Root Capital is pleased to welcome two new additions to our global leadership team: Amy Mullen, Chief Development Officer, and Steve Nocka, Chief Lending Officer. We recently sat down with both of them to learn more about their backgrounds and what drew them to the work of Root Capital. First off, meet our new Chief Development Officer, Amy Mullen…
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Transforming the lives of the world’s 450 million smallholder farmers isn’t a task any single organization can achieve; it requires systems-level change that can only be accomplished by many actors working together. That’s why we’re thrilled to welcome two new members to our board of directors—Mary Barton-Dock and C.D. Glin—each of whom brings to the table a wealth of experience working in the public sector. Mary and C.D. understand the critical role that the public sector can play in creating an enabling environment for positive change, and we're excited to benefit from their guidance as we collaborate with state and intergovernmental organizations to bring prosperity to farming communities around the world.
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The challenges now facing the coffee sector are unprecedented. The small producers that grow our coffee face sustained low prices, constantly shifting weather patterns, and a long road to recovery from the epidemic of coffee leaf rust that struck a few years ago. By strategically supporting the coffee enterprises working with these small producers, we can empower local businesses to channel much-needed resources and information to vulnerable farmers.
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We’re excited to share that we’ve been awarded a four-star rating from independent evaluator Charity Navigator for the twelfth year in a row. This top rating is given to nonprofits that demonstrate the highest standards of accountability, transparency, and financial health. Receiving it twelve years running places Root Capital among the top 1% of all nonprofits in the United States. What does this mean for you, as a supporter of Root Capital? It means you can feel confident that your donation is making a real difference, every day, for rural communities.
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Alongside several pioneering organizations in development finance, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) recently testified in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in support of a market-based approach to foreign aid. Root Capital is proud to partner with OPIC to connect smallholder farmers to global markets. Our CEO and founder Willy Foote submitted the following written testimony in support of OPIC's work to place capital where it's needed most.
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Root Capital, like many impact investors, operates in the gray area between traditional philanthropy and mainstream commercial markets. As a mission-focused lender, the organization serves the financial needs of small- and medium-sized enterprises—a Fair trade coffee cooperative in Uganda or an association of women quinoa producers in Bolivia, for example.
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This year, the world will consume more coffee than ever before. And industry projections point to growing demand in the years ahead, especially in emerging markets. Take China, for example. During its annual investor meeting last month, Starbucks highlighted that it’s opening the equivalent of one new store in China every day. The problem, however, is that this rising global demand for coffee cannot be met with a dwindling supply.
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Pictured: Jorge Cuevas from Sustainable Harvest Coffee Importers, Fátima Ismael from SOPPEXCCA, Willy Foote, Angelique Karekezi from Rwashoscco, and Ruben Espinoza from Cenfrocafe Last week, the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) recognized Root Capital founder and CEO Willy Foote with its 2016 Leadership Medal of Merit. The CQI medal has been presented annually for the past decade during the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) Expo, which took place April 14 to 17 in Atlanta.
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Today, we're thrilled to announce the release of our latest issue brief, Investing in Resilience: A Shared Value Approach to Agricultural Extension. This issue brief is the third in a series supported by the Skoll Foundation and the Citi Foundation. As world leaders gather in Paris this week for the latest round of climate change talks, there is increasing attention on the role of agriculture as “both a victim of and a contributor to climate change.”
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When I envision how to make agriculture work for the world, I think of a system that feeds the global population of nine billion that is expected by 2050 — especially those in cycles of chronic hunger and malnutrition. I think of better farming practices that increase yields and productivity, and that dramatically improve incomes for small-scale producers and the rural poor. I think of an enlightened food industry, as locally based as possible, that creates good jobs across every value chain and protects fragile ecosystems and biodiversity everywhere. And I think of agriculture as a crucial equalizer of opportunity for women and girls, one that provides dignity for the most marginalized populations on earth. Visiting with coffee farmers on the shores of Lake Kivu in western Rwanda
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