The Impact World this Week: 2 October 2026
Your quick guide to the most interesting news snippets about social enterprise, impact investment and mission-driven business around the world from the Pioneers Post team. This week: a new £10m programme to help mayors set up more co-ops in the UK; Schwab Foundation Awards finalists revealed; Vietnam joins GSG Impact Partnership, and more.
UK: Government announces ‘game changing’ £10m programme to help mayors set up more co-ops
A government-funded £10m regional Co-operative Development Programme will help mayors and strategic authorities set up more co-operative businesses, so “local people share in their high street’s success”. The funding is part of a wider £210m package to regenerate high streets, and more details are yet to be confirmed. Co-operatives UK CEO Rose Marley said: "This is a game changer. This funding shows a government that understands how giving power and agency to communities brings positive change and improves lives.”
The announcement came shortly after Co-operatives UK published a new report showing that co-operatives and mutuals in the UK generated a combined £241.3bn in annual income in 2026 across 11,000 organisations. But co-operatives still only account for 0.14% of UK businesses, or about one in every 711, the report flags. Growth in the sector has been “modest at best”, said Marley, and slower than the growth of the wider business population, due to an environment that is not favourable to the establishment of co-operatives, she argued. Despite the government’s pledge that it would double the number of co-operatives by the end of this parliament, at current speeds, this would take 150 years, according to the report. Co-operatives tend to perform better on fair pay, gender equity, regional investment, and are more resilient than regular businesses: nearly 83% survive five years or more, versus 38% of UK businesses.
Global: Schwab Foundation announces 2027 awards finalists
IKEA Social Entrepreneurship boss Åsa Skogström Feldt and Adriana Luna Diaz, founder of agritech Mexican startup Tierra de Monte, are among the 21 finalists of the 2027 Schwab Foundation Awards. The finalists represent a total of 17 countries, from Argentina to China, operating in fields such as eye health, affordable housing, education and climate action. The awards, which first took place in 2001, celebrates innovative and systemic solutions to address social and environmental challenges worldwide. They span four categories – social entrepreneurs, corporate social innovators, collective social innovation and public social innovators. The winners will be announced in the lead-up to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2027 in Davos next January.
Vietnam: Country officially joins GSG Impact Partnership
Vietnam Impact Alliance has become GSG Impact’s 44th National Partner – the 13th in Asia Pacific – bringing the number of countries included in the GSG Impact Partnership, a network of independent local organisations that drive impact economy development in their countries, to 49. The organisation will work on bringing government, investors, businesses and civil society together to develop the impact economy. Duy Bui, co-chair of the Vietnam Impact Alliance, said: “Vietnam needs capital for its climate transition and inclusive growth. Investors and intermediaries are ready to do more…Joining the GSG Impact Partnership lets us learn from peers in 48 other countries who are doing the same work.”
Global: Christian Aid’s new £20m impact fund targets 4,200 social enterprises
More than 4,000 social enterprises could access investment thanks to the Christian Aid Resilient Futures Fund, an impact fund to support locally-owned businesses helping communities adapt to climate change. Launched by international NGO Christian Aid, the fund has a target size of £20m by 2030 and will seek to raise capital from philanthropists and impact investors, to provide affordable and patient finance to social enterprises otherwise excluded from investment options. Samuel Williams, head of the Christian Aid Resilient Futures Fund, said the fund aimed to reach 4,200 small and medium businesses, both directly and through backing local microfinance institutions, and support the creation of 1,800 jobs. He added: “We want to provide finance that works for businesses and the communities they serve, helping proven ideas reach more people.” He said the organisation’s faith-based approach meant it benefited from the trust of local communities.
Global: Private investment in nature grows five-fold in past decade – new report
More than US$14bn was committed to nature investment by private investors in 2025, compared with US$2.8bn in the year 2016, with a total of US$61.4bn committed in the decade between 2016 and 2025, according to a new study by Forest Trends and The Nature Conservancy (TNC). The report, Gaining Ground: State of Private Investment in Nature, 2026, examines the state of nature investing – defined as private capital committed for sustainable food and fiber production, habitat protection or clean water, that aims to achieve conservation impact while also delivering a financial return – a decade after the initial report on the field by Forest Trends and TNC. The findings show sustainable agriculture has captured the largest share of nature finance, attracting $32.8bn in the past ten years, followed by ‘enabling technologies’, ecosystem restoration and sustainable forestry. Capital was mostly deployed in the Americas (totalling more than US$35m) and Asia, with Africa attracting the least investment at US$2.3bn.
UK: Dormant asset recipients’ oversight body publishes annual report
The Oversight Trust, the body overseeing the four organisations that have received dormant asset funding (Better Society Capital, Access – The Foundation for Social Investment, Fair4You Finance and the Youth Futures Foundation), has published its annual report and accounts. The report shows the Oversight Trust has successfully ensured the organisations stayed focused on their mission and are well governed through regular reviews. In 2025, the four organisations collectively reported total income of £73.4m, including £42.6m from grants and £30.4m from investment returns. Oversight Trust chair Vaughan Lindsay said: “Dormant assets are a powerful resource for the common good when they are governed well, deployed carefully and focused on long-term social impact…This year’s report demonstrates the strength of that model and the combined impact being delivered across the group.”
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