Social impact

Gemma Bourne, managing director at social investor Better Society Capital, reflects on the pivotal role of local government pension schemes and combined authorities in advancing inclusive growth in the UK.

Carrots as well as sticks are required to generate more private sector interest in social impact, according to the Schwab Foundation’s Daniel Nowack.

The funding is intended to bolster climate-positive lease financing for Turkey’s SME sector, the backbone of the country’s economy and provider of 70% of national employment.

The impact investor’s recently launched inclusive growth strategy focuses on businesses that are delivering positive outcomes for vulnerable people in the UK.

Finland’s development finance institution aims to mobilise private capital to fund critical digital infrastructure projects and boost inclusive growth in emerging markets.

The Japanese development bank joins founding partner KfW as an investor in the fund, which provides loans to SMEs exporting from emerging Asia and Africa.

The €230m commitment via the EIB, financed by loans from NextGenerationEU, will be allocated to two financial intermediaries A&G and Urbania Alpha.

The collaboration aims to help low-income and vulnerable adults to manage their money online at a time when one in five UK households or individuals face some form of digital exclusion.

The fund will focus on companies across sectors aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with over 90% of revenues expected to be SDG-aligned.

Ultromics raised the financing in a Series C funding round, led by Lightrock, L&G, and Allegis Capital, for the expansion of its AI-powered diagnostic echocardiogram technology, which was developed in partnership with the UK NHS and Mayo Clinic.