With a third of the world’s adults still unbanked, the work of credit unions remains as relevant as ever – and their true impact on communities and the public purse may be significant, as two recent social value analyses demonstrate.
Wanted: great ideas from innovative organisations, charities and tech companies keen to help more vulnerable workers in their jobs and finances – Nesta’s £2.8m Rapid Recovery Challenge opens for applications this week.
Government-backed Fair4All Finance teams up with six social investors to provide a perpetual bond to UK-wide affordable credit pioneer – set to grow ten-fold as a result.
Government lauds social enterprise for its ‘vital role’ in national coronavirus effort, announcing £30m for flexible finance in both crisis and recovery phases via Access Foundation.
Could fintech disruptors give community lenders a new burst of energy – and help them compete with their for-profit, mainstream competitors? Six partnerships, backed by the UK government's Affordable Credit Challenge, will soon find out.
Bite-sized stories this week: Google's new SDG accelerator, calls to overhaul UK company law, 'radical hospitality' in San Francisco grows, and Scotland's social enterprise awards.
Unity Trust Bank is on track to hit its three-year lending target of £100m by the end of 2015, according to its new Social Impact report, and aims "to become the go to bank for the civil society" in the UK.
