236: social stock (ex)change

Do you remember post 164 on this blog, about the UK's new plans for a social stock exchange, and the debate that followed? Well, today I found this article in Newsweek, about the harbinger of such initiatives. Apparently, the world's first social stock exchange was launched in Brazil in 2003. Now it has come of age, with a wide range of social enterprises and community projects benefiting from the investment it has generated. As a result, the world is watching - and in some cases copying. South Africa launched its own social stock exchange in 2006 (interesting that the forerunners are both middle-income countries), the UK and Germany will launch theirs next year, and many other countries are developing similar plans. It's a promising new trend, which has the power to effect change in places that both business and the public sector do not reach right now. Definitely one to watch! (Photo of Brazilian stock exchange founder, Celso Grecco, from Newsweek.)

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It's my birthday today, so I went for colour change! Hope you like it... :-)