BRUSSELS BRIEFING: The social economy could face serious headwinds as EU policymakers shift priorities. Now is the time for social enterprises to show they can make the bloc more competitive – with added impact, writes Toby Gazeley.
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.
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?
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.
From banking to politics, or economics to education, a “contrarian spirit” is one of the characteristics that shone through for Anna Patton, as she reflects on her exclusive interview with Muhammad Yunus.
Yunus the entrepreneur turned the banking system in Bangladesh on its head and made microfinance a global phenomenon. But Yunus the teacher has still got work to do. At 84 – and facing a possible prison sentence – there's no time to waste.
The UK’s most impressive social enterprises inspire optimism with solutions for people and planet, at our annual NatWest SE100 Awards ceremony in London.
In its last programme The School for Social Entrepreneurs supported 2,400 community business leaders who touched the lives of 2.1m people. Now there’s an opportunity to help hundreds more tackle the social and environmental issues on their doorstep.
The breadth and depth of social enterprise activity across the UK is being celebrated today with the launch of this year’s NatWest SE100 – the list of the UK’s top 100 social businesses.
Both France and the UK have a well-established impact community. While it can easily adapt to political change, it is harder to adapt to political chaos – but the social sector can play a key part to tackle the issues at its roots.
During the recent UK general election campaign, social economy leaders have stressed how, and why, any new government should partner with the impact sector to deliver on their pledges. Now that Labour is at the helm, what can we expect from them?
In Yemen, transformative enterprises can help communities overcome conflict and poverty. But with the state in disarray, crumbling infrastructure and hesitant funders, are the challenges facing aspiring social entrepreneurs insurmountable?
