Nigel Kershaw

Biography

Nigel Kershaw OBE is a leading social entrepreneur and impact investor who, since 1974, has had first-hand experience of creating, building and scaling social enterprises and social investment. He joined The Big Issue in 1994, subsequently becoming its CEO and Group Chair. He is also Co--Founder and Director of The Big Exchange.

The Big Issue (TBI) is one of the world’s most successful and best-known social enterprises. More than 200m copies of the magazine have been sold in the UK by street vendors and it has inspired over 100 similar publications around the world.

TBI set up Big Issue Invest, a social merchant bank, by social entrepreneurs - for social entrepreneurs, and has now invested in over 400 social enterprises across the UK. It currently manages or advises on over $½bn of social funds from its innovative early-stage venture funds and lending to regulated investment funds.

Nigel set up a public market arm that advises on public market impact funds, co-founded with Columbia Threadneedle (2013) and Aberdeen Standard Investments (2018) with a third Multi-Asset Climate Solutions Fund launched in February 2021.

Nigel co-founded The Big Exchange which is a transformative, fair, accessible and transparent investment platform for social and environmental impact rated funds. People can use their savings to invest in 46 rated funds from 13 asset managers with a combined Assets Under Management of over $60bn.

Nigel trained as a litho colour printer and previous to joining The Big Issue, Nigel founded three printing and publishing social enterprises. Nigel is a Social Enterprise UK ‘Champion of Champions’ and winner of the Institute of Directors’ Good Enterprise Award. He currently sits on the Impact Investing Institute’s Advisory Council. In 2010, he was awarded an OBE for services to Social Enterprise.