It was a busy day at ClearlySo yesterday as we crammed in two very different, but complimentary social investment events. We started early with a breakfast launch event at the Guildhall for our new report into Investor Perspectives on Social Enterprise Financing.

It's a great document and was brilliantly written by Katie Hill. It provides a real insight into one segment which is yet to fully embrace the social investment space: institutional investors. This entire area appears to be in a pivotal state at the moment: institutional investors are showing interest, but are deterred by the thought of high risk, lack of impact reporting and a perception that there are two few investible opportunities. That last point has been a continuing mill stone around the sector's neck, but it's one that is not necessarily true, as our second event of the day illustrated.

As evening fell, we moved onto our latest Social Investment Speed Dating Event. If you haven't guessed, this is exactly what it sounds like - a chance for investors and entrepreneurs to find their perfect match. These events are proving popular not only with investors, but also increasingly with observers who are attending to see the sector in action. This time we had added support in the shape of One Planet Pictures who arrived to film the event for BBC World. We also had some great images supplied by a brilliant up and coming photographer Magali Avezou who's work you can see here.

Interest is growing because here is proof that the social business and enterprise sector has some real gems to offer. Innovative businesses which offer a glimpse at the potential of what, that morning at the Guildhall Rodney Schwartz had described as three dimensional investing - a world in which investment decisions are based on risk, return - and social impact.

In no particular order, the runners and riders for the evening were:

BigBarn: The Amazon of local food. Regular readers may remember them from our most recent Coutts event. Founder Anthony Davison was back again looking for a capital injection to help his website which helps to connect people with their local food grow to the next level.

Agora Microfinance: a successful organisation investing in microfinance institutions around the world.

Reds10: Another familiar face in Tom Storey. His organisation is doing crucial work in helping long term unemployed people secure training and sustainable jobs in the construction industry.

Vision Housing: An organisation providing tailored housing and ongoing support to people who have either been homeless or were previously offenders.

Epona Clothing: A provider of Fairtrade branded clothing to British universities, charities, ethical companies and corporations.

PVPE: A company with the mission of helping pupils and young people become actively involved with their schools. It's doing sterling work fostering leadership skills within schools around the country.

Ethical Fashion Forum: Represented by founder Tamsin Le Jeune this company is taking on the considerable task of injecting a sense of sustainability into the fashion industry.

Elvis & Kresse: A remarkable company which appears to have taken the Wombles as their business model. They take seemingly useless wastes and reinvigorate them into stylish and desirable lifestyle accessories.

All six put the idea of 3D investing into practice. They offer an example for businesses looking to make themselves attractive to private capital and also great case studies to those investors who are still circling the sector. You can read about one investors experience here. Thanks to all those who attended and continue to make these such fascinating events. If you're interested in attending future events, check our events pages for the latest updates.