Building Business Capacity from Afar: A Q&A With Root Capital Advisor Ousmane Sané

Root Capital’s innovative advisory services are powered by our talented team of advisory consultants. These trainers work closely with agricultural businesses to address the day-to-day challenges of running a remote enterprise. Working together, they build skills and processes that foster growth and resilience in the long term. One of these advisors is Ousmane Sané, known as Sané, who’s been a…

Read more

Topics: Advisory Services | Digital Business Intelligence | Partnerships | Staff Profiles | Stories of Impact | West Africa | Youth |

Un futuro más sostenible para las abejas—y los apicultores—en el sur de México

En la península de Yucatán, México, ubicada lejos del mar, la ciudad de Cacaptxa está llena de abejas. En esta comunidad maya, la miel es más que un negocio, es un punto de referencia cultural. Muchas familias han criado abejas durante generaciones. Algunos aún recuerdan cuando la miel se usaba en lugar de las visitas al médico para cerrar las…

Read more

Topics: Advisory Services | En Español | Environment | Mexico and Central America | Partnerships | Stories of Impact | Women in Agriculture |

A More Sustainable Future for Bees—and their Keepers—in Southern Mexico

On Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, nestled far from the sea, the town of Kankabchen is teeming with honeybees. In this Maya community, honey is more than just a business—it’s a cultural touchstone. Families have raised bees for generations. Some can still remember when honey was used in place of doctors’ visits to close wounds and treat cataracts. Lidia Maribel Moo Poot…

Read more

Topics: Advisory Services | Environment | Mexico and Central America | Partnerships | Stories of Impact | Women in Agriculture |

Harvesting Under Quarantine: One Co-op’s Creative Approach

As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of resilient, farmer-focused agricultural enterprises have never been clearer. For example, in Colombia, Root Capital client Federación Campesina del Cauca (FCC) is helping its farmers adapt to social distancing and other restrictions during the all-important coffee harvest season. Sustainable Harvest, one of FCC’s largest buyers and a Root…

Read more

Topics: Livelihoods | Our Community | Partnerships | South America | Stories of Impact |

Latest Findings About Root Capital’s Impact on Rural Livelihoods

Note: This blog is the final post in a four-part series exploring how Root Capital measures and manages the impact of our lending. Read parts one, two, and three. Impact measurement and management is at the heart of Root Capital’s work, helping us optimize our efforts to transform rural communities. By measuring our impact, we…

Read more

Topics: Livelihoods | News and Announcements | South America | Stories of Impact |

Root Capital’s Impact in 2019

Last year, we partnered with agricultural enterprises to unlock prosperity in some of the most economically and environmentally vulnerable regions of the world. With the help of our donors and investors, we reached more than three million people in rural households. Thank you for supporting our mission to build prosperous, inclusive, and resilient rural communities.

Read more

Topics: News and Announcements | Stories of Impact |

These Guatemalan Farmers Are Harnessing the Power of Digital Data With Help From Root Capital

Since the advent of the internet, digital technology has revolutionized the coffee industry. Buyers price their contracts with algorithmic software. Roasters optimize the flavor of their beans by controlling heat to a fraction of a degree. Even baristas use high-tech kits to test the chemical makeup of their brews. But while the world has changed around them, many coffee farmers have been left out.

Read more

Topics: Advisory Services | Digital Business Intelligence | Environment | Livelihoods | Mexico and Central America | Stories of Impact |

What We’ve Learned About Evaluating Impact in Rural Communities

Note: This blog post is the third in a four-part series exploring how Root Capital measures and manages the impact of our lending. Read parts one, two, and four. Several years ago, a mango farmer in Burkina Faso told us something that forever changed our approach to impact evaluation.

Read more

Topics: Our Community | Stories of Impact |

Better Coffee, Better Livelihoods: Lessons from Our Second Joint Workshop with Intelligentsia

"What coffee variety do you think has the lowest quality?” Intelligentsia Coffee’s Director of Sourcing and Shared Value Michael Sheridan asked this question to a room of farmers and business leaders in Honduras last month. “Lempira!” came the unanimous reply. Michael asked a follow-up question: “What is the variety you have planted most on your farms?” Again, the room called out in unison, “Lempira!”

Read more

Topics: Advisory Services | Mexico and Central America | Partnerships | Stories of Impact |

Cómo la tecnología digital sistematiza la información para las empresas rurales

La versión original de este blog apareció en inglés en el sitio web del Pace Able Foundation. La cooperativa cafetalera CECAFE se encuentra en Lonya Grande, el cual es un pueblo ubicado en la región montañosa de la región Amazonas, Perú, a un par de horas en carro de la ciudad principal más cercana. Los socios de la cooperativa viven aún más afuera, por caminos  serpenteantes próximos al Parque Nacional Cutervo.

Read more

Topics: Advisory Services | Digital Business Intelligence | En Español | Livelihoods | Mexico and Central America | Partnerships | South America | Stories of Impact |