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Social enterprise news roundup – June 2026
Welcome to the monthly SEWF social enterprise news roundup. From billion-dollar reforestation funds and new social enterprise financing initiatives to government-backed sustainability programmes and global brand partnerships, this month’s stories highlight the growing influence of the social economy worldwide. Explore the latest developments from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and Oceania.
Global
UN names “Cooperatives for a Peaceful World” as 2026 CoopsDay theme
Source: UN DESA – Division for Inclusive Social Development
The United Nations has confirmed that the 2026 International Day of Cooperatives will be marked under the theme “Cooperatives for a peaceful world!”, to be observed on 4 July 2026. The theme draws attention to how cooperative enterprises support peace through democratic participation, economic inclusion and community resilience, building on the principle that durable peace rests on social justice. The annual theme is chosen by the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC), working with partners including the International Labour Organization.
Leading impact investors named in BlueMark’s seventh impact measurement review
Source: Pioneers Post
Impact verification firm BlueMark has published the seventh edition of its Making the Mark report, identifying 22 investors with leading impact measurement practices from among the 307 it has assessed, including Better Society Capital, IDB Invest, LeapFrog Investments, British International Investment and Nuveen Private Equity Impact. The report also recognises funds with strong impact reporting, such as Open Road Impact, AgDevCo and the Future of Work Fund. Drawing on data from its BlueMark IQ platform, the report finds that close to half of fund commitments are directed towards climate-related themes, with adaptation accounting for 10%, and that most funds invest in private equity.
Africa
Digital Africa launches EUR 30m seed fund
Source: Africa Private Equity News
Digital Africa, a subsidiary of the French development finance institution Proparco, has introduced a EUR 30 million seed fund to address a financing gap for early-stage technology companies on the continent. Structured as a 10-year closed-end vehicle with a EUR 50 million ceiling, the fund is intended for start-ups that have progressed beyond angel investment but do not yet meet institutional investors’ requirements. It aims to support 30 tech-enabled start-ups across 20 priority African countries, with an average initial investment of EUR 300,000 allocated to milestones such as market testing, senior hires, compliance, and product development.
Refugee Investment Facility makes first investment in Kenya’s Kakuma
Source: Pioneers Post
LIFTA Kenya, a bottled water and plastic recycling company operating in Kakuma, has received the first investment from the Refugee Investment Facility, a partnership between the Danish Refugee Council and impact investment firm iGravity. The company draws 44 percent of its permanent staff and 60 percent of its casual workers from the local refugee community and addresses shortages of clean water and waste management in an area home to more than 300,000 refugees and asylum seekers. The facility provides impact-linked loans, under which loan conditions are tied to impact outcomes, and the investment is intended to support the company’s growth and job creation.
Asia
INSKEN commits RM5 million to support Malaysia’s social enterprises
Source: BERNAMA
Malaysia’s National Entrepreneurship Institute (INSKEN) has allocated RM5 million to developing the country’s social enterprise sector since 2022, directing funds towards capacity building, market access and accreditation, according to Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong. The minister said 3,875 people have taken part in INSKEN programmes to date, and that 600 entities have received social enterprise accreditation. A further RM200,000 was allocated over the past six months to help 20 organisations expand their markets and community impact.
Forbes 30 under 30 Asia: The social entrepreneurs tackling issues from food waste to inequality
Source: Forbes
Forbes has published the Social Impact category of its 2026 30 Under 30 Asia list, recognising young founders across the Asia-Pacific region who are applying business models and technology to environmental and social problems. The honourees include entrepreneurs reducing food waste, producing rapid-deployment modular buildings, developing robotics to remove workers from hazardous sanitation tasks, supporting young people who have aged out of institutional care, and widening access to women’s health services and reusable menstrual products.
Malaysia’s deputy finance minister calls for greater capital market support of social enterprises
Source: The Edge
At the launch of Malaysia’s first Social Exchange platform, Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong called on corporations and the capital market to take on a larger role in funding social enterprises and community-driven initiatives. The platform, set up by the Securities Commission Malaysia, provides a regulated channel for non-profit organisations and social impact projects to raise funds, with its first phase focused on charitable fundraising and operated by LC Wakaful Digital. Eight non-profit organisations have joined so far across areas such as healthcare access, food security and environmental sustainability, supported by a RM2 million grant under Budget 2026 and tax incentives for eligible participants.
Vietnam’s Government approves sustainable business support programme for 2026–2030
Source: VGP (Vietnam Government Portal)
Vietnam’s government has approved a five-year programme, running from 2026 to 2030, that aims to help 25,000 enterprises, business households, and cooperatives adopt sustainable practices balancing economic performance with social responsibility and environmental protection. The programme supports the country’s commitment to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050. Planned measures include developing a support ecosystem, raising awareness among businesses, training relevant officials, and establishing at least 20 model businesses to demonstrate sustainable approaches.
Europe
Romanian social enterprises to get financing boost as EIF teams up with domestic lender AFIN IFN
Source: The European Sting
The European Investment Fund has provided AFIN IFN, a Romanian non-bank lender dedicated solely to the social economy, with backing worth around €480,000 (2.5 million Romanian lei) to expand financing for social enterprises, cooperatives and NGOs. Structured as a 10-year subordinated loan and supported through the EU’s InvestEU programme, the agreement aims to strengthen the lender’s capital base and widen access to finance for organisations that typically struggle to secure traditional funding. AFIN IFN, based in Iași, has issued more than 130 loans totalling roughly €2.5 million since becoming operational in 2023.
Switzerland becomes first IKEA market in Europe to contract social enterprises as core suppliers
Source: Ingka Group
Ingka Group, the largest IKEA retailer, has begun contracting social enterprises as direct suppliers, with Switzerland the first market to do so under its Social Enterprise Partnership Programme. Two Swiss organisations, BAND and VEBO, will carry out kitchen assembly, repairs and after-sales work for IKEA customers at a cost comparable to other providers, pairing a qualified supervisor with an employee who has a disability on each service visit. The programme, developed jointly with IKEA Social Entrepreneurship and Yunus Social Innovation, is intended to extend to further markets over time.
Guidance published to help not-for-profits overcome barriers to win more contracts
Source: Civil Society
A working group of the National Social Value Taskforce has released guidance intended to help voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations secure a greater share of public contracts. The document examines the obstacles these groups encounter when acting as direct suppliers, subcontractors or social value partners, and sets out recommendations for contracting authorities, larger suppliers and the organisations themselves. Among its proposals, it calls for procurement to be designed with the sector in mind from the outset, and advises smaller organisations to prepare for bidding by strengthening their documentation, impact measurement and partnerships.
Social Economy Europe urges stronger sector role in EU competitiveness strategy
Source: Social Economy News
Marking the mid-term review of the European Action Plan for the Social Economy, Social Economy Europe (SEE) has urged the European Commission to embed the social economy more deeply within the EU’s industrial, competitiveness and strategic autonomy policies. While acknowledging progress since the Plan’s launch, SEE raises concerns over institutional and financial setbacks, including the reduced role of DG GROW, a revision it sees as overly focused on social enterprises, and the proposed removal of the ‘Social and Skills’ window from InvestEU. The organisation, which notes the sector accounts for some 4.3 million organisations and 11.5 million jobs in the EU, calls for the Action Plan to continue beyond 2030 and to be shaped in collaboration with the sector.
The role of the social economy in fighting poverty
Source: Social Economy Europe
On 6 May 2026, the European Commission introduced its first EU Anti-Poverty Strategy, a framework intended to address the range of factors that prevent people from meeting basic needs, citing figures that around 93 million people in the EU – roughly one in five – were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2024. Social Economy Europe argues that social economy organisations are well placed to help deliver the strategy’s aims through areas such as affordable housing, inclusive employment, and local food systems. The organisation also calls on the EU to maintain dedicated funding instruments, including the European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund, within the next Multiannual Financial Framework.
SE100 2026 Award winners announced at Manchester ceremony
Source: Pioneers Post
The 16th annual NatWest SE100 Impact Pioneer Awards, run by Pioneers Post in partnership with NatWest Social & Community Capital, were held at Band on the Wall in Manchester to recognise leading UK social enterprises and impact leaders. Winners were named across ten categories, including Turning Point (Public Sector Pioneer), Belu (Impact Storyteller), Forward Carers (Social Business Pioneer), Finance Earth (Climate Pioneer), The Skill Mill (Social Investment Pioneer) and Six Degrees Social Enterprise (Diversity Pioneer). Further awards recognised individual leaders across the Pioneering Leader, Pioneering Woman, and Pioneer of the Future categories.
UK Social Enterprise Awards 2026 now open for entries
Source: Social Enterprise UK
The UK Social Enterprise Awards will be held on 12 November 2026 in Manchester, the first time the ceremony has taken place outside London. The event is organised by Social Enterprise UK with Co-operatives UK, under the theme “All Together Now”, and features 15 categories, including a new Co-operative of the Year award. Applications are open until 12 July 2026, with separate national entry routes for organisations based in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Read more →
Latin America
BTG Pactual TIG closes USD 1.24 billion Latin American Reforestation Fund
Source: ESG Today
BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group has raised USD 1.24 billion at the close of fundraising for its Latin American Reforestation Strategy, which the firm describes as the largest reforestation and restoration fund closed to date. The strategy, advised by Conservation International, aims to protect and restore more than 330,000 acres of natural forest and to plant trees across a further 330,000 acres of degraded land in regions including Brazil’s Cerrado biome. It is also designed to generate carbon removal credits, with agreements already signed with companies including Microsoft and Meta.
adidas Originals and Someone Somewhere expand their partnership with Mexico Collaborative Collection
Source: SoccerBible
adidas Originals has launched a lifestyle clothing collection developed with the social enterprise Someone Somewhere, timed to coincide with the release of Mexico’s new third jersey. Each limited-edition piece is hand-stitched by rural artisans and includes a QR code linking the buyer to the individual who made the garment. The collection marks the first time products from the partnership, which began in 2024, are available for consumers to purchase.
Norway to co-chair Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) alongside Brazil
Source: Government of Norway
Norway will serve as co-chair, alongside Brazil, of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), a new international fund for the protection of tropical forests, as announced at a ministerial meeting held during the World Bank’s Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C. First launched at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil in November 2025, the fund uses an investment-based model in which private capital generates returns, with a share directed to countries that conserve their rainforests and at least 20 percent allocated to Indigenous peoples and local communities. The TFFF has a long-term capital target of USD 125 billion, with contributions of more than USD 6.5 billion announced so far and a short-term goal of USD 10 billion by the end of 2026.
Oceania
Australia reopens Social Enterprise Grants under extended SEDI programme
Source: Australian Government Department of Social Services
Impact Investing Australia opened applications on 8 May 2026 for further grants under the Social Enterprise Development Initiative (SEDI), an Australian Government programme that offers eligible social enterprises capability-building grants of up to AUD 120,000. The initiative, which has so far supported 56 social enterprises across eight competitive rounds, has been extended to June 2027 with additional funding that includes a dedicated stream for First Nations social enterprises. SEDI also funds sector-wide online education and mentoring, coordinated by Social Enterprise Australia.
Australia’s peak bodies agree a common definition of social enterprise
Source: Whitebox Enterprises
Australian social enterprise peak bodies and the country’s two verification systems have, for the first time, settled on a common definition of what constitutes a social enterprise. The shared framework adopts the five global standards established through the Social Enterprise World Forum and the People and Planet First movement, covering purpose, operations, revenue, use of surplus and organisational structure. Two separate verification pathways – People and Planet First and Social Traders – remain in place, though they now rest on the same underlying definition.
Australian Federal Budget confirms continued funding across social enterprise programmes
Source: Social Enterprise Australia
The federal budget has extended the Economic Pathways for Refugee Integration (EPRI) programme for a further 12 months with a AUD 7.7 million commitment; EPRI supports social enterprises that employ refugee and humanitarian entrants, and more than 3,300 people engaged with it between 2023 and late 2025, of whom over 900 moved into open employment. The budget also confirmed the AUD 100 million, ten-year Outcomes Fund, of which AUD 18.8 million has been committed across New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. These measures follow the extension of the Social Enterprise Development Initiative, backed by AUD 3.4 million plus AUD 3.3 million for First Nations social enterprises, and a commitment to commission Australia’s first national dataset on the social enterprise sector.
