Billed as a ‘game-changing’ moment in social impact investment, last month’s £3m plus deal structured by social lender Fair Finance will allow it to help 100,000 financially excluded Londoners over the next five years with low interest microloans. Read the rest by Mark Cheng
How to do good
There’s no shame in making money from good causes: Josh Spero on the arrival of ‘impact investing’, a third way between soft philanthropy and hard-nosed profiteering Click here to read more
Fair Finance MD speaking at The Big Rethink
Economist Conference March 3rd on how he set up @fairfinance <http://twitter.com/fairfinance> innovation <http://twitter.com/bigrethink
Microcredit: Borrowing freely
What’s gone wrong with microcredit? asked Brian Keeley on this blog last month, in response to the growing furore in India and Bangladesh surrounding the activities of micro finance institution. Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank are under attack from politicians in Bangladesh. In turn, Professor Yunus has become more vocal in his criticism of […]
Citi Supports Fair Lending in the UK
Citi’s commitment to boosting communities in need includes bringing microfinance lending to communities in need — even in developed countries. It’s been working with grassroots organizations including Fair Finance, a London-based social enterprise founded by Faisel Rahman, a former World Bank staffer. The goal of the partnership: support fair lending and financial services for local […]
Leading social lender faces eviction from deprived borough
Thousands of people in the deprived borough of Tower Hamlets could be forced into the hands of loan sharks if the council’s eviction of a successful social lender goes ahead. Read more by Gemma Hampson
Microfinance sees demand leap
Small business owners in the UK are turning to microfinance, a system of credit more readily associated with helping people in developing countries escape poverty, as a result of high street banks continuing to refuse loan applications. Read more By Jonathan Moules, enterprise correspondent