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: Syria’s first hackathon unites social innovators to support recovery; UK government backs social enterprise in public procurement rules shake-up; Alfanar’s MENA impact fund launch is “good news for impact investing”.
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.
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.
This week: Irish social enterprises test accreditation, AVPN and Latimpacto collaborate, a criticism of the UK government’s view of civil society, and more.
Independent review finds UK's social investment wholesaler has driven growth in lower-risk funds but frontline social investors say more catalytic capital is needed.
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: Why over half the world’s workers will need retraining by 2030, social entrepreneurs on the UK New Year’s Honours list, US$100m fund for climate adaptation for women launches, and more.
