Posted by Root Capital  |  June 15, 2018

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.

Topics: News and Announcements | Partnerships |

Posted by Willy Foote  |  June 4, 2018

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.

Topics: News and Announcements | Partnerships |

Posted by Ana Lucía Trujillo and Elizabeth Teague  |  April 26, 2018

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.

Topics: Our Community | Partnerships | South America |

Posted by Ana Lucía Trujillo and Elizabeth Teague  |  April 26, 2018

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.

Topics: En Español | Our Community | Partnerships | South America |

Posted by Elise Garrity  |  April 19, 2018

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.

Topics: Livelihoods | Mexico and Central America | Our Community | Partnerships |

Posted by Will McAneny  |  October 26, 2017

No woman should have to choose between caring for her children and pursuing a fulfilling career. In this Kenyan village, working mothers found a way to do both.

Topics: East Africa | Partnerships | Stories of Impact | Women in Agriculture |

Posted by Faina Rozental  |  June 19, 2017

Pathological collaboration. It’s a phrase we use frequently at Root Capital — a phrase that speaks to our willingness to embrace partnerships in order to expand economic opportunities for as many smallholder farmers as possible. Earlier this year, I got to see that approach in action.

Topics: East Africa | Partnerships |

Posted by Willy Foote  |  July 28, 2016

Overlooking a village in southeastern Senegal.    What do Silicon Valley and Africa’s Sahel have in common? At first blush, not too much. One is apps, algorithms, and acquisitions, and the other? Well, you might be thinking more of a woman in a field, tilling soil with a hand hoe, a vast horizon behind her. Over the last month, I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to both places – first to eastern Senegal to meet with Root Capital clients (agricultural businesses organizing hundreds of cashew growers and millet farmers across the remote region), and later to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at Stanford University in Palo Alto, convened by President Obama. And I can tell you one thing: the very same entrepreneurial and innovative spirit that fuels Silicon Valley is alive and well on the last mile of dirt roads in the Sahel. The problem is, the world hasn’t supported agricultural entrepreneurs in the same way that Silicon Valley supports tech entrepreneurs. But what if it did?

Topics: Partnerships | Stories of Impact | West Africa |

Posted by Willy Foote  |  May 31, 2016

With Jose Dominguez, a coffee farmer and producer member of RAOS, a Root Capital client in Honduras The world of farmer finance, as we know it, is changing.

Topics: Mexico and Central America | Partnerships | South America |

Posted by Matt Foerster  |  April 29, 2016

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.

Topics: Environment | Livelihoods | Mexico and Central America | News and Announcements | Partnerships | South America |