STREETS OF AMSTERDAM: A mum-to-be spotted a gap in the market for sustainably produced, gender-neutral kidswear. Now, through renting and repurposing, she’s helping to make a notoriously wasteful industry a little gentler on the planet.
Amsterdam Impact wants to make impact entrepreneurship the default way to do business – which means getting investors on board. Find out how the city is betting on collaboration over competition to spark more deals.
PLUS: ABN AMRO’s sustainable impact fund; UK’s £30m social investment pilot for housing; investor coalition supports ‘just transition’; NESsT gets grant to support impact enterprises in the Amazon region, and more.
STREETS OF AMSTERDAM: Entrepreneur Marius Smit was among the first to convince corporations to pay for the pleasure of picking up trash. Ten years on, his social enterprise Plastic Whale is making waves worldwide.
PLUS: Pioneering revenue-based fund launches in Scotland; Back Market raises $335m in “bullish” circular economy market; AU$8m boost for Queensland social enterprises; Dutch trio backs “truly disruptive” AI firm Envision – and more.
How do you cut through the spin and froth of 'impact washing' now that everyone seems to have an impact product to sell? And as impact investment snowballs, is fund manager impact keeping up?
Social Enterprise Action plan includes £5m for education and business support projects, a £30m loan fund – and plans to fund just one “clear voice” representing the sector.
C SUMMIT: Organisations need to collaborate to build a circular economy – but putting in the time and effort, shared ambition and navigating the 'machinery of government' are all important if they want to be successful.
Post-pandemic economies should shift focus from economic growth to citizens' wellbeing – and social enterprises have a key role to play, policymakers from Scotland and Amsterdam said at the Social Enterprise World Forum 2020.
