Pathway Fund sets out strategy to mainstream racial equity

By Pathway Fund CEO Asher Craig

Pathway’s 2026-2029 strategy

Our ‘Investing in an Equitable Future’ strategy, published in November, sets out Pathway's collective commitment for 2026 - 2029: to catalyse large-scale investment into BEM communities, to mainstream racial equity in the UK’s impact investing landscape, and to deliver sustainable social value for all.

It is both an invitation and a challenge - an invitation to partners, funders and policymakers to work differently, and a challenge to the status quo that has for decades’, normalised exclusion.

It provides an insight into the ways in which we will work to see dormant assets benefit our communities, the ways in which we will take a regionally-focused approach, to our plans for scaling, and crucially, and the ways in which we will work to build an endowment, ensuring that we can catalyse our communities, over the long-term.

Pathway will work collaboratively with all in the sector, to ensure that we continue to see social investment delivering racial equity, in every part of the country.

Regional Listening Paper Report

We also published ten Regional Listening Papers drawing on insights from our nationwide listening series held between April and July 2025. These papers capture what we’re hearing directly from local stakeholders across the country — the realities of BEM-led social economies, the barriers they continue to face and the opportunities ready to be unlocked with the right institutional support. Each paper highlights lived experience, emerging priorities, and practical pathways for funders, policymakers, and ecosystem builders committed to advancing racially equitable investment.

This release signals our ongoing commitment, not a final verdict. We recognise we’ve only seen a snapshot. The real value lies in continued engagement with these regions, ensuring the organisations within them grow, scale and secure the investment they deserve. We invite you to explore the papers, share the insights, and work with us to strengthen a more inclusive and resilient social economy across the UK.

Racial Equity Scorecard

Developed in response to the need for more corporate actions towards racial equity and better data and transparency, the Racial Equity Scorecard enables a comprehensive assessment of the racial equity performance of UK-based companies. It provides a definition of racial equity in the context of investment allowing investors to be intentionally equitable when investing in the UK public markets.

Within the UK, racial disparities infiltrate every aspect of society from education to employment, from healthcare to mortality, from legislation to wealth accumulation and racial equity can drive economic growth. The 2017 McGregor-Smith review estimates that if both corporate employers and entrepreneurs would focus on racial equity in career progression and trajectories, that would potentially add £24 billion to the GDP of the UK. Moreover, as the climate and nature crises are the defining challenges of our time, racial equity is an important component of just transition - driving towards sustainable inclusive economic growth.

As part of our commitment to driving change, Pathway Fund strives to provide a better understanding of what racial equity means in an investment context. While there are corporate scorecards on gender equality and workplace DEI, this scorecard is intended as the first practical tool to capture corporate strategies and actions on racial equity in the context of the UK public market investments.

The Racial Equity Scorecard is intended to be primarily used by investors, but also aims to empower organisations, asset managers and owners, to capture data and track progress through a racial equity lens.

Pathway Fund impact report

Finally, the Social Investment Consultancy (TSIC) published The Pathway Story: Learning, Growth & Impact 2022-2025, outlining the progress made by Pathway Fund during its pilot phase. We are pleased to be able to note the material change that Pathway is driving in the social investment space.