Hundreds of thousands of great businesses want to grow every year. But lots of strong businesses don’t meet banks’ and other lenders’ criteria. Community development finance institutions (CDFIs) have backed UK businesses for more than 20… Continue reading
News
Patricia Hamzahee OBE Joins Responsible Finance Board
13 January 2025: Patricia Hamzahee OBE, an advisor, investor, philanthropist and specialist in access to funding for diverse businesses and social enterprises, has joined the board of Responsible Finance as the organisation prepares to boost flows… Continue reading
Interview: Kate Pender, Fair4All on big solutions to big challenges in financial inclusion
Kate Pender is CEO of Fair4All Finance, an organisation launched to improve the financial services sector so it better serves people who are underserved and excluded. She was appointed chief executive in 2024 having worked with… Continue reading
Dragons, Labradors and a New Era for Community Finance
Every day, staff in CDFIs across the UK meet to tackle the question: “How can we enable people, businesses, and social enterprises who are beyond the reach of mainstream banks to thrive?”. Two weeks ago, we… Continue reading
FUNDED: Brilliant Entrepreneurs and Founders – new podcast
Wonderful local businesses and social enterprises are the vital spark in their communities. They’re the heart of their villages, towns and cities – innovating, building potential, employing people, creating opportunities. A new podcast by our member,… Continue reading
Double boost for small business finance: £150m and £4m initiatives will drive inclusive growth across UK
27 November 2024: £150m and £4m initiatives will drive inclusive growth across UK, unlocking finance for underserved small businesses through community development finance institutions Double boost for small business finance: pivotal programmes to empower small businesses… Continue reading
New backing for CDFIs will enable more businesses to grow
Capability and capacity building programme announced, backed by Lloyds and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) MP visits Yorkshire entrepreneurs growing businesses with CDFI funding 14 November 2024: More businesses will be able to… Continue reading
Lloyds Banking Group MD joins Responsible Finance board to help build more partnerships between major banks and community lenders
Responsible Finance, which represents the UK’s £287m community development finance institution sector, has appointed Chris Sood-Nicholls of Lloyds Banking Group to our board as a non-executive director. Sood-Nicholls is Managing Director, Regional Development at Lloyds Banking… Continue reading
The Role of First Loss Funding in Financial Inclusion and Economic Growth
Last October, Responsible Finance launched a pilot to explore first-loss funding’s potential to crowd-in private investment to personal lending CDFIs to help them scale their lending and support financial inclusion. We are monitoring the work closely… Continue reading
Michael Sheen joins calls for a Fair Banking Act to tackle credit crisis affecting people and businesses
23 October 2024: Actor and debt campaigner Michael Sheen has joined calls for the government to pass legislation to help tackle the crisis of unaffordable credit and problem debt in the UK. In 2022-2023, more than… Continue reading