Erick Sakwa (L) walks a field of recently harvested sorghum with a farmer during a visit to a Root Capital-financed enterprise in Kenya. At the risk of stating the obvious: Running a small business is a lot of work. Entrepreneurs and staff—often pressed for time, money, and resources—devote most of their energy to keeping the lights on, leaving little time…
Read moreTopics: Advisory Services | East Africa | Our Community | Staff Profiles | Women in Agriculture |
While you sip your morning brew, consider this: By 2050, the area suitable for most coffee production is expected to decline by around 50%. The culprit? Climate change. Your daily dose of coffee depends on specific climate conditions, mostly found in mountainous regions of the tropics. But climate change is shifting conditions in coffee-growing regions, primarily through higher temperatures,…
Read moreTopics: Advisory Services | Environment | Stories of Impact |
While you may not be able to find Matagalpa, Nicaragua on a map, you can taste it in your morning cup of coffee. This region is one of the world’s biggest coffee producers, thanks to the thousands of smallholder farming families who call it home. Individually, these farmers could never get their harvest from their field to your breakfast table.
Read moreTopics: News and Announcements | Our Community | Partnerships | Stories of Impact |
“Exigente” “Aleccionador” “Sin precedentes” Las palabras no describen adecuadamente el año 2020. El asombroso número de víctimas de la pandemia define este año, pero también lo hacen los ejemplos de esperanza, unidad e innovación. Y no todas esas historias llegaron a los titulares. En las comunidades rurales donde trabaja Root Capital, el 2020 también ha sido un año de adversidad…
Read moreTopics: En Español | Our Community |
“Challenging” “Sobering” “Unprecedented” Words fail to adequately describe 2020. The staggering toll of the pandemic defines this year, but so do examples of hope, unity, and innovation. And not all of those stories made headline news. In the remote communities where Root Capital works, 2020 has also been a year of adversity and adaptation. Here are five lessons we’re taking…
Read moreTopics: Our Community |
This week, Hurricane Iota became the strongest storm ever to hit Nicaragua. The category four storm ripped across the country with torrential rains and winds topping 155mph, mere weeks after the same communities were devastated by Hurricane Eta. In Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua, the 550 members of the Flor de Cafe coffee cooperative…
Read moreTopics: Environment | News and Announcements |
Since 2007, the all-women AMPROCAL coffee cooperative in Ocotepeque, Honduras has worked hard to connect farmers with higher prices for their coffee on the international market. Starting with just eight members, they’ve grown to over 150 today. That means they’re able to improve livelihoods and grow inclusion for more farmers across the region. For the last four years, Root Capital…
Read moreTopics: Advisory Services | Food Security | Livelihoods | Mexico and Central America | Stories of Impact | Women in Agriculture |
When Donald Delgado took the helm of UNICAFEC last November, the coffee cooperative was at a crossroads. Since its founding in 2001, the cooperative had been led by one man, Alfredo Alarcón, and his sudden death left a hole in the community’s heart—not to mention real fears for the businesses’ future. Donald himself worked under Alfredo’s leadership for more than…
Read moreTopics: Advisory Services | Livelihoods | South America | Stories of Impact |
Root Capital is pleased to announce the addition of four new members to our board of directors: Ken Bartels, Macani Toungara, Mario Fernández, and Salah Goss. These members join our board with a wealth of experience across sectors and around the world. They bring deep expertise in several key aspects of our work—the coffee value chain, youth inclusion, philanthropic partnerships,…
Read moreTopics: News and Announcements | Our Community |
During this global pandemic, one of the most glaring shortages is access to reliable information. That’s particularly true in the rural communities where we work. As public health and economic responses focus on the concerns of dense, urban areas, rural communities are being left behind. But it’s impossible to design an effective response in these communities without information on how…
Read moreTopics: Livelihoods | News and Announcements | Our Community | Stories of Impact |
