Posted by Lauren Baum  |  May 7, 2015

Serendipalm employees in Asuom, Ghana. Photo credit: Dr. Bronner's. One hundred miles northwest of Accra, Ghana, sits Asuom, a village of surprising and beautiful contrasts and contradictions. The vermilion clay earth and rust-tin roofs in Asuom pop in contrast to the verdant greens of forests nearby. But it’s within these forests that an even more unexpected paradox exists: large, splayed trees producing sustainable palm oil. Four thousand acres of trees are cultivated by the 670 farmer members of Root Capital client Serendipalm – the world’s first, and largest, fair trade and organic certified palm oil company.

Topics: Africa | Client Spotlight | Climate Action | Gender Equity |

Posted by Estuardo Fuentes Gutiérrez  |  April 17, 2015

Last week, Root Capital impact officer Asya Troychansky wrote about the transformative impact that Root Capital’s financial management training has had on ACMUV, an all-women microcredit and handcraft association in Guatemala. This week, Estuardo Fuentes Gutiérrez, our Guatemala-based impact liaison, shares a recent conversation with Margarita Chojolán, regional training coordinator in Central America, about how we adapted our typical training to better serve women– and what we learned in the process.

Topics: Advisory Services | Client Spotlight | Gender Equity | Mexico and Central America |

Posted by Asya Troychansky  |  April 8, 2015

Juana Hu Mateo, general coordinator at ACMUV. “In my home, my father and my mother always valued my sister and me less than my brothers,” says Juana Hu Mateo, a 41-year-old from Guatemala’s indigenous Maya Ixil community. Despite her parents’ lack of support and community norms against women’s participation outside the home, Juana persevered to study, eventually finding work as a seasonal coffee sorter at Asociación Chajulense, a coffee cooperative and Root Capital client in the western highlands of Guatemala.

Topics: Advisory Services | Client Spotlight | Gender Equity | Mexico and Central America |

Posted by Root Capital  |  March 31, 2015

Cooperativa Agraria Cafetalera Pangoa (Pangoa), a Fair Trade and organic-certified coffee cooperative located in San Martin de Pangoa, Peru, has been a Root Capital client for nearly a decade. Pangoa is a shining example of the power of the cooperative in local communities, and it’s unique in many ways – first and foremost, because it’s led by a woman. For the latest post in our 15 Voices blog series, we’re excited to share a recent interview with Esperanza Dionisio Castillo, Pangoa’s general manager, a true visionary who has been recognized internationally for her effective managerial skills and impressive commitment to Pangoa’s members and the broader community.

Topics: Client Spotlight | Climate Action | Gender Equity |

Posted by Benjamin Schmerler  |  December 3, 2014

If you’ve ever been to Peru, you know that there’s almost a magical energy that permeates the country. The colors, the food, the crazy geographical diversity, the cultural heritage, pride and resilience of its remarkable people – although I’ve been to Peru many times, its novelty truly never fades and my love for it grows deeper with each plate of ceviche. A few weeks ago, I accompanied a small group of Root Capital investors on a trip to the Peruvian countryside, getting a first-hand perspective of Root Capital’s impact by visiting coffee clients and a potential nut client in the San Martin region in the central Andes. As I boarded my flight home, I left feeling inspired and energized by the things we saw, the stories we heard, and the people we met. I think we all did. Here are a few memorable moments from the trip: 

Topics: Client Spotlight | News and Announcements | South America |

Posted by Root Capital  |  December 1, 2014

Root Capital client Gumutindo helps improve livelihoods and secure futures for many farm families affected by HIV/AIDS. Today, as we mark the 27th World AIDS Day, we wanted to share the story of Gumutindo, a coffee enterprise located on the foothills of Mount Elgon, Uganda's highest volcanic mountain.

Topics: Africa | Client Spotlight |

Posted by Jesse Last  |  November 8, 2014

Jesse Last is the Cocoa Sourcing Manager at Taza Chocolate and former Value Chain Relations Manager at Root Capital. This piece originally appeared on Taza’s blog.  The dirt road before us drops down from beautiful, rolling hills into the tiny beach town of Dame-Marie, disappearing into the white sand and…

Topics: Client Spotlight | Mexico and Central America |

Posted by Faina Rozental  |  November 6, 2014

Root Capital’s impact associate, Faina Rozental, touring a banana cooperative in Piura, Peru. At the heart of my work as an impact associate with Root Capital is analyzing our clients’ social impact data collected by our loan officers. Aggregated, this data gives us a bird’s eye view of how clients across our portfolio likely impact farmer and employee livelihoods.

Topics: Client Spotlight | News and Announcements | South America |

Posted by Mike McCreless and Jesse Last  |  May 8, 2014

Ervin Miranda, Nicaragua coffee cooperative COOMPROCOM’s general manager. This is the third in a series that goes deeper on that social and environmental due diligence, addressing questions such as: What do we look for in the business we lend to, and why? How do we go about it? And how do small-scale producers and agricultural businesses in Africa and…

Topics: Advisory Services | Client Spotlight |

Posted by Root Capital  |  February 27, 2014

Cecilia (center) with Root Capital CEO Willy Foote (right) and a member of APBOSMAM banana association in Piura, Peru We sat down with Cecilia Yáñez, a senior investment analyst at Root Capital’s Lima-based partner organization ACCDER, to get the inside scoop on her work in northern Peru. Lately, Cecilia has been working with our Financial Advisory Services team to…

Topics: Advisory Services | Client Spotlight | News and Announcements | South America |