of UK universities.
We thought long and hard about whether to publish our feature on the Middle East this week, but we believe that the global community of impact pioneers can offer solidarity by understanding each other's work on a deeper level.
Running a venture that helps both people and planet is hard. Amid inflation, instability and even war, it sounds almost impossible. But, for the pioneers of green business in Palestine, Lebanon and Egypt, sticking to the mission makes sense.
The social enterprise gatherings at the UK Labour Party conference left Nick Temple underwhelmed. The impact economy must stop rehashing the same old arguments if it doesn’t want to remain on the fringes of the national debate.
At the UK Labour Party’s annual conference, social entrepreneurs and impact investors are relieved by positive noises from the new government – but a lack of concrete action is worrying many. Laura Joffre reports from Liverpool.
