Defence & the Impact Economy

The Social Economist Season 3 continues! We’re continuing with our second mini-series where we’re tackling one of the most present and challenging topics of the day for the social economy: defence. What does Europe’s new focus and prioritisation of defence spending mean for the social economy? Is it all bad news or could there be some benefits for social enterprises? We’re hearing from organisations across Europe about their views on the social economy’s relationship to defence. Join us as we get this conversation going among social economy stakeholders.

In this fourth episode of Season 3, our second mini-series kicks off! Host Toby Gazeley from Euclid Network is joined by Martin Luxemburg from the Unknown Group to discuss the potential contribution ‘impact’ enterprises can make in the area of defence. They reflect on the recent event on ‘Securing the Future’, held as a side event to the NATO Summit in The Hague in 2025 at Titaan – a central part of the impact campus that the Unknown Group is building in The Hague.

Martin and Toby discuss the wider implications for innovation and areas like ‘peace tech’ stemming from an increased focus on defence investments. They also note the potential knock-on benefits across society and the economy innovations in one particular field can have. Securing the Future will return in 2026, next time with even more hands-on opportunities for founders to showcase their innovative products in the defence sector.

As well as getting our discussion about the relationship between the social economy and defence started, Martin was also generous enough to recommend a podcast for our Dutch listeners: Alle Geschiedenis Ooit – Grote Namen (All History Ever – Big Names) – a history podcast looking at the lives of significant historical figures. Toby also jumped in with another history podcast, this one in English: Empire, with a particular recommendation for the episodes on ‘The Trouble’.

Please do get in touch to toby@euclidnetwork.eu with questions and comments.

A special thanks to our producer Jan Kiszowara and the European Commission for making The Social Economist possible.