Access To Finance Chuk Onike has been Visa Foundation’s Program Officer since 2021. Credit: Chuk Onike
As Program Officer at Visa Foundation – a long-time Root Capital partner – Chukwudi (Chuk) Onike has dedicated his career to ensuring that women-led businesses and diverse entrepreneurs around the globe have the tools they need to thrive.
The Challenge
Access to capital is key to building thriving businesses. However, research shows that women and underserved entrepreneurs have been historically excluded from resources that support innovation. Only 7% of all agricultural investment goes to women, and across emerging markets, the total gender finance gap for small and micro businesses is estimated to be $1.5 trillion. When women are provided with loans, they typically face unfavorable banking practices, including higher interest rates and shorter loan repayment periods compared to their male counterparts.
To help change this landscape, Visa Foundation has become an enabler of economic mobility, committing over $200 million in grants and impact investments to over 70 partners, globally. As a result of these partnerships, more than one million jobs and four million small and micro businesses have been supported. A proud 2X champion, Visa Foundation is also helping to move gender lens investing from niche to the mainstream.
Root Capital shares many of these objectives. In 2023, gender-inclusive businesses represented a record 61% of our portfolio. By investing in women, we aim to strengthen women’s incomes, leadership, and opportunities, as well to generate economic growth and opportunity for regions at large.
Visa Foundation supports women-led and underserved small and micro businesses around the world, like the coffee-growing Koperative Abahuzamugambi Ba Kawa (Maraba) in Huye, Rwanda. Credit: Adam Finch/Root Capital
Our Collaboration
“Visa Foundation’s goal of providing access to the digital economy for diverse and women-led small businesses is accomplished because of our strong partners with boots on the ground experience,” explains Chuk. “Given Root Capital’s stellar reputation and track record, it was a no-brainer.”
Root Capital is one of few organizations that is both a grantee and investee for Visa Foundation. Philanthropic dollars support Root Capital’s comprehensive advisory services to entrepreneurs and their businesses, while Visa Foundation’s impact investment provides capital that is used for lending to agricultural businesses that lack access to traditional banking institutions. These two qualities of capital are mutually reinforcing, ensuring that businesses receive both the capital and technical assistance needed to grow sustainably, access more financing, and drive meaningful impact in their communities.
The Impact
Together, Visa Foundation and Root Capital have been able to unlock much needed financing for the hardest-to-reach markets. Additionally, Root Capital has provided loans and advisory services to gender-inclusive agricultural businesses across the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Indonesia, Peru, and Rwanda, totaling over $2 million.
Root Capital is actively building an evidence base that amplifies learnings to inspire other financiers to include gender lens investing in their strategies. “Root Capital has pushed thinking for what can be achieved for farmers and cooperatives, not just through execution and service delivery, but through thought leadership that is influencing the broader field,” Chuk says.
Through our ongoing partnership, Chuk is excited to continue championing gender lens investing and to help crowd in new partners that will, collectively, create lasting change for women in agriculture.