The Impact World this Week: 13 February 2026

UK: “A quietly revolutionary social enterprise.” This is how style bible Vogue described Invisible Cities, which trains people who have experienced homelessness to lead walking tours of their cities. The enterprise was founded in 2016 in Edinburgh by Zakia Moulaoui Guery, who was awarded the ‘One to Watch’ prize at the Pioneers Post NatWest WISE100 celebrations in 2019. Moulaoui Guery described being featured in Vogue as “a dream come true” on LinkedIn. Prince William joined a tour last year when Invisible Cities launched in Aberdeen.

• Read our interview with Zakia: “Tour guiding gives people who have experienced homelessness a purpose in life” 

Scotland: Scotland will become the first country in the world to legislate for implementation of the community wealth building economic model at a national, regional and local level, after the government passed a new law on Tuesday. Community wealth building is an economic model which seeks to redirect wealth back into local economies where it is generated, and places the control and benefits of that wealth into the hands of local people. The legislation requires Scottish Ministers and various public bodies, particularly local authorities, to publish and implement action plans and guidance on the generation, circulation and retention of wealth in local and regional economies. This could include boosting social enterprises, buying or procuring more goods and services from local businesses or helping community groups to acquire vacant buildings and land.

• Read more: Scottish government backs social enterprise to ‘influence and inspire’ new community wealth building push

Europe: FASE and Chi Impact Capital (CHI) have joined forces to manage the European Catalytic Impact Investing Fund II (ECIIF II). The fund aims to mobilise catalytic capital to support high-impact ventures across Europe, and targets education and employment, health and care, circular economy and climate action, and food and agriculture. It is the only impact fund in Europe that will benefit from a catalytic guarantee provided by the European Investment Fund. ECIIF II’s predecessor, the European Social Innovation and Impact Fund (ESIIF), is now almost fully invested with 30 impact ventures.

Scotland: Community-owned whisky making has just got a £500,000 boost from social investor Firstport, through their Catalyst Fund. GlenWyvis Distillery will use the flexible, revenue-based finance to grow its operations and create more jobs for local people. The distillery, launched in 2016, is a Community Benefit Society, with 3,796 members, mainly from the local area, and runs two grant programmes to support local initiatives – the Goodwill Fund and the Environmental Fund. 

Seen elsewhere

UK: There’s unrest at the Co-operative Group, the country’s largest consumer co-operative, which runs supermarkets, insurance and legal services. According to the BBC, some senior managers have complained of a “toxic culture” at executive level. One source said: “The Co-op is a great business that has had a wrecking ball put through it.” Co-op lawyers, however, told the BBC they did not recognise the critical comments and did not believe they represented the views of the broader leadership and colleagues.

Movers and Shakers

• The Charities Aid Foundation has announed its CEO Neil Heslop is to retire and trustees are looking for a replacement. He will remain in post until trustees have decided on a successor.
• The Oversight Trust, the independent body that oversees organisations receiving dormant assets funding in the UK, has appointed a new CEO, Mike Barber. He was previously a senior partner at Deloitte and chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of the Royal National Institute of Blind People. He succeeds Alastair Ballantyne, who is retiring.
• Andy King has been appointed as CIC regulator, the UK business secretary Peter Kyle has announced. King is currently CEO of Companies House, and succeeds Louise Smyth CBE, who has retired.
• Jen Van Der Merwe, executive director of Kindred, and Ed Rowberry, CEO of BBRC, have started secondments in the UK’s Office for the Impact Economy, as senior place advisors.