Global Peer Learning Series: Impact, Investment and Innovation in the Cultural and Creative Sectors — Session 2

Lending to culture: loans and blended finance in the cultural and creative sectors

Cultural and creative organisations often struggle to access conventional finance, even when well run and financially viable. In response, funders and intermediaries around the world are developing loans and blended finance models designed for the sector — combining public, private and philanthropic capital, often on concessionary terms, to provide repayable finance that fits how cultural and creative organisations actually operate.

This second session examines how this works in practice, through two contrasting cases: how to price finance for organisations that don’t fit a standard credit model, how to blend capital and share risk, and how to support borrowers so that lending strengthens rather than strains them.

Cultura Capital (Nuevo León, Mexico) is the country’s first microcredit programme for the cultural sector. Developed by the State Secretariat of Culture with the Secretariat of Economy and Banca Afirme, it offers creative practitioners interest-free loans alongside business training. Its blended design is notable: the state subsidises the interest while the bank takes a share of the credit. It will be presented by Dra. Melissa Segura, Secretary of Culture of the State of Nuevo León, with Banca Afirme. Read more here.

Figurative will discuss the Arts Impact Fund, one of the first UK funds to provide repayable finance to arts and cultural organisations by blending public, private and philanthropic capital.

Chaired by Florencia Giulio of Pulso, the session features candid discussion and audience Q&A.