On Thursday 2nd June 2022, leaders of social enterprises and support organisations, government representatives and social finance experts all met in Buswell’s Hotel, Dublin, to discuss the future of Social Finance in Ireland. 

As part of the ‘Financing Social Enterprise in Ireland: Models of Impact Investing and Readiness’ EU Funded project, social finance instruments were discussed amongst the delegation. The event, co-organised by Community Finance Ireland, Dublin City University and Rethink Ireland, seeks to find new financial instruments that can assist social enterprises in the near future. 

The project which commenced in January 2021 has opened a series of round table workshops and events to explore the existing social finance landscape and to explore new products that can make a meaningful difference to the social enterprise sector. 

Speaking about the event, Donal Traynor, CEO of Community Finance Ireland said, ‘It is important to listen to the lived reality on the ground of social enterprises in Ireland. Getting the correct timely finance solutions to social enterprises so that we might promote sustainability and grow the wider social economy sector is crucial. Today allows expertise and experience challenge our work and offer new hope for financial instruments in the sector.’

If you would like to find out more about the SocialFinance.ie project, please contact us at hello@socialfinance.ie or through our website at www.socialfinance.ie