Social investment intermediaries that support Black and ethnically minoritised-led social enterprises in England are now able to apply for investment from a £5.5m funding pot from the wholesaler, as it opens the ‘Wave 1 Portal’ with a place-based approach.
EXPERT INSIGHT: New legislation puts social enterprises, co-operatives and other inclusive businesses at the centre of an economy that works for people, communities and the planet. And it’s part of a wider global conversation.
OPINION: Bonnie Chiu and Peter Ptashko have been to hundreds of conferences, yet still struggle to identify their value. Is there a more effective way to get capital moving for positive impact?
Women impact entrepreneurs still struggle to raise capital, but they have enormous untapped potential. This week’s view from the Pioneers Post newsroom.
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.
