Central America and Mexico

Since making our first loan to a coffee cooperative in Guatemala in 1999, we continue to invest in small and growing agricultural enterprises across the region.

From well-established cooperatives to early-stage businesses looking to grow, the region is full of enterprises poised to drive impact for smallholder farmers. This support is increasingly urgent, as the region battles natural disasters and other impacts of climate change. With offices in Costa Rica, Mexico, and Nicaragua, we use innovative funding mechanisms to unlock the impact potential of coffee, cocoa, and honey enterprises.

In this region we currently work in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

Stories of Impact

What Our Work in Nicaragua Looks Like Right Now

For years, many Nicaraguans have bristled under the increasingly repressive policies of President Daniel Ortega. Last April, the passage of an unpopular tax law tipped the country over the edge.

How These Mayan Farmers Are Modernizing a Two-Thousand-Year-Old Tradition

For the Maya, bees and their honey have always been sacred. Bees are a symbol of fertility and abundance; kaab, the Mayan word for bee, can also be translated as “force,” “land,” or “world.” But for the Mayan producer-members of the EDUCE cooperative, honey isn’t just a part of their cultural heritage. It’s also their livelihood.

Five Things I Learned from Our Youth Workshops in Nicaragua

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of traveling to the coffeelands of northern Nicaragua to see Root Capital’s advisory team in action.

Sweetening the Deal for Cocoa and Honey Producers: Root Capital’s New Partnership with the Trafigura Foundation and Puma Energy Foundation

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.

To Rebuild After Conflict, Latin American Farmers Need An Alternative to the Drug Trade

In this month’s Root Capital Roundup, we explore how the illicit drug trade affects farming communities in three Latin American countries where we work… and how agricultural businesses offer people a peaceful alternative.

Unlocking Opportunity for Those Who Need It Most

Two billion. That’s the number of people in rural communities who are struggling to survive on less than $2 per day. Many of them are farming to feed the rest of the world, yet they aren’t getting enough to eat. Many live hundreds of miles from accessible markets, without the roads to reach them. With few choices, they’re forced to sell their hard-earned crops at rock-bottom prices. But there’s a way out of this cycle of grinding poverty.