For our client businesses in Peru, deforestation and climate change aren’t distant threats. They’re daily realities. Many of these coffee businesses are located at the edge of the Amazon rainforest, the largest contiguous forest in the world. But while it may seem limitless, this precious region is in danger of disappearing forever.
Read moreTopics: Our Community | Partnerships | South America |
Para las empresas con las que trabajamos en Perú, la deforestación y el cambio climático no son amenazas lejanas, son realidades cotidianas. Muchos de estos negocios de café se encuentran en el borde de la selva amazónica, contiguo al bosque más grande del mundo. Pero aunque puede parecer que no tiene límites, esta preciosa región está en peligro de desaparecer para siempre.
Read moreTopics: En Español | Our Community | Partnerships | South America |
Honey and chocolate are made to satisfy the sweet tooth, but these treats aren’t always a sweet deal for the smallholder farmers that produce them.
Read moreTopics: Livelihoods | Mexico and Central America | Our Community | Partnerships |
On a summer evening in Cambridge, MA, author, educator, and former ambassador Swanee Hunt sat down with activist Chantal Kayitesi and Root Capital founder and CEO Willy Foote to discuss the important role that women have played in Rwanda’s recovery from conflict. Hunt is the author of Rwandan Women Rising, a book she wrote to celebrate the visionary women who are paving the road to Rwanda’s recovery and reconciliation in the wake of the 1994 genocide.
Read moreTopics: East Africa | Our Community | Peace |
Root Capital board members and staff with the leaders of ANEI, a Fair Trade and organic coffee cooperative in Colombia In late February, I joined a few members of Root Capital’s staff and fellow Board members in traveling to visit ANEI, a Fair Trade and organic coffee cooperative located in the mountains of northeastern Colombia, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The cooperative, which has been a Root Capital client since 2012, has 700 small-scale coffee farming family members from four indigenous groups – the Arhuacos, Koguis, Wiwas, and Kankuamos – each with a distinct language.
Read moreTopics: Our Community | South America |
Over the past 15 years, the Skoll Foundation has been working to drive large-scale change by investing in, connecting, and celebrating social entrepreneurs and innovators advancing solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. The Foundation has been a long-time partner, supporting Root Capital with a combination of grant and debt funding for the past 10 years, and most recently provided a 10-year, $2 million loan that is subordinate to senior noteholders. We recently had a conversation with Eric Cooperström, principal and head of follow-on investing at the Skoll Foundation, during which he reflected on the Foundation’s evolving support of Root Capital and what excites him about the future of our partnership.
Read moreTopics: Our Community |
Founded in 2012, Open Road Alliance is a private philanthropic initiative that provides grant capital to non-profits for mid-implementation projects facing an unexpected roadblock or a sudden catalytic opportunity. Open Road has been a donor to Root Capital since 2013 and most recently became a lender, providing a long-term loan that is subordinate to senior noteholders. In this guest contribution, Maya Winkelstein, Open Road’s Executive Director, discusses the organization’s investment strategy and their evolving relationship with Root Capital.
Read moreTopics: Our Community |
Jeremy Mindich spends his days running Scopia Capital, a hedge fund management company with over $5 billion in assets under management. Beyond his success on Wall Street, he is deeply committed to using capital to effect social change. In 2008, Jeremy and Sarah Williams, former director of philanthropy programs for Pfizer Inc, co-founded Propel Capital, a philanthropic and impact investment fund, which has been a long-time supporter of Root Capital. Propel invests in innovative strategies to alleviate poverty globally. Propel recently provided Root Capital with a long-term loan that is subordinate to senior note holders. This capital is critical to Root Capital as it allows us to grow our loan portfolio and pursue our mission without being constrained by grant-funded net assets. We sat down with Jeremy, who also happens to be our board chair, and Sarah to talk about our long-term partnership and Propel’s most recent commitment.
Read moreTopics: Our Community |
Root Capital staff, clients, and supporters during a recent trip to Colombia. Every day, I feel thankful for the chance my team and I have to grow prosperity for low-income communities around the world. We serve farming families living in some of the most difficult conditions imaginable — moms, dads, and grandparents raising kids, crops, livestock. We help foster the growth of agricultural businesses that organize and purchase the harvests of hundreds, often thousands, of local producers. We provide services to strengthen enterprises and help them custom fit to local realities. It’s a highly local thing, and I love that.
Read moreTopics: Our Community |
Kate Danaher of RSF Soical Finance, Les Szabo of Dr. Bronner's, Scott Leonard of Indigenous Designs, Ben Schmerler of Root Capital, and Chris Mann of Guayaki Sustainable Rainforest Products take the stage at SOCAP15 to discuss funding fair trade supply chains. Last week, more than 2,700 impact investors and social entrepreneurs met in San Francisco for the eighth annual SOCAP event. Below, we share a few takeaways and reflections on the state of the impact investing sector and what the keynotes, sessions, and conversations at SOCAP15 revealed about the future of the industry.
Read moreTopics: Our Community | Partnerships |
