How We Utilize Outcomes-Based Financing to Help Early-Stage Enterprises Grow

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.

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Topics: Our Community | Partnerships | Stories of Impact |

Cinco lecciones que hemos aprendido del año 2020

“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…

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Topics: En Español | Our Community |

Five Lessons We’re Taking from 2020

“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…

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Topics: Our Community |

Bringing Climate Action to Farming Communities: Root Capital’s Climate Resilience Roadmap

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…

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Topics: Environment | News and Announcements |

This All-Women Cooperative is Feeding Hundreds During the Pandemic

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…

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Topics: Advisory Services | Food Security | Livelihoods | Mexico and Central America | Stories of Impact | Women in Agriculture |

Keeping Farmers Safe and Business Running: One Coop’s Pandemic Response

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…

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Topics: Advisory Services | Livelihoods | South America | Stories of Impact |

Cross-sector Experts Join Root Capital’s Board of Directors

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,…

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Topics: News and Announcements | Our Community |

Deepening Resilience in Rural Communities: Results from Root Capital’s Second COVID-19 Survey

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…

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Topics: Livelihoods | News and Announcements | Our Community | Stories of Impact |

Building Business Capacity from Afar: A Q&A With Root Capital Advisor Ousmane Sané

Root Capital’s innovative advisory services are powered by our talented team of advisory consultants. These trainers work closely with agricultural businesses to address the day-to-day challenges of running a remote enterprise. Working together, they build skills and processes that foster growth and resilience in the long term. One of these advisors is Ousmane Sané, known as Sané, who’s been a…

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Topics: Advisory Services | Digital Business Intelligence | Partnerships | Staff Profiles | Stories of Impact | West Africa | Youth |

Root Capital and DFC Invest in Rural Women Through the 2X Challenge

When you run a small enterprise in a rural community, it’s difficult to access the financing you need to grow. If you’re a woman running one of these enterprises, it’s even harder. The International Finance Corporation estimates that up to 70% of women-owned enterprises in emerging markets are overlooked by lenders. These women-owned enterprises face a…

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Topics: News and Announcements | Partnerships | Women in Agriculture |