that it would be providing £900,000 of funding to the CDFI sector to help customers with small loans and grants during the cost of living crisis.In Watchet, near my home on Exmoor in the south-west of England, a social enterprise called theconsulted with the local community after plans for a commercial property development fell through. As a result of the consultation, the Collective opened a visitor centre and restored boat museum in 2016, and, then, in 2021, a £7.
Social impact: Sleaford’s green energy plant has provided 30 direct local jobs, plus 50 in the fuel supply chain The plant uses locally sourced straw — most from within a 30-mile radius — and sustainable woodchip to generate renewable power and heat. It has the capacity to generate electricity for 65,000 homes, saving 50,000 tonnes of CO₂ a year, and provides 30 direct local jobs and a further 50 in the fuel supply chain.
The full potential of the CDFI sector needs to be realised: in the UK, there are about 50 CDFIs, whereas, in the US, they number closer to 1,400. And public funding needs to be more flexible — for example, to provide “catalytic” capital to de-risk investments and help to crowd in private capital at greater scale.