The Responsible Finance Podcast

Why did NatWest Group choose to work with community development finance institutions (CDFIs) as part of its cost-of-living support package?

What can be done to signpost CDFIs to bank customers who are financially vulnerable?

How do bank to CDFI referral processes work for businesses and social enterprises?

And why are CDFIs such a "terrific part of the overall ecosystem of financial services" whose ability is both celebrated and ch...

Katalin Juhasz and Ollie Pollard join us today to show how impact alignment between investors and social enterprises makes a difference to communities and businesses – plus what traditional city institutions can learn from social investors.

Ollie is Head of Enterprise Growth Funds at Resonance, founded in 2002 with the mission to connect capital to social enterprise. It had around £350m under management (and a team of 60) when we r...

Low emissions zones became a political battleground just after recording this interview with Kate Barnard, founder and CEO of Enjoy The Air.

But what does the public think? Can we prove the impact of "hard or soft" interventions on air quality? And just how far are people prepared to go when it comes to action in response to poor air quality?

"I was astounded" says Kate as she reveals the results of research showing just how many p...

A community banking agreement brokered by a disadvantaged community with a mainstream bank two decades ago offers valuable insights to address financial exclusion today.

Niall Alexander, a "community worker by trade" says the "groundswell" in addressing unfairness and financial exclusion is now reaching a peak. People "aren't asking for gold plated taps" – they need very small sums of money, but could turn to illegal lenders if fai...

Caz and Darron Burness already had a thriving business – doggy day care, pet-sitting, home boarding and other services – when they spotted an opportunity to purchase a kennels premises. It was the perfect fit.

But how to finance the acquisition? A £100,000 loan from BCRS Business Loans unlocked their ambition and growth plans, safeguarded several jobs and has enabled them to create new jobs too.

Beacon Barkers is a licensed kennels...

Impact investing has moved into the mainstream. Many asset owners and managers are trying to deliver more positive social and environmental impact as well as a financial return. Yet just a few years ago many institutions were dismissive or sceptical. How did this change?

"It's not about telling people what they should do, it's demonstrating what can be done and the power of the possible," says Sarah Gordon, the founding chief execu...

Ready for some big numbers? How about £165 million? Just one of the staggering figures revealed in Salad Money's first ever impact report.

Salad CEO Tim Rooney tells us how the social enterprise, which lends to NHS and Public Sector workers, has helped applicants identify £165m in benefits they could apply for but were not claiming.

Its customers "spend to and not beyond their means," he says, "but when they are faced with a financ...

This is both an extraordinary and, sadly, an every day tale. All over the UK people with children or caring responsibilities compete for shifts or work patterns which fit around them, face the 'poverty premium' or are locked out from opportunities.

"I was dismissed on so many levels," says Jules Hawkins. "I knew I was capable of more and I knew I wanted to be a taxpayer."

Jules' "whole world crumbled" when a new owner of a business...

Stephen Tighe and Sheryl Doe founded Allegro Opticians to address specific issues which the eyesight of musicians and performing artists.

The business now has customers from all over the world, has won multiple business awards, has a trusted high street presence with three branches, and has grown from two to more than twenty employees.

Stephen describes his career background in the armed forces and financial services, how he and Sh...

Air pollution contributes to around 40,000 deaths a year in the UK and more in many other parts of the world. Enjoy The Air helps cities achieve air quality standards through policy, infrastucture and behaviour change.

CEO and founder Kate Barnard, an engineer, describes why she launched the business and how viewing cities as engineering systems means it can help local authorities and other organisations develop appropriate "clear ...

"They make it feel like it's your fault," says Cath Wohlers about loan sharks. They use manipulation, isolation and coercive control and ruin lives.

Earlier this year a Centre for Social Justice report estimated 1.08 million people in England alone are currently using illegal moneylenders, who prey on financially vulnerable people.

Cath is LIAISE Manager for the England Illegal Money Lending Team. Sharks aren't always easy to recog...

• How can Government stimulate a boom in the social economy?
• Danny has described the role of social enterprises in “fixing broken markets” – what does he mean b...
  

Can business be a force for good? Definitely, according David Hanney, CEO of Alpkit, a business and certified B Corp which designs and sources outdoor clothing, camping equipment, bikes and other gear.

Alpkit sells direct-to-consumers through its website and its stores in the UK. It now has more than 100 employees – 6 years ago there were just 12.

It’s a great business in many ways, as David explains, with a set of six sustainabili...

Imagine yourself on a zero-hours contract, leaving home early in the morning to deliver a sports therapy session. By the time you've spent several hours travelling to the place which booked the session - at your own expense - it's been cancelled. And you don't get paid.

Now imagine making that journey in a wheelchair. Carrying a heavy bag in your teeth. And imagine when the session is not cancelled and you do deliver it, your trans...

In one of the worst-offending industries for landfill and modern slavery, Kalopsia proves you can make products more ethically and minimise environmental impact.

A batch manufacturer of textiles, apparel and accessories, Kalopsia is a social enterprise which started as an artistic collective and morphed into a textile producing community interest company.

It makes exciting products (including for brands you will have heard of), sup...

Glasgow Wood Recycling transforms reclaimed wood which could otherwise be wasted into high quality furniture and products.
 
The social enterprise and charity, launched in 2006, follows the Community Wood Recycling model. It has made furniture from reclaimed timber for a diverse range of customers from the public to hotels, boutique wedding venues, retail outlets, and schools.

The business has prevented over four thousand of tonnes...

Want to invest in an organisation supporting under-served businesses and disadvantaged communities - and be rewarded with an attractive tax relief for doing so?

Community Investment Tax Relief is the answer, according to Katy Ford, chief executive of Foundation East. Foundation East lends to and supports small businesses unable to access mainstream finance.

Their CITR Investors can receive up to 25% tax relief spread over 5 years -...

What is Open Banking and how can it help people who are financially vulnerable and financially excluded, including people who are unbanked?

How can Open Banking benefit businesses, social enterprises and the self-employed?

How will Open Banking help Responsible Finance providers (and credit unions) – and what should they be doing and thinking about?

And is there a danger that Open Banking might facilitate discrimination against peo...

The Magic Roundabout, banknotes you had to write your name on, micro-lending in 1542 and slurping up energy to create cryptocurrency. There's plenty to think about in this new episode.

Danyal Sattar is Chief Executive of Big Issue Invest, which span out of The Big Issue magazine. Big Issue Invest is a responsible finance provider which provides finance from £10,000 to £3m to social enterprises and charities.

In this episode Danyal ...