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Root Capital Welcomes Scott Amero and Sophie Romana as Co-Chairs of Board of Directors

Mr. Amero and Ms. Romana have both previously served as Root Capital Board members for two and four years, respectively Cambridge, MA – Root Capital, a nonprofit social impact investor that supports agricultural enterprises in Latin America, Africa and southeast Asia, today announced Scott Amero and Sophie Romana as the next co-chairs of the board of…

Impact MEL Senior Associate

About Us Agriculture is the key to unlocking a better future for billions of people. But while rural families sustain the world, they struggle to sustain themselves. At the same time, they face increasingly urgent challenges, from volatile crop prices to extreme weather. Root Capital is a social impact investor that provides financing and business training to agricultural enterprises so…

Thought Leader: Alexandra Tuinstra

Alexandra Tuinstra (she/her/hers), is  Chief Strategy Officer at Root Capital, a nonprofit that invests in small and growing agricultural enterprises to transform rural communities in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Alexandra oversees Root Capital’s Strategy Department, which ensures that the organization’s strategic priorities are designed to effect systemic change and are grounded in action learning. Alexandra and her team…

Will the COP28 Agreement Translate Into Real-World Climate Action?

Mountains near the Pula Lenca Cooperative in Marcala, Honduras, November 2023. Credit: Dylan Butler/Root Capital. As we near the end of 2023, we will say farewell to the warmest year on record-a year where our clients and their communities faced ever-more-urgent climate threats, like hail storms knocking coffee cherries off trees in Rwanda and heavy rains in…

Thought Leader: Peter Onguka

Peter Onguka (he/him/his) is Head of Lending, Africa at Root Capital and an expert in the field of finance, with a specific focus on empowering traditionally underserved and underbanked populations. He has been a featured speaker at several high-profile conferences, including the African Fine Coffees Association Conference, where he spoke on a panel discussing sustainable financing…

Improving Livelihoods and Increasing Smallholder Coffee Farmer Incomes in Chiapas

View overlooking Tenejapa Municipality in Chiapas, where Root Capital client Kulaktik is based. Credit: Root Capital Coffee farms dot the landscape in Mexico’s southernmost state of Chiapas. But coffee production is much more than a key characteristic of the physical landscape in Chiapas-it is also deeply woven into the cultural and economic fabric of the region. Coffee production accounts for…

Thought Leader: Elizabeth Teague

Elizabeth Teague (she/her/hers), Senior Director of Climate Resilience at Root Capital, is an expert working at the intersection of climate change, impact investing, and global development. She has been featured at conferences and events hosted by industry leaders, including the Global Coffee Platform, MIT’s Climate & Sustainability Consortium, the Specialty Coffee Association,…

IN PHOTOS: How Small Businesses Are Driving Rural Prosperity and Tackling Climate Change in Honduras

In March, I went on my fourth trip with Root Capital—one very near and dear to my heart because it was to my home country: Honduras. As someone who was born and grew up there—and who has since spent a career working to address the challenges of poverty, climate change, and migration in this region and beyond—it was very meaningful to once again be amid the verdant farms and vibrant communities at the heart of this work...

Deep in the Meru region of Kenya, Shalem Investments has witnessed firsthand the effects of shifting weather patterns and climate change on its community. Much of Kenya is experiencing the worst drought in forty years, with devastating consequences for farmers of “thirsty” crops like maize. As a grain aggregator and climate action leader, Shalem is building a local market for the more climate-ready, drought-tolerant sorghum crops and providing grains for the World Food Programme’s drought relief efforts in the larger Horn of Africa region. Thanks in part to financing from Root Capital over the last decade, Shalem has grown its business and impact, increasing the number of farmers it supports from around 2,000 to 30,000. Using a grant from Root Capital, Shalem also expanded training on sustainable agricultural practices for farmers, who struggled for years with low crop yields due to unpredictable rains and growing seasons. It’s with clients like Shalem Investments in mind that Root Capital launched our Climate Resilience Roadmap in 2020. Our overarching goal was to foster clients’ resilience by equipping them with the tools needed to confront the climate crisis. The Climate Resilience Roadmap describes how we seek to double lending to businesses committed to climate action in rural communities, like Shalem Investments; expand our climate resilience advisory services across our global portfolio; design and pilot new forms of climate finance; and share learnings with others to maximize impact. Earlier today, we released the 2022 annual report for our Climate Resilience Roadmap describing key activities and accomplishments from the past year. Halfway through our six-year climate action strategy, we’re currently on track to achieve (and surpass) our goals, having: Financed 114 climate action leaders annually (91% of goal of 125/year); Disbursed $98M in climate finance annually (93% of $105M/year goal); Provided 116 businesses with agronomic and climate advisory services (70% of goal of 125); and Reached 472,000 farmers and employees via our climate finance or advisory services (94% of 500,000 goal). And most importantly, our work is translating into impact for our clients and farmers. With Root Capital’s support, agricultural businesses are implementing new climate adaptation plans with farmers and investing in clean energy and regenerative farming practices—from solar panels in Kenya to organic fertilizers in Nicaragua. To learn more about our approach to meeting the needs of the underserved small-scale agriculture sector, read the full report. Announcing Our New Climate Resilience Roadmap Annual Report

Deep in the Meru region of Kenya, Shalem Investments has witnessed firsthand the effects of shifting weather patterns and climate change on its community. Much of Kenya is experiencing the worst drought in 40 years, with devastating consequences for farmers of “thirsty” crops like maize. As a grain aggregator and climate action leader, Shalem is building a local market…

Five Questions for Elizabeth Teague, Director of Root Capital’s Climate Resilience Initiative

Smallholder farmers across the world are on the frontlines of the climate crisis, with rising temperatures, droughts and floods, and severe storms threatening their livelihoods. Through our Climate Resilience Initiative, Root Capital connects agricultural enterprises with urgently needed resources, including localized data on climate risks, best practices for mitigation and adaptation and capital for climate-smart investments. We recently sat down…