Important News and Updates, Q2 2020

What We've Been Up To

Greetings!

Sometimes, the elephant in the room is so large you can't ignore it: COVID-19 is upending the way people live globally. We've been glued to the news this past month, keeping abreast of the developments and what we can do to help #flattenthecurve. Much has been written about the health and economic impacts of the pandemic, and what impact investors and social entrepreneurs can be doing. Our focus remains the same: helping social enterprises drive impact where it is needed most, albeit with renewed urgency and resourcefulness. If we can help, let us know.

It may not feel like business as usual for anyone right now, but if one thing remains the same, it's the pursuit of enduring impact. When we started our impact investing journey three years ago, we had many hypotheses to test about our role in the space, but we had one certainty: We wanted to create meaningful social impact. Since our launch, much has been set in motion—most of the time it feels like we're building a rocket ship while trying to fly it—but creating impact has always been our North Star.

That's why we're thrilled to launch the FINCA Ventures Annual Impact Report 2019: In Motion. Our portfolio companies have led the way with incredible work across the African continent this past year, impacting lives in meaningful and lasting ways. This inaugural impact report shares their achievements and offers ample context for how our team thinks about defining and measuring "impact."

But that's not all. To best reflect this impact focus and shine a brighter spotlight on our investees, we've completely re-launched FINCAVentures.com.

Check out the new report on our new website and let us know what you think from a safe distance of six feet away. Stay safe and be well.

Cheers,
Melissa, Alex and Ami at FINCA Ventures

P.S. We normally say "If you pass through DC, stop by our office and let's chat." Let's WhatsApp or Zoom instead.

The Latest From Our Investees

Eneza Education - Education | Pan-African

Partnering with Safaricom to offer free educational content for students in Kenya studying at home due to COVID-19 and sending reliable public health info to subscribers. Taking similar actions in Côte d'Ivoire. ▪ Among first cohort of 12 African edtechs selected by Mastercard Foundation's Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning in ICT. Those selected receive mentorship, financial support and chance to test and scale products in new countries to improve education.

Good Nature Agro - Agriculture | Southern Africa

Encouraging COVID-19 social distancing during the current crop buyback season by scheduling no more than five farmers per collection point. ▪ Co-Founder and CEO, Carl Jensen, participated in an MIT webinar on the ABCs of fundraising for social enterprises.

MDaaS Global - Health | West Africa

Building testing capacity in Nigeria and across Africa with a COVID-19 mass testing guide, donating face masks, gloves and gowns to partner hospitals, and distributing informational posters to hospitals. ▪ Fundraising $25K to support front line health care workers. ▪ Opened third standalone diagnostic center in Osogbo and first co-located center within a trauma hospital in Lagos. ▪ MDaaS Global turned four.

Sanivation - Health | East Africa

Forming a community of practice of water utilities in Kenya and undertaking a country-wide assessment of water utility needs in response to COVID-19. ▪ Featured by the World Economic Forum in a video and article, highlighting Sanivation's innovative approach in waste-to-energy conversion. ▪ Completed 3D rendering of expansion Naivasha Treatment Plant. ▪ Signed first fuel offtake agreements for 18 tons per month.

Investee Company Job Openings

Spread the word—our portfolio companies are hiring!

Good Nature Agro is hiring a Business Development Manager to be based in Chipata or Lusaka, Zambia.

Ignitia is looking for a Senior Program Development Officer in Accra, Ghana.

Sanivation is recruiting a Director of Project Development able to live and work in Naivasha, Kenya.

#ICYMI

Catch up with our latest blog posts:

Check out some of our other coverage from around the web:

Forbes: Breaking the VC Glass Ceiling By Investing in Women Social Enterprises - Ami Dalal is profiled by the ForbesWomen initiative and shares her journey into impact investing and the work left to be done to break the VC glass ceiling.
Karma: Not Done Yet: Still Work to Do on Gender Parity in VC in 2020 - In an interview with the editor, Ami Dalal comments on the importance and growth of gender lens investing.
ImpactAlpha: Tech Mobilization Around COVID-19 Starts to Show Results - Two investees, MDaaS Global and Eneza Education, are highlighted in a piece on how entrepreneurs are responding to the pandemic.

What We're Learning From

#COVID19 Capital Relief - This resource, put together by CASE at Duke University, is a database of funding for entrepreneurs and nonprofits trying to weather the effects of COVID-19, and it is updated frequently.
Closing the Gaps: Finance Pathways for Serving the Missing Middles - This Collaborative for Frontier Finance report identifies five pathways for providing finance to meet the diverse needs of SGBs and their investors and how ecosystem stakeholders can support these approaches.
The Flip Africa - Our new favorite podcast "exploring contextually relevant insights from entrepreneurs and investors changing the status quo in Africa." We especially love episodes featuring our entrepreneurs (S1:E8).
How the VC Pitch Process Is Failing Female Entrepreneurs - Unbiasing the pitch process is something our team thinks about everyday. We are always looking for ways to do our job better—let us know if you have tips!
The Top 3 Design Thinking Skills for Entrepreneurs - Authored by Kellan Hays, co-founder of Good Nature Agro, this quick read helps unpack one of the most important skills for entrepreneurs: design thinking.

Where We've Been / Where We'll Be

At Home!
And we strongly recommend you stay there too, if you aren't already! While the team had a busy travel agenda for due diligence, board meetings and conferences scheduled for the next few months, we have grounded and stopped traveling for the foreseeable future. Please be safe and follow the advice of the leading experts - stay local and practice social distancing.

Meet the Team

Ivan Mandela, Investment Committee Member

Ivan is the newest member of the FV Investment Committee, and we couldn't be more excited to have him onboard! Ivan is a financial analyst and CFA charterholder with over eight years of experience in corporate finance, venture capital and SME business development. Based in Uganda, he is the co-founder and Director of Investment at SHONA, an organization that supports the growth of SMEs in East Africa.

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FINCA Ventures Legal Disclaimer

This publication has been prepared solely for informational purposes and has been prepared in good faith on the basis of information available at the date of publication without any independent verification. Charts and graphs provided herein are for illustrative purposes only. Nothing contained herein constitutes investment, legal, tax or other advice nor is it to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. This publication should not be viewed as a current or past recommendation or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities or to adopt any investment strategy.