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Social enterprise news roundup – August 2026
Welcome to the monthly SEWF social enterprise news roundup. This month’s stories show the social economy taking shape through new declarations, strategies and cooperative frameworks, alongside financing initiatives, research funding and shifts within sector organisations. Read on for the latest developments from around the world.
Global
New ILO platform aims to support just transition to a green economy
Source: International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization has introduced an online resource called the Just Transition Policy Gateway, designed to help governments, employers and workers’ groups share policy examples and practical lessons on moving toward more environmentally sustainable economies while protecting jobs and social conditions. Announced on 11 June 2026 at a ministerial meeting in Geneva, the platform is a joint effort between the ILO and its training arm, backed financially by Germany’s development ministry and is expected to work with at least ten countries by 2028. It will later add a help-desk feature offering direct technical guidance to participating countries.
UN Group of Friends on the Social and Solidarity Economy issues inaugural declaration
Source: Social Economy News
The Group of Friends of the Social and Solidarity Economy, co-chaired by Brazil and Senegal and launched in Geneva in June 2026 under the Global Coalition for Social Justice, has released its first Declaration with backing from 19 governments across all UN regional groups. Signatories commit to sharing good practices, exploring the sector’s role in multilateral processes and encouraging UN agencies to support requesting states, building on earlier commitments including the 2025 Doha Political Declaration and a 2022 International Labour Conference resolution.
GIIN Co-Founder Amit Bouri to step down as CEO by year-end
Source: GIIN
The Global Impact Investing Network has announced that co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Amit Bouri will transition out of the role by the end of 2026 as part of a planned succession process. Bouri, who co-founded the organisation in 2009 and has led it as CEO since 2015, will remain in his position through the transition period. The GIIN’s board has engaged executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates to identify his successor.
ANDE shifts to digital-first model, closes regional chapters
Source: ANDE Global
The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) has announced it is restructuring into a smaller, digital-first organisation, citing changes in the international development sector and funding landscape. As part of the transition, the network’s regional chapters will close by the end of the year and field staffing will be reduced, while ANDE says membership, virtual convening and knowledge-sharing activities will continue.
Africa
African networks welcome adoption of Dakar Declaration on social and solidarity economy governance
Source: RIPESS
At the close of the second African Forum on the Social and Solidarity Economy (FORA’ESS), held in Dakar from 7–9 July 2026, African ministers and heads of delegation adopted the Dakar Declaration on the Consultative Committee of Ministers responsible for Social and Solidarity Economy in Africa, establishing an Advisory Committee of ministers responsible for the social and solidarity economy across the continent. The declaration is intended to strengthen political coordination and continental cooperation in the sector, supporting implementation of the African Union’s ten-year action plan on the social and solidarity economy, with Senegal named to chair the new committee. RIPESS and its African network, RAESS, welcomed the outcome as a step toward greater institutional recognition of the sector on the continent.
African Development Bank and Standard Bank Group finalise financing deal to boost SME lending in South Africa
Source: African Development Bank
The African Development Bank has invested $332 million in a social bond issued by Standard Bank Group, with proceeds directed toward expanding credit access for small and medium-sized enterprises in South Africa. The bond is structured as a new type of loss-absorbing debt instrument and is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, marking the first such development-finance-backed instrument of its kind there. A separate $1 million grant will support financial inclusion programs for women-led businesses, building on a partnership between the two institutions dating back to 2008.
Ci-Gaba Fund-of-Funds names Savannah Impact Advisory as manager for $75m vehicle targeting SME finance in West Africa
Source: Impact Investing Ghana
Impact Investing Ghana has announced the appointment of Savannah Impact Advisory, led by Hamdiya Ismaila, as fund manager of the Ci-Gaba Fund-of-Funds, a US$75 million (GHC 900 million) blended-finance vehicle aimed at directing local currency and pension capital toward West African venture funds and SMEs. The announcement was made at the ANDE global conference in Accra, with the fund backed by Impact Investing Ghana, the Global Steering Group for Impact Investments, FMO Ventures and the UK’s RISA Fund.
Asia
ILO mapping finds nearly 47,000 SSE organisations in Mongolia
Source: International Labour Organization
An ILO brief published 20 July 2026 examines the landscape of the social and solidarity economy in Mongolia, identifying 46,565 registered SSE organisations and outlining the country’s legal, institutional and policy frameworks alongside strategic pathways to strengthen the sector.
Indonesia finishes building nearly 16,000 rural cooperatives ahead of planned August launch
Source: ANTARA News
Indonesia’s Ministry of Cooperatives has completed construction of 15,845 “Red and White Village Cooperatives,” with buildings, warehouses and equipment finished, while another 19,539 remain in progress. The government is training managers through late July and plans an official operational launch in August, as part of a target to reach 40,000 active cooperatives by the end of 2026.
INSKEN, Malaysian Entrepreneurship Agency, wins two awards at Singapore Government Media Event
Source: BERNAMA
Malaysia’s national entrepreneurship agency INSKEN has won two honours at the 2026 GovMedia Conference & Awards in Singapore, recognising its digital marketing coaching initiative and a business coaching programme for Bumiputera entrepreneurs. The agency, which operates under the Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development, said the wins add to a string of accolades this year, including a Schwab Foundation social innovator award and follow two decades of work supporting entrepreneurs across Malaysia.
Europe
Sector bodies react to changes in social value procurement thresholds
Source: Civil Society
The Cabinet Office has announced it will remove social value scoring from public contracts under £1m while raising the weighting to 20% for contracts of £5m or more, with changes taking effect for central government from January 2027. Civil society organisations including NCVO and NAVCA broadly welcomed the government’s engagement and ambition but called for the reforms to extend beyond central government to local authorities and health bodies, while Social Enterprise UK raised concerns that exempting contracts under £1m could disadvantage smaller social enterprises competing against larger firms.
Northern Ireland finance minister confirms how £27.4 million Local Growth Fund will be spent
Source: News Letter
Northern Ireland’s Finance Minister John O’Dowd has confirmed how £27.4 million in Local Growth Fund capital will be allocated for 2026–27, with the largest share directed to economic development, followed by community regeneration, agriculture and transport. The announcement follows the UK government’s decision to prioritise capital projects under the fund, a shift away from the kind of employability schemes previously run by community and voluntary organisations.
German social enterprise network faults new national start-up strategy for ignoring the sector
Source: Pioneers Post
Germany’s federal government has published a new strategy aimed at supporting start-ups and scaleups through reduced bureaucracy and improved access to venture capital funding. The Social Entrepreneurship Netzwerk Deutschland (SEND) pointed out that the strategy makes no mention of “social innovation” or “social enterprise,” and the head of a German social-enterprise financing organisation argued the plan reflects a US-style venture capital model geared toward rapid growth and exits, which he said does not suit impact-focused ventures.
EU lawmakers and social economy leaders urge dedicated budget support in next EU financial framework
Source: Social Economy News
At a Brussels event, Social Economy Europe and the European Parliament’s Social Economy Intergroup brought together EU officials, national representatives and sector organisations to discuss how the upcoming Multiannual Financial Framework should treat the social economy. Speakers called for maintaining an independent European Social Fund, recognising the social economy explicitly within EU funding programmes and establishing a specific InvestEU channel for social investment, while some participants also raised concerns that proposed changes to the EU’s budget structure could reduce support for regional and local social policies.
Latin America
Ibero-American governments adopt four-year roadmap for social and solidarity economy
Source: RIPESS
On 2 July 2026, the 22 member states of the Ibero-American Community adopted a joint commitment guiding social and solidarity economy (SSE) policy through 2030 — the region’s first coordinated political agreement of its kind. Ratified in Avilés, Spain, under SEGIB’s coordination, it calls for stronger national frameworks for the sector and expanded cooperation across Latin America, the Caribbean and Spain and Portugal.
Colombia convenes national gathering to build alliance for solidarity-based “economies for life”
Source: Prosperidad Social
Colombia’s Department of Social Prosperity, together with regional and international partners including RIPESS and RIFESS, held a three-day national meeting in Bogotá from 30 July to 1 August 2026 to lay the groundwork for a National Alliance of Economies for Life. The gathering brought together delegates from more than 60 territorial cooperative, solidarity and community-economy networks, spanning areas such as food sovereignty, care work and cooperative banking and concluded with the signing of a Final Declaration formalising participants’ commitment to the initiative.
North America
Canada allocates over $289 million to social sciences and humanities research to address social and economic challenges
Source: Government of Canada
On 21 July 2026, the federal government confirmed funding totalling more than $289 million for 1,788 research projects and partnerships through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The grants back projects on subjects such as adapting to climate change, rebuilding the economy, promoting social justice and examining how new technology affects communities.
Oceania
Australia unveils first national strategy for social enterprise sector
Source: Inside Small Business
Social Enterprise Australia has introduced the country’s first national strategy dedicated to the social enterprise sector, outlining five priority areas including environmental sustainability, employment access, First Nations self-determination and community-led development. Jess Moore, the organisation’s CEO, described the initiative as a call for government and public backing of enterprises that combine business activity with social and environmental goals, framing it as a shared framework rather than a trade-off between economic and social outcomes.
Aotearoa New Zealand selects first iwi partnership for Community-Led Social Service Commissioning
Source: Community Scoop
Toi Rāwhiti, a partnership formed by the Whakatōhea, Ngāi Tai and Te Whānau a Apanui iwi, has been chosen by Aotearoa New Zealand’s Social Investment Agency to enter a Discovery and Design phase for a new community-led commissioning approach. Over the coming months the group will collaborate with government agencies, iwi and local communities to co-design a model that places investment decisions closer to the people of the Ōpōtiki District. The initiative aims to shift public investment toward long-term, preventative outcomes rather than short-term, fragmented funding.
