Posted by Root Capital  |  June 27, 2014

Today, we're launching our 15 Voices blog series: 15 voices from friends and partners reflecting on Root Capital's mission and our collective journey to grow rural prosperity. We kick off the series symbolically with an interview with Ralph Taylor, Root Capital's very first supporter. We owe so much to Ralph and to his extended family for their friendship, intellectual contributions, and financial support over the last 15 years. Ralph is a deep thinker, salsa and swing dance aficionado, and as you'll see from his responses to our questions below, a real character.

Topics: News and Announcements |

Posted by Root Capital  |  June 27, 2014

This year, Root Capital celebrates an important anniversary: 15 years of investing to grow rural prosperity in poor, environmentally vulnerable communities in Africa and Latin America.

Topics: News and Announcements |

Posted by Willy Foote  |  June 6, 2014

Earlier in the week, the Aspen Network for Development Entrepreneurs (known as ANDE) hosted its annual metrics conference in Washington, DC. At the event, Root Capital was proud to join ANDE and Dalberg Global Development Advisors in introducing a vision for the next phase of impact measurement in the small and growing business (SGB) sector. 

Topics: Advisory Services | News and Announcements |

Posted by Root Capital  |  March 20, 2014

Working out of Root Capital's hub in Dakar, Senegal, Mireille William oversees our Financial Advisory Services (FAS) program throughout West Africa. Earlier this week, we had a chance to catch up with her about the experiences that brought her to Root Capital and her vision for FAS in West Africa.

Topics: Advisory Services | Africa | News and Announcements |

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 |

Posted by Root Capital  |  February 7, 2014

  Jesse Last (left), Root Capital's value chain manager and Elizabeth Teague, senior associate for environmental performance. Last week when we released our first issue brief, Social & Environmental Due Diligence: From the Business Case to the Impact Case, we simultaneously released the scorecards used by our loan officers to evaluate clients’ social and environmental practices. To ensure the quality of the data we gather and the consistent application of due diligence standards by our loan officers, the scorecards alone are not enough, training is also required. In the case of our environmental scorecard, this has meant collaborating with the Rainforest Alliance to design and deliver three-day, field-based trainings in Costa Rica, Peru, and Kenya (next up is Ghana). Led by Rainforest Alliance agronomists, loan officers visited certified and non-certified farms in order to deepen their first-hand knowledge of sustainable agriculture.

Topics: Climate Action | News and Announcements |

Posted by Root Capital  |  November 6, 2013

Last summer, Maria Eufemia Madonado Ocaño (pictured above) watched helplessly as almost all of her coffee trees died. The 52-year-old Peruvian farmer and member of Root Capital client Unicafec was unable to stop the devastating spread of coffee leaf rust, called la roya in Spanish. The fungus has been sweeping through coffee-growing regions in Central America and Peru since late 2012.

Topics: Advisory Services | Climate Action | Mexico and Central America | News and Announcements | South America |