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.
The importance of community ownership, restoring community self esteem, how storytelling can help keep young people in rural areas – and more: the most interesting ideas and insights Pioneers Post heard at the Rural Social Enterprise Gathering 2025.
Campaigners say EU is “moving in reverse” after radical proposal to further limit the reach of flagship corporate sustainability regulations passes key vote in Parliament thanks to support from far-right parties vowing to “stop the Green Deal”.
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.
Thirteen representatives of impact investors, local government, asset managers and institutional investors will advise the Treasury on the development of a new social impact investing vehicle – but no social entrepreneurs are included.
This week: impact investors unite against US foreign aid freeze; sustainability gets lukewarm embrace at Paris AI summit; concerns raised about UK government’s social investment advisory group members; and more.
The EU’s position as a leader in building sustainable economies is at risk, warn impact leaders, as complex sustainability laws are threatened by the bloc’s drive to become more competitive.
Women entrepreneurs still struggle to raise capital, and it is because of systemic gender bias, says Marta Zaccagnini. Her experience with impact-focused founders proves that women have enormous untapped potential.
USAID's near-shutdown is a reminder of the importance of catalytic capital in impact investing – and also of the question of whether access to cheaper money is necessary for impact investing to really work.
This week: the financial fragility of Black-led social enterprises and charities in London, a bonanza of multiyear grant funding for creative enterprises in Scotland and a bumper harvest of payouts for employee-owned veg box firm Riverford.
As Donald Trump pulls the plug on the world’s largest aid donor, the impact investing community warns the existing funding gap to meet the SDGs will widen by billions of dollars. But is China now poised to step forward?
Yes, blended finance has its flaws, but Mariana Mazzucato’s critical UN briefing creates a misleading narrative around its role, says Joan Larrea of Convergence. The approach’s real promise is not as a gap-filler, but a market enabler.
Can the DEI agenda survive Trump's attack? Davos's diversity problem and fund managers feel ‘squeezed’ by Better Society Capital. This week’s view from the Pioneers Post newsroom.
