The development funding we have must be put to better use as pressures mount, says Richard Hawkes – and development impact bonds can be transformative. He outlines their potential and dives into the debate about what's holding them back.
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.
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.
