1,500 Loans. 1,500 Stories. 15 Years.

June 27, 2014, 9:22 am

≫ Next: 1,500 Loans. 1,500 Stories.15 years of Impact.

This year, Root Capital celebrates an important anniversary: 15 years of investing to grow rural prosperity in poor, environmentally vulnerable communities in Africa and Latin America. Help us celebrate the success we’ve achieved together!

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1,500 Loans. 1,500 Stories.15 years of Impact.

June 30, 2014, 8:25 am

≫ Next: ACCDER - Analista de Operaciones y Asuntos Legales

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Message from the CEO

Fifteen years ago, I was recently married, my wife and I had done time on Wall Street, we hadn’t had kids yet (we have three today) and I still had a full head of hair. We were returning from Mexico, thanks to a two-year business journalism fellowship I’d had there, and were both headed to the Harvard Business School. In hindsight, the long truck ride back to the United States was a swerve moment for me. Instead of taking the traditional path that lay before me, it was in that truck that I felt the itch to scrap business school and follow my growing sense of urgency to act on my ideals. I did, and here we are.

Our vision has been to build rural prosperity for smallholder farmers around the world, and this summer marks 15 whirlwind years of bringing that vision to fruition. It’s hard to believe that Root Capital has been around for that long. It’s even harder to believe that we’ve provided more than $650 million in financing to over 500 small and growing agricultural businesses, and have reached 750,000 smallholder farmers and four million household members across Africa and Latin America in that time.

During a recent workshop, ASOBAGRI, in coordination with CRECER Association and Grameen Foundation, engaged young producers with cutting-edge technology to help them increase productivity, profitability and resilience.

When I founded our social enterprise in 1999, terms like “shared value” and “impact investing” didn’t even exist. To be sure, the last 15 years have brought significant change — and not only to the lexicon of our sector. The percentage of people living in extreme poverty has dropped by more than half since the 1990s; Bill Gates, a development expert in his own right, has even made the bold prediction that there will be almost no poor countries left in the world by 2035. That’s incredible change.

But there’s a lot of work left to be done, as nearly three billion people still survive on less than $2 a day and well over a billion of them scrape by on less than half of that, lacking the very basics: clean water, electricity and medicine. That’s unacceptable in a world of abundance. At Root Capital, we operate on the conviction that small and growing agricultural businesses are the engines for economic growth in some of the world’s poorest and most environmentally vulnerable areas. We’ve spent the last 15 years helping to build the financial services and industry infrastructure required to serve them.

Indeed, the fingerprint of change has been most noticeable in our clients, including in the western highlands of Guatemala, where Root Capital made its inaugural loan. A few months ago, while scrolling through my personal Facebook page, I saw something that stopped me in my tracks: Root Capital’s very first client ever, ASOBAGRI, a cardamom and coffee cooperative in a remote corner of northwestern Guatemala, had posted photos of a workshop on using handheld tablets that they were providing for their members’ children.

The post was profound on two levels. First, the cooperative was dynamically engaging in technology and social networking — with its farmers, partners and buyers — via tools we couldn’t have dreamed would exist, let alone be accessible to our clients, when we made that first loan 15 years ago. Second, the distribution of handheld tablets for education and data collection was a clear signal that somewhere along the line the technology ecosystem had changed, even for some of our most isolated clients.

It was evident in that Facebook post that even in the most far-flung locations, the next generation of farmers, managers, leaders and entrepreneurs is brimming with digital natives who are eager for cutting-edge technology that will help increase productivity, profitability and resilience. Fifteen years after starting this journey, we’ve made a great deal of progress, though I also know we’re just getting started.

The success of Root Capital is due to the extraordinary commitment of people like you: deliberate and clear-eyed supporters who see a great future in the changing landscapes of philanthropy and development. We are enormously grateful for your shared passion and your trust in the value of what was once just a bold and audacious vision. Together we will continue to change the lives and livelihoods of smallholder farmers around the world.

We’ll be celebrating our 15th anniversary in a variety of ways and in many places over the coming months. To kick things off, we’ve launched our 15 Voices blog series, a collection of 15 interviews with some of Root Capital’s friends and allies, individuals who share our goal of growing rural prosperity and are helping us move toward our vision. The first interview is with Ralph Taylor, a dear friend and Root Capital’s very first funder.

Together with all of you, we’ll continue to lead the way toward an expanding, and thriving, market for agricultural businesses operating in poor, environmentally vulnerable places. Help us celebrate the impact we’ve achieved together — and join us for the next 15 years of growing rural prosperity.

With profound appreciation,

William Foote, Founder & CEO

Root Capital, USAID and private sector leaders partner to launch $23M Coffee Farmer Resilience Fund

We’re thrilled to announce a new partnership with Cooperative Coffees, DOEN Foundation, Keurig Green Mountain, Open Road Alliance, Starbucks and USAID to launch the Coffee Farmer Resilience Fund. The new Resilience Fund, a strategic companion to our existing Coffee Farmer Resilience Initiative, will leverage $23 million in financial assistance to more than 40,000 coffee farmers combating the devastating coffee rust outbreak in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Metrics 3.0: New Blog Post in Stanford Social Innovation Review

Root Capital’s Mike McCreless, Dalberg’s CJ Fonzi and ANDE’s Genevieve Edens and Saurabh Lall introduce their vision for the next phase of impact measurement, Metrics 3.0, in the small and growing business (SGB) sector.

New and Noteworthy

Root Capital was the recipient of a special World Fair Trade Day promotion organized by the Fair World Project this past May. A percentage of sales in participating cooperative grocers of products from Alaffia, Alter Eco, Divine Chocolate, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, Equal Exchange, Guayaki Yerba Mate and Maggie’s Organics was donated to Root Capital, resulting in an $8,724 donation, including a donation from the National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA). We are truly grateful to be honored for the third year in a row, and thank Fair World Project, the participating companies, and NCGA for their generosity and vote of confidence in our work to promote sustainable livelihoods across the globe.
In his latest Forbes blog post, Root Capital CEO Willy Foote shares a formative experience from his youth that didn’t make it into the recent commencement address he gave at his high school alma mater.
The Seattle Times covered the launch of Root Capital’s Coffee Farmer Resilience Fund, calling it “part of a growing international effort to combat coffee rust’s devastating impact on Central and South America’s coffee farms, where some of the world’s best beans are grown.”
Root Capital CEO Willy Foote was quoted in this Seattle Times article, referring to coffee as “the canary in the coal mine” for climate change.
TriplePundit contributor Martha Maretich highlights Root Capital as a growth-focused lender in her guide to different forms of impact-backed finance.

What We're Reading

A recent Foreign Policy article, “Make Money, End Poverty,” underscores the benefits of strategic partnerships between public and private actors in global development.
This new brief from the Initiative for Smallholder Finance examines historical evidence from three specific advanced economies — Germany, the United States and South Korea — to highlight policy considerations that will affect the growth of agricultural finance in today’s developing markets, where many of the world’s 450 million smallholder farmers live.
Also from the Initiative for Smallholder Finance, the Investor and Funder Guide to the Agricultural Social Lending Sector draws on a groundbreaking aggregate analysis of leading social lenders’ lending portfolios and metrics to (1) examine current lending practices among social lenders, (2) consider the future trajectory of the sector and (3) highlight opportunities for investors and funders to support the sector’s future growth.
Jeffrey Summit of Tufts University worked with interfaith coffee co-op Peace Kawomera, part of Root Capital client Gumutindo, to produce an album about coffee production, fair trade, religious unity and economic justice. Read more about the cooperative’s role in the peace-building process in the Boston Globe article, “Ugandan Beans Brew Taste, Tolerance.”

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ACCDER - Analista de Operaciones y Asuntos Legales

May 19, 2014, 11:37 am

≫ Next: Livia Zea

≪ Previous: 1,500 Loans. 1,500 Stories.15 years of Impact.

Resumen

ACCDER está buscando un Analista de Operaciones quien será responsable para el apoyo en el proceso del cierre y formalización de cualquier préstamo aprobado por Root Capital, desde el momento de su aprobación hasta el primer desembolso. Además, apoya al Administrador de Cartera de Root Capital en la coordinación de los diferentes Comités de Crédito para asegurar un eficiente procesamiento de los memos que llegan a Comité.

Misión e Historia de ACCDER

La misión de ACCDER es apoyar el crecimiento de la prosperidad rural mediante el impulso de la inversión en pequeños negocios agrícolas que proporcionan medios de vida sostenibles en el país. ACCDER es una Asociación sin fines de lucro que es pionera en la búsqueda de estrategias para lograr la inclusión financiera de empresas rurales. ACCDER realiza evaluaciones financieras y legales a pequeñas y medianas empresas rurales a fin de determinar su capacidad para recibir financiamiento, dándoles recomendaciones del caso y facilitándoles los contactos necesarios para que puedan recibir financiamiento. Asimismo, realiza capacitaciones y asistencia técnica en gestión financiera a empresas rurales a fin de fortalecer su capacidad directiva y facilitar su crecimiento económico y social.

ACCDER trabaja en colaboración con Root Capital, un fondo de inversión social, sin fines de lucro, que apoya el crecimiento de la prosperidad rural en sectores de bajos recursos y ambientalmente vulnerables, en África y América Latina, mediante crédito, capacitación financiera y fortalecimiento de las relaciones de comerciales para los pequeños negocios agrícolas. Los clientes de Root Capital incluyen asociaciones y empresas privadas que ayudan a la creación de medios de subsistencia sostenibles mediante la consolidación de los productos de cientos y, a veces, miles de agricultores. Desde su lanzamiento en 1999 Root Capital ha desembolsado más de 500 millones de créditos a 460 pequeños negocios agrícolas en crecimiento. Estos préstamos han ayudado a los clientes de Root Capital a mejorar los ingresos de más de 450,000 hogares en áreas rurales.

Responsabilidades

Coordinación de Comité de Crédito

Apoyar en recibir y procesar cualquier propuesta de crédito que llegue para ser evaluado en Comité de Crédito.
Apoyar en la convocatoria del Comité correspondiente, coordinando disponibilidad de miembros del Comité y poniendo a disposición los documentos requeridos para dicha evaluación.
Asegurar que el proceso de aprobación sea lo más eficiente posible.

Cierre legal de préstamos

Revisar que se tengan todos los documentos requeridos para proceder al cierre del préstamo.
Basado en las minutas del memo aprobado, preparar y elaborar los documentos legales correspondientes.
Apoyar la verificación de nombres de clientes en el cumplimiento de OFAC.
Enviar documentos legales revisados al cliente, para su posterior firma.
Apoyar con la revisión de documentos legales de Root Capital.
Antes de la presentación de un memo a Comité, apoyar a los Analistas de Inversiones en la redacción de los términos y condiciones del crédito o en la documentación del mismo, cuando sea requerido.
Coordinar con los abogados locales de Root Capital la elaboración de los documentos legales en los casos que haya que registrar una garantía real o un contrato de préstamo localmente.
Dar seguimiento con los abogados locales de Root Capital sobre la inscripción de garantías reales y contratos en Notaría y Registros Públicos.
Controlar que toda documentación legal de préstamo sea formalizada y recibida antes de entrar los relacionados términos y condiciones en el sistema.

Custodia de documentación legal de Root Capital

Apoyar en el proceso de colección de documentos legales firmados.
Tomar custodia de los documentos legales originales firmados y salvaguardarlos en un lugar adecuado. De la misma forma, ordenar y guardar los documentos legales recibidos de manera digital.

Otras responsabilidades

Generar y traducir borradores de correspondencia general y legal.
Realizar otras funciones según requerimiento.

Esta descripción de puesto tiene la intención de describir la naturaleza general del trabajo en esta posición y no es una lista exhaustiva de todas las responsabilidades, tareas y requerimientos de la persona en este papel.

Requerimientos Académicos, Habilidades y Experiencia

Fuerte orientación al servicio al cliente.
De 1 a 3 años de experiencia bancaria y/o en trámites para formalización de créditos. Trabajo previo con clientes tipo pequeña y mediana empresa (rurales) es deseable.
Fuertes habilidades interpersonales, de colaboración y de negociación.
Habilidad para trabajar en equipo y bajo presión. Capacidad para poner atención al detalle, mientras que coordine una amplia gama de actividades al mismo tiempo. Fuertes habilidades organizativas.
Bachillerato universitario en administración de empresas ó áreas relacionadas. Formación financiera es una ventaja.
Fluidez en el idioma español es indispensable. Conocimiento avanzado del idioma inglés es una ventaja.
Manejo avanzado de Word y Excel es indispensable. Conocimiento adicional del manejo de una base de datos es una ventaja.
Respetar la confidencialidad de las transacciones y actividades de negocio de ACCDER y sus clientes.
Fuerte interés en el área de inversiones ambiental y socialmente responsables.
Tener autorización para trabajar en Perú.

Aplicaciones

La fecha límite para las aplicaciones es el 02 de Junio de 2014. Recomendamos a los candidatos interesados aplicar lo antes posible.

La aplicación deberá incluir currículum vitae y su carta de presentación describiendo la razón por su interés, calificaciones para el puesto, expectativa salarial y la forma de cómo se enteró de esta oportunidad. Por favor enviar sus aplicaciones dirigidas a: Mariella Arestegui, email: marestegui@accder.pe. A los candidatos finalistas se les requerirá por lo menos tres referencias de trabajo.

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Livia Zea

July 23, 2014, 9:32 am

≫ Next: Senior Associate, Advisory Services

≪ Previous: ACCDER - Analista de Operaciones y Asuntos Legales

Office Administrator

Livia coordinates the daily operations of Root Capital’s Cambridge office, supports internal communication activities among our global offices, and provides administrative support to the Human Resources Team. Prior to joining Root Capital, she worked as a program coordination lead and clinical program coordinator at Dovetail Health. Livia holds a B.S. in Business Management from Northeastern University. She also holds a Bachelor of Humanities & Social Science from Enrique Guzman y Valle in Lima Perú.

Languages:

Spanish, English, Portuguese

Location:

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Senior Associate, Advisory Services

May 12, 2014, 1:41 pm

≫ Next: Securing Prosperity in Colombia's Coffee Lands

≪ Previous: Livia Zea

Summary

This position will support Advisory work across Latin America and Africa, including strategy formation, program and budget management, and implementation of key Advisory initiatives.

Mission and History of Root Capital

Root Capital’s mission is to grow rural prosperity by investing in small and growing agricultural businesses that build sustainable livelihoods in Africa and Latin America.

Root Capital is a nonprofit social investment fund that grows rural prosperity in poor, environmentally vulnerable places in Africa and Latin America by lending capital, delivering financial training and strengthening market connections for small and growing agricultural businesses.

Root Capital clients include associations and private businesses that help create sustainable livelihoods by aggregating the products of hundreds, and often, thousands of farmers. Since our launch in 1999, we have provided more than $650 million in credit to over 500 small and growing agricultural businesses.

Root Capital envision a thriving financial market serving agricultural businesses that generate long-term social, economic, and environmental sustainability for small-scale farmers and their communities around the world. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Root Capital currently has associated locations in Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru and Kenya.

Responsibilities

Advisory Services program management.

Strategy
- Work with the Finance team to analyze the economics of service delivery and refine the business case for Advisory Services.
- Work with Strategy, Knowledge, and Innovation (SKI) team to refine the impact measurement model for Advisory Services.
Financial analysis and reporting
- Review and analyze financial performance (global budget vs. actuals; operational efficiency) and report to Global Director of Advisory Services quarterly.
- Support Finance and Operations in developing and improving budgeting systems and analytics.
Regional Program Coordination
- Monitor the integration of Advisory and Lending activities, including the effect of Advisory activities on Lending outcomes e.g., pipeline generation, client retention, and portfolio quality.
- Work closely with Root Capital’s Impact team to evaluate the direct and indirect impacts of Advisory Services activity on Root Capital clients.

Advisory Services project management.

Support the Advisory team in Latin America to ensure successful program delivery and reporting on key initiatives, including the Coffee Farmer Resilience Initiative.
Coordinate closely with IR team in Cambridge to aggregate and refine performance information to inform stakeholder communication.

Other tasks or projects as assigned.

This position description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work of this position, and is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of individuals in this role.

Qualifications

2-5 years of relevant experience; e.g., impact investing, small business training, financial consulting, international development
Bachelor’s degree in business administration, International Development, Economics, or equivalent is required; graduate degree preferred
English and Spanish fluency required
Clear understanding of contemporary models for providing financial services to rural businesses; specifically, SME/SGB lending and/or microfinance
Basic knowledge of technical assistance models and methodologies; emphasis on financial management and financial statement analysis of small and growing businesses
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex ideas in compelling form
Experience building programs in and entrepreneurial, “self-starter” environment
Experience with development initiatives in Latin America and/or Africa, preferably in the areas of impact investing, micro-enterprise/cooperative development, or financial training
Strong background in non-profit administration, project accounting, and financial / budget management; ability to interface seamlessly with Root Capital’s Finance & Administration team
Collaborative work style, works well on a team, able to adapt to a rapidly changing environment
Entrepreneurial spirit and professional maturity; ability to work independently, think creatively, and a willingness to seek support when needed
Demonstrated commitment to innovative solutions concerning the “missing middle”, particularly for small and growing businesses in developing countries
Passion for Root Capital’s commitment to worldwide poverty alleviation and environmental conservation.
Must be authorized to work in the US.

Salary

Commensurate with experience.

Applications and Nominations

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Applications including a resume and cover letter describing your interest, qualifications, language abilities, salary requirements, and how you learned of the position should be sent to: jobs+sraas@rootcapital.org. Please type “Sr. Associate Advisory Services” followed by your name (Last, First) as the subject line of your email (e.g. “Sr. Associate Advisory Services – Marrero, Marc”). Finalist candidates will be required to provide at least three work-related references.

Root Capital is an equal opportunity employer.

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Securing Prosperity in Colombia's Coffee Lands

July 31, 2014, 9:06 am

≫ Next: Business Development Officer - Senegal

≪ Previous: Senior Associate, Advisory Services

Message from the CEO

Willy visiting with farmers from Asociación Nuevo Futuro, a Root Capital client in Colombia.

I just returned from the lush, rugged state of Cauca in southwest Colombia on a tour to uncover farm innovations that might do as much to secure lasting prosperity in the countryside as the ongoing peace negotiations between government and the FARC. A troubled and often disputed territory, Cauca is one of the four Pacific coast departments of Colombia and home to countless “campesino” coffee farmers who find themselves caught in the crossfire of the drug trade, guerillas, paramilitaries, the army, and large-scale oil drilling and gold mining operations. Shadowing Root Capital’s new – and first Colombia-based – loan officer, we headed to the remote mountains to meet with coffee growers who tend to their crops with a fervent devotion, following a process that has been handed down for generations. Their stories tell of a time of tumultuous change, emerging opportunity, and courageous leadership.

Two hours from Cauca’s capital city of Popayan, on an outdoor patio beside wild orchids and squawking chickens, our lunch meeting with the leadership of Cooperativa del Sur del Cauca (CoSurCa) started late. Left-wing FARC guerrillas had stopped the cooperative’s tropical fruit drink delivery truck, demanding a $4,000 war tax, and the co-op manager stepped away to navigate his way out of the situation directly with FARC soldiers via cellphone.

With deep gratitude and appreciation,

William Foote, Founder & CEO

15 Years of Impact, 15 Voices

In celebration of Root Capital’s 15^th anniversary, we’ve launched our '15 Voices' blog series, a collection of 15 interviews with some of Root Capital’s closest friends and allies, individuals who share our goal of growing rural prosperity and are helping us move towards our vision. Check out some of the latest interviews on our blog.

Ralph Taylor, Root Capital’s First Funder

Diane Ives, Fund Advisor at the Kendeda Fund

Peter Erickson, Executive Vice President of Innovation, Technology and Quality at General Mills

Small Chilies Bring Big Impact to Rural Uganda

Sometimes, the smallest things can change a life. In rural Uganda, the lives of more than 900 farmers have been changed by something very small, very spicy, and very valuable: Capsicum frutescens, or the African bird’s eye pepper.

Read about Sunshine Agro Products Limited, an African bird’s eye pepper exporter and Root Capital client since 2010, in this new impact profile.

New and Noteworthy

Root Capital hit a major milestone growing its capital base to $100M in debt funding from over 150 impact investors.
In a blog post on The Practitioner Hub for Inclusive Business, Root Capital’s Impact Officer, Asya Troychansky, explains how Root Capital uses mobile technology for impact data and client services.
Beginning this month, WeDigFood.com, a social community for restaurant and food reviews, has pledged to donate $1 to Root Capital for every restaurant review. We’re thrilled to have been chosen for this special promotion!

What We're Reading

The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) recently released its fifth “State of the SGB Sector” report. This year’s report focused on the number of players working in the sector, their progress as well as challenges on the horizon.
Late last month, PBS Newshour aired a story on hunger in the Guatemalan highlands that featured Roger Thurow, award winning author and reporter with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. The segment focused on efforts by the country’s leaders to reduce hunger and promote nutrition.
In How to inspire a generation of farming entrepreneurs, the Guardian explores how investment in Africa’s rural food sector can produce jobs, wealth and robust livelihoods for Africa’s youth.

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