Community development finance institution Salad Money says £40m commitment will help it meet “rocketing demand” for credit, and help NHS and other public sector workers to avoid payday lenders and loan sharks.
Impact investor says its portfolio companies provided healthcare and financial services to 248m people on low incomes in 2021 – and that it is on track to reach 1bn by 2030.
With a third of the world’s adults still unbanked, the work of credit unions remains as relevant as ever – and their true impact on communities and the public purse may be significant, as two recent social value analyses demonstrate.
Wanted: great ideas from innovative organisations, charities and tech companies keen to help more vulnerable workers in their jobs and finances – Nesta’s £2.8m Rapid Recovery Challenge opens for applications this week.
Government-backed Fair4All Finance teams up with six social investors to provide a perpetual bond to UK-wide affordable credit pioneer – set to grow ten-fold as a result.
Government lauds social enterprise for its ‘vital role’ in national coronavirus effort, announcing £30m for flexible finance in both crisis and recovery phases via Access Foundation.
Could fintech disruptors give community lenders a new burst of energy – and help them compete with their for-profit, mainstream competitors? Six partnerships, backed by the UK government's Affordable Credit Challenge, will soon find out.
Bite-sized stories this week: Google's new SDG accelerator, calls to overhaul UK company law, 'radical hospitality' in San Francisco grows, and Scotland's social enterprise awards.
Unity Trust Bank is on track to hit its three-year lending target of £100m by the end of 2015, according to its new Social Impact report, and aims "to become the go to bank for the civil society" in the UK.
