Inside Open Society
February 10, 2026
By Georgia Levenson Keohane
Inclusive economic development and democracy go hand in hand. For open societies to thrive, people need to have a meaningful stake in their economy, in their politics, and in their collective future. We’ve seen that voters across the globe are increasingly dissatisfied with how their governments are delivering on economic opportunity and well-being; it’s clear we need to do better. To address the challenges facing democracy and open society, we must place shared prosperity front and center.This is why the work of the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF) matters. As the economic development and impact investing arm of the Open Society Foundations, SEDF was founded on the premise that economic development, opportunity, and inclusion are essential building blocks of well-functioning and democratic societies.At SEDF, we deploy what we call “catalytic capital”—patient, risk-tolerant, and mission-driven investments. Like grants, these investments lead with impact and charitable purpose, not financial returns. Unlike grants, they're typically recycled over time for re-investment. Free from the requirements of outside or commercial investors, we can lean into areas of market and political failure and risk that others can’t or won’t.
