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.
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.
Award-winning economist Mariana Mazzucato says blended finance is not the promised ‘silver bullet’ in scathing UN policy briefing which argues it fails to mobilise enough private investment to meet the SDGs, while financing needs grow.
This week we reveal Scotland’s Social Enterprise of the Year, dive deep with whales and blended finance, highlight a change at the top of Big Issue Invest, and more.
Treasury-hosted meeting of impact investors results in announcement of £550m to tackle the UK’s housing crisis and hopes of cross-departmental commitment to boosting the impact economy.
High-impact enterprises can struggle for the funding they need to scale up. Blended finance has a growing track record of being the right tool for the job, finds Christina Moehrle.
Big Society Capital impact report reveals it has channelled £2.6bn of investment to more than 3,500 enterprises, highlights growing interest from venture capital firms, but points to need for more efforts to reach underserved communities.
