Posted by Root Capital  |  November 12, 2014

Jonathan Rosenthal (right) with Rosario Castellon, Root Capital's former loan officer for Nicaragua  Jonathan Rosenthal has been a friend of Root Capital since the early days. As one of Root Capital’s founding board members (2001-2007), Jonathan has been a critical advisor to Root Capital, always helping us stay true to our mission and remember the needs of our clients. For the last 25 years, Jonathan has created and managed projects that help advance social justice issues in the global fair trade community. He current serves as the executive director of Coop Coffees and advises numerous fair trade organizations. He is also the co-founder and former executive director of Equal Exchange, a worker owned fair trade organization.

Topics: News and Announcements |

Posted by Asya Troychansky  |  November 10, 2014

Despite the resurgence of interest and new investment in agricultural development, the supply of actionable data on the impacts of enterprises that work with smallholder farmers trails behind the demand. Our impact studies, launched in 2011 as a complement to the social and environmental metrics collected during due diligence, seek to help address the knowledge gap in the sector. In the studies, we examine the impacts that our clients, small and growing agricultural businesses, have on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and on the environment, and we determine if and how our services increase the enterprises’ impacts. Today we’re excited to release our first multi-site impact study — Improving Rural Livelihoods: A Study of Four Guatemalan Cooperatives.

Topics: Gender Equity | Mexico and Central America | News and Announcements |

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 Root Capital  |  October 23, 2014

We’re so pleased to share an interview with Wendy Schmidt as part of our 15 Voices blog series. In 2006, Wendy established The Schmidt Family Foundation to advance the wiser use of energy and natural resources and to support efforts worldwide that empower communities to build resilient systems for food, water, and human resources. Here, Wendy shares her reflections on the Foundation’s involvement with Root Capital’s peace and recovery work in post-conflict countries. We’re deeply grateful for Wendy’s support and the support of The Schmidt Family Foundation in helping us grow rural prosperity in some of the world’s most vulnerable areas.

Topics: News and Announcements |

Posted by Root Capital  |  October 10, 2014

Serving as Root Capital’s first Board Chair (2001-2007), Deborah is a long-time friend of Root Capital and is a Board Director Emerita. She is the vice president for investing in inclusive finance at the Center for Financial Inclusion, a division of Accion International. Deborah also manages the Council of Microfinance Equity Funds (CMEF), a membership organization of private entities that make equity investments in microfinance institutions.

Topics: News and Announcements |

Posted by Root Capital  |  September 26, 2014

Matt Patksy (right) visiting a Root Capital client in Peru. We recently sat down with former Root Capital board member Matt Patsky, CEO of Boston-based Trillium Asset Management LLC, as part of our 15 Voices interview series. Matt served on the Root Capital board from 2004-2011 and currently serves on our Audit Committee. Root Capital: When did…

Topics: News and Announcements |

Posted by Root Capital  |  August 26, 2014

Gail and Tom Kaneb are Canadian philanthropists who have been impact investors – and Root Capital supporters – since the early days. Champions of impact and innovation, they have encouraged us to continuously push the frontier of our lending. Both Gail and Tom have invested significantly in Root Capital with their wisdom, business acumen, time (both served six years on the Root Capital board), and passion. We are deeply appreciative of their friendship and support. 

Topics: News and Announcements |

Posted by Root Capital  |  July 30, 2014

Peter Erickson is General Mills’ Executive Vice President of Innovation, Technology and Quality. Our paths first crossed in 2010 as General Mills was launching Partners in Food Solutions, a nonprofit organization that brings together the business and technical expertise of global food companies to improve the capacity and expertise of local food processors in Africa. Peter has been a champion of our work and valuable thought partner ever since, and we’re thrilled to have him help us celebrate our 15th anniversary by participating in our 15 Voices blog series.

Topics: News and Announcements |

Posted by Root Capital  |  July 14, 2014

To kick off the celebration of our 15th anniversary, we’ve launched our 15 Voices blog series. The series is a collection of 15 interviews with some of Root Capital’s closest friends and allies who share our goal of growing rural prosperity and are helping us move toward our vision.

Topics: News and Announcements |

Posted by Root Capital  |  July 5, 2014

Today, we join the United Nations in celebrating the International Day of Cooperatives. Over the past 15 years, we've financed and trained hundreds of cooperatives throughout Latin America and Africa.

Topics: News and Announcements |