In our class on October 12th, Joanna Buczkowksa highlighted the importance of social entrepreneurship and enterprises for today’s society. How can we then make this so-called ‘third sector’ more appealing to new entrepreneurs? How can we facilitate success for new projects and ventures? Jonathan Lewis, a UK businessman, suggests to create a ‘social investment bank’ that can provide flexible funds for new social enterprises. 
I believe that current banking may well be unable to suit the specific needs of social entrepreneurs – visionaries that embark on ventures to benefit society – for example, the risk involved in starting such a project or even a larger social enterprise could be misjudged. If government were to provide funds to create a bank that addresses social entrepreneurs (for example with favorable credit conditions), it can accelerate and leverage growth in the third sector, a beneficial outcome for communities and society in general.
Hand-in-hand with such a financial institution goes a new opportunity for investment: if the social investment bank is large enough to attract funds from third party investors, investing one’s money in the third sector may well become an interesting way for long-term returns. To become such an attractive haven for funds, the bank should ideally have a brand image that is modern, dynamic, and reflecting the innovative approaches of today’s social entrepreneurs. I agree that the time has come to create such an institution and I am certain that if introduced, the idea will lead to increasing investment and growth in the third sector, which is highly desirable at this point.
