Root Capital’s COVID-19 Response: Six Month Report
In this report, we summarize Root Capital’s activities from March to August 2020 related to COVID-19 response. With our community’s support, we have built immediate and long-term resilience for agricultural businesses and rural communities around the world.
It will take a concerted push by governments, investors, philanthropists, social entrepreneurs, and more to build a thriving, resilient smallholder agricultural market. But this effort is critical.
We’ve learned over decades of experience that farming communities have resources and infrastructure ready to be mobilized in times of crisis. By leveraging these resources, we can preserve both lives and livelihoods in vulnerable rural areas.
The 2019 annual report focuses on the different pathways to resilience for the agricultural enterprises we work with and their communities. We envision a better future. A future where a thriving agricultural sector—fueled by tens of thousands of well supported local enterprises—enables rural communities around the world to become more prosperous, inclusive, and resilient.
In this report, we present a high-level summary of the survey results, as well as an update on activities implemented and/or planned as part of Root Capital’s ongoing COVID-19 response.
This study assesses the impact of Root Capital-financed businesses in the Peruvian cocoa sector on farmer livelihoods and gender inclusion using a retrospective comparison group matching technique.
Root Capital is a member of the Impact Frontiers Collaboration, which developed four steps to help investors integrate impact with financial analysis in their decision-making. It could change the way investors around the world allocate capital to achieve financial, social, and environmental goals. This article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review shows how.
At Root Capital, we believe that agricultural enterprises are one of the most effective platforms for delivering services and opportunities to rural women. This report highlights our impact in 2019, during which we reached a record number of women farmers, increased the proportion of women in our training workshops, and helped rural businesses strengthen gender equity.
In honor of our 20th year, we’ve published our first-ever annual report to showcase those communities and the agricultural enterprises that sustain them. Our vision, which I know you share, is a future where a thriving agricultural sector enables rural areas around the world to become more prosperous, inclusive, and resilient.
