News

Social enterprise news roundup – July 2026

by Kasia Kotlarska / July 2026

Welcome to the monthly SEWF social enterprise news roundup. This month’s stories highlight how governments, investors and communities are strengthening the foundations of the social economy, from new international cooperation platforms and impact investment initiatives to sector research and policy developments. Explore the latest developments from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America and Oceania.

Global

New intergovernmental platform launched to advance social and solidarity economy cooperation

Source: UNTFSSE

Around 30 governments from all United Nations regional groups launched the Group of Friends on the Social and Solidarity Economy at an ILO meeting in Geneva on 11 June 2026. Convened by Brazil, Colombia and Spain, the voluntary platform aims to support intergovernmental exchange and cooperation on the social and solidarity economy, with ministers from six countries and various UN entities and stakeholders taking part.

Sustainable Sourcing Platform givvable Raises A$1.7 Million

Source: givvable

Australian company givvable, which provides data on suppliers for companies aiming to source responsibly, has completed a A$1.7 million pre-Series A funding round. The investment came from Admiralty Capital Group, Barker Street Ventures, EPIC Angels and several family offices and staff investors. The company said the funds will go toward expanding its data-sharing infrastructure for corporate clients and scaling its supplier data collection efforts in Asia, where it says such information has traditionally been difficult to obtain.

Study points to major employment potential for African social enterprises

Source: Trialogue Knowledge Hub

A report from Siemens Stiftung finds that social enterprises across Africa could generate more than one million additional jobs by 2030 in the 12 countries examined, potentially bringing total direct employment in the sector to around 5.5 million. The study attributes this potential to social enterprises’ focus on underserved markets and marginalised groups, including women and people affected by illness or disability and outlines four priority areas for support: increased financial and technical assistance, a stronger enabling environment and better data on the sector.

African Social Economy Forum set for Dakar in July

Source: Business in Cameroon

Cameroon’s government has announced that the second African Forum on the Social and Solidarity Economy will take place in Dakar, Senegal, from July 7–9, 2026, under the patronage of Senegal’s president. The gathering follows a first edition held in Yaoundé in 2024 and organisers say this year’s sessions will cover financing, market integration and support for women- and youth-led enterprises.

Zambia advances multi-pronged push to grow small business financing

Source: ImpactAlpha

Zambia’s central bank, private investors and diaspora-backed funds are launching parallel efforts to expand financing for small businesses, aiming to spread the benefits of the country’s mineral wealth more broadly. Initiatives include a large first-loss lending program from the Bank of Zambia, a domestic angel investor network and a private credit fund that channels remittance capital from Zambians abroad into local companies.

New report examines how Ghana’s pension-backed fund Is channelling local capital to SMEs

Source: Impact Investing Ghana

A new publication from Impact Investing Ghana reviews the design and launch of Ci-Gaba, described as West Africa’s first pension-backed fund-of-funds, which reached its first close with support from Ghanaian and international financial institutions. The report outlines a broader framework for directing domestic pension capital toward small and medium-sized enterprises across Africa, an area the publication notes remains significantly underfunded relative to overall pension assets on the continent.

Riyadh Forum highlights social entrepreneurship’s role in Saudi Development

Source: Arab News

Social Entrepreneurship Week, held in Riyadh from June 14–18 and organised by the Entrepreneurship Vision Association alongside Monsha’at (the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority), brought together representatives from more than 40 government, private and non-profit organisations to discuss the sector’s contribution to national development. The event included over 50 sessions on topics such as social investment, food security and resource management and saw the launch of two new initiatives: the Green Impact Leadership program and a Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator offering mentoring support to emerging social ventures.

ASEAN Finance Ministers commit to new financial health framework and broader MSME access

Source: ASEAN 2026 Philippines

Finance ministers and central bank governors from ASEAN member states met in April 2026 and agreed to develop a regional framework for measuring financial health, intended to support policymaking and expand financial services for vulnerable groups. The ministers also reaffirmed plans to improve digital financial literacy and access to finance for micro, small and medium enterprises, building on a competency framework published earlier in the year with the OECD. Officials noted continued growth in cross-border digital payment use across the region as part of these inclusion efforts.

Social enterprises have received £864 million through Buy Social Corporate Challenge, SEUK reports

Source: Social Enterprise UK

Social Enterprise UK has published its latest annual report on the Buy Social Corporate Challenge, a scheme launched in 2016 in which a group of major businesses aims to direct a combined £1 billion in procurement spending to social enterprises. The organisation reports that partner businesses have now spent a combined £864 million with social enterprises through the programme, describing it as the best year the initiative has recorded so far. The report also identifies consultancy and business support, HR and employee wellbeing and facilities management as leading service categories delivered under the scheme.

UK’s social-purpose businesses grow faster than average, though funding gaps persist, study shows

Source: Pioneers Post

New research from Allia Impact and Beauhurst Insights, based on Companies House records, counts over 151,000 UK businesses with a clear social or environmental purpose, generating £37bn in turnover and supporting 1.12 million jobs. The study finds these businesses have expanded faster and survived longer than UK businesses overall, yet still make up only 6.3% of the companies examined, with limited access to growth funding cited as a key obstacle.

Cyprus launches social enterprise registry, first companies now listed

Source: CNA

Cyprus’s Commissioner of Cooperative Companies and Social Enterprises has confirmed that three social enterprises are now formally registered under the country’s 2023 legislation, with two more applications in progress. Two of the five are “integration enterprises,” a category requiring the employment of people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. Officials also detailed government grant schemes of up to €10,000 per enterprise and up to €30,000 per enterprise for disability-focused initiatives.

SERI launches Social Enterprise New Deal campaign at Leinster House

Source: SERI (LinkedIn)

Social Enterprise Republic of Ireland (SERI) has launched a campaign called the Social Enterprise New Deal (SEND), aiming to reshape the relationship between the State and Ireland’s social enterprise sector. The first phase is a Budget 2027 pre-budget submission outlining seven costed proposals built around three principles: increasing trading income, reducing administrative costs and targeted public co-funding where market failures persist. The launch coincided with an appearance by SERI’s Chair and CEO before the Joint Oireachtas Committee to discuss the sector’s role in Irish communities.

Social Economy Coalition calls for greater EU budget investment in social programmes

Source: Social Economy News

A coalition of 250 social economy organisations has written to senior EU leaders asking for increased social spending in the bloc’s upcoming budget. The group argues that current funding mechanisms, including the European Social Fund Plus and the European Regional Development Fund, have effectively supported employment, inclusion and community services and it warns that proposed reforms could reduce dedicated social spending and weaken support for vulnerable groups. Among its requests, the coalition is seeking a substantial increase in the share of funding allocated to social investment and continued protection of these programmes as separate, ring-fenced funds.

Brazil pledges R$159 million to boost cooperative and solidarity economy sector

Source: NC News

Brazil’s acting Labour Minister announced over R$159 million in funding to support cooperatives and solidarity economy enterprises, unveiled at a national festival in Rio de Janeiro. The package includes a decree formalising the country’s second National Plan for Solidarity Economy, funding commitments from public banks and ministries for incubators and cooperative networks and the enrolment of several states and municipalities in a new national solidarity economy system.

Brazil launches R$5.5 million funding round for cooperative business incubators

Source: Plantão News

Brazil’s Ministry of Labour and Employment, working with the Ministries of Education and Culture, has opened two funding calls worth a combined R$5.5 million to support incubation programmes for popular and solidarity economy ventures. The initiative, run under the National Program for Incubators of Popular Cooperatives (Proninc), will fund technological incubator projects as well as research into the creative economy sector, with the aim of helping informal or struggling collective enterprises become more stable and self-managed.

New report examines gender barriers in Latin America’s mobile workforce sector

Source: ALIVE Ventures

A newly published study looks at how gender shapes women’s roles in decentralised, field-based work across Latin American sectors including energy, logistics and agriculture. It finds that women are often present in these workforce systems but concentrated in lower-paid, non-technical positions and argues that formal employment status alone doesn’t guarantee equal access to benefits without supporting resources like transport, connectivity and safety equipment. Alongside the report, an accompanying toolkit offers companies practical resources – including diagnostic tools and checklists – to address these gaps across recruitment, data practices and leadership.

New national survey maps growth barriers facing Canadian social enterprises

Source: Buy Social Canada

Buy Social Canada has released a national report on the country’s social enterprise sector, drawing on responses from more than 400 organisations in the first survey of its kind in ten years. The report examines three main barriers to growth – access to markets, capacity building and financing – and includes case studies alongside recommendations aimed at government, funders and other market participants.

CMC submits recommendations for reform of Canada’s Cooperatives Act

Source: Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada

On June 5, 2026, Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada submitted a formal response to a federal consultation on the Canada Cooperatives Act. The submission opposed making virtual meetings the mandatory default for cooperative governance, arguing that such decisions should remain with members through their bylaws, while also proposing longer-term changes such as removing the requirement for cooperatives to operate in at least two provinces, introducing a lower-cost audit option for small cooperatives and creating a federal definition for non-profit cooperatives.

U.S. Treasury opens 2026 funding round to reward bank investment in underserved communities

Source: CDFI Fund

The U.S. Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund has launched its fiscal year 2026 Bank Enterprise Award Program, making up to $40 million available to FDIC-insured banks and thrifts that expand lending, investment, or services in economically distressed areas or increase support for certified CDFIs. Institutions must register in the required federal systems by July 24, 2026 and submit completed applications by July 31, 2026.

Aotearoa New Zealand launches pilot letting local groups take over social service commissioning

Source: Social Investment Agency (SIA)

Aotearoa New Zealand’s Social Investment Agency has completed its expression-of-interest round for a new initiative allowing established local groups – such as iwi, trusts and community organisations – to design arrangements for commissioning social services in their own area, rather than having these managed centrally by government agencies. Up to two selected groups will receive funding and support for a six-to-twelve-month design phase, after which ministers will decide whether to approve full proposals for implementation.

Finalists Revealed for New Queensland Social Enterprise Awards

Source: Queensland Social Enterprise Awards

The Queensland Social Enterprise Council has named the finalists for the first-ever Queensland Social Enterprise Awards, spanning ten categories that recognise purpose-driven businesses and leaders across the state. Organisers say the shortlisted enterprises reflect a wide range of sectors and causes, including employment access, First Nations initiatives and environmental projects, drawn from metropolitan, regional and remote areas of Queensland. Winners will be revealed at a gala dinner on 21 August 2026.