Microfinance

Acumen is a venture philanthropy organization that invests in visionary entrepreneurs building transformational companies from seed to scale. They focus on funding bold entrepreneurs who are creating inclusive solutions across sectors like sustainable agriculture, quality education, renewable energy, healthy communities, dignified jobs, and gender equality. Their mission is to break the cycle of poverty through patient capital investments in high-innovation, high-impact enterprises. They operate by deploying philanthropic capital to shape markets and support entrepreneurs who are addressing the world's toughest poverty-related challenges, investing where traditional funders won't. Acumen Ventures has established itself as a significant force in the impact investing ecosystem since 2001, with an A to Z directory of portfolio companies spanning over two decades. They matter because they've reinvented the rules of return, prioritizing impact alongside financial sustainability and helping to demonstrate that venture philanthropy can drive meaningful systemic change in underserved communities globally.

Alterfin is a Belgian social cooperative that finances social enterprises worldwide, focusing on microfinance institutions and sustainable smallholder agriculture organizations. With nearly 6,000 cooperative members, they invest in organizations that help the most disadvantaged people develop economic activities and generate sustainable incomes across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The organization operates as a cooperative financed by individuals and companies, offering everyone an investment opportunity to generate positive social, environmental, and economic impact. Their mission centers on what they call "Human Yield" - a return measured in improved lives, dignity, resilience, and humanity rather than just financial returns. Alterfin has established itself as a significant player in the impact investment ecosystem over 30 years of operation, with 70.8 million euros in capital and a diverse membership base of 5,711 individual cooperative members and 190 companies and organizations. Their approach enables people to invest in entrepreneurs and farmers they might never meet but whose lives change through access to opportunities in regions where traditional banking channels don't exist or don't meet micro-entrepreneurs' needs.

Ashoka is one of the world’s leading organizations supporting social entrepreneurs. Founded in 1980, Ashoka pioneered the concept of social entrepreneurship and has built a global network of changemakers working to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Through its flagship Ashoka Fellows program, the organization identifies and supports high-impact entrepreneurs with funding, mentorship, and a powerful global network. Ashoka’s broader mission is to create a world where everyone is a changemaker, embedding social innovation across education, business, and civil society.

Calvert Impact is a global impact investment firm with 30 years of experience connecting investors to solutions that benefit people and the planet. The organization channels investments from individual and institutional investors (from $20 to billions) into high-impact projects that mainstream capital markets typically avoid, such as renewable energy funds in Sub-Saharan Africa and small business lending to underserved US populations. Through their Community Investment Note® and other financial products, Calvert Impact has moved billions of dollars into sectors like microfinance, affordable housing, and clean energy access, serving 163.4 million clients (78% women) across 100+ countries while reducing 6.4 million metric tons of CO2.

Enabling Qapital Ltd. (EQ) is a FINMA-regulated Swiss impact asset manager with over USD 900 million under management. The company specializes in impact investing through private debt and listed bonds, focusing on microfinance, access to energy/clean cooking, and emerging market bonds. Their investments aim to generate financial, social, environmental, and economic returns while contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. With a diverse team of over 65 members representing 14 nationalities and speaking more than 21 languages, EQ operates under the philosophy of "moving money to meaning." The company's portfolio reaches microborrowers worldwide, with particular focus on rural and female clients. EQ is closely linked to the non-profit EMF Enabling Microfinance Foundation, which launches additional projects to improve conditions along the microfinance value chain.

era92 Fund is a Uganda-based impact investment and microfinance platform focused on expanding economic opportunity across Africa. The organization provides capital and financial services to startups, SMEs, and micro-entrepreneurs building businesses that improve livelihoods and strengthen local economies. Operating through two core divisions, era92 Finance and era92 Ventures, the fund combines inclusive lending with patient impact capital to support entrepreneurs solving critical social and economic challenges. Its mission centers on reversing poverty and creating long-term prosperity through financial inclusion and social enterprise development.

FS Impact Finance is an investment firm specialized in impact investing, founded in 2008 and headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. The firm puts impact at the beginning of their investment process, focusing on sustainable, green, and inclusive investments that generate both positive impact and financial returns. Their conviction-driven approach challenges the status quo of traditional finance that often flows toward harmful sectors. The company operates across multiple impact areas including financial inclusion through microfinance, renewable energy project development, forest landscape restoration, and local start-up financing. They use the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a framework to measure impact, addressing 10 of the 17 SDGs through their financing solutions.

GAWA Capital is a European impact investment management firm founded in 2009 that focuses on building opportunities for low-income communities through investments in social companies in developing countries. As the largest impact fund manager in Spain, GAWA has over 14 years of experience and manages EUR 220 million in assets across four funds, having made 70 impact investments in 20 countries and positively impacted over 750,000 families. The firm pioneers impact investing in Spain by supporting social enterprises that provide market-based solutions to critical issues like poverty and climate change. GAWA carefully selects financially sustainable companies with true social missions, balancing meaningful social impact with market-rate returns for investors while focusing on excluded rural populations in developing countries.

Kinara Capital is an RBI-registered non-banking financial company that specializes in providing collateral-free business loans to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India. They offer loan amounts ranging from INR 1 lakh to 30 lakhs across various products including supply chain financing, machinery purchase loans, green loans, and specialized lending programs like HerVikas for women entrepreneurs. The organization operates with a mission to empower MSMEs, which they recognize as the backbone of India's economy, through time-saving financial technology and personalized customer service. Their approach focuses on providing quick loan approvals within 24 hours while eliminating the traditional barriers of collateral requirements that often prevent small businesses from accessing formal credit. Kinara Capital has established a significant presence in India's MSME lending ecosystem, serving businesses across over 100 cities and demonstrating their commitment to financial inclusion. Their comprehensive product portfolio and technology-driven approach position them as a key player in addressing the credit gap faced by small businesses, ultimately contributing to the growth and formalization of India's MSME sector.

Kiva is an international nonprofit organization that expands financial access to help underserved communities thrive through crowdfunded microloans. Founded in 2005, Kiva connects lenders with borrowers worldwide, allowing people to lend as little as $25 to entrepreneurs and individuals who lack access to traditional banking services. The platform has facilitated over $2.4 billion in life-changing loans to 6 million people across the globe. Kiva prioritizes supporting populations with the greatest need, including women entrepreneurs, refugees, climate-threatened communities, and marginalized U.S. entrepreneurs. With over 1 billion unbanked people worldwide, Kiva tackles financial inequality by putting the power of financial inclusion in everyone's hands. The organization ensures 100% of loan contributions go directly to supporting borrowers, creating lasting change one loan at a time.

One Acre Fund is an agricultural service provider that supplies smallholder farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa with farm supplies, financing, and training needed to increase productivity and income. They work with 1 million smallholder farmers, providing quality seeds, fertilizers, and agricultural services to help farmers grow more food and earn more money on the same plot of land. The organization operates on an investment model rather than charity, providing farmers with the tools and knowledge they need to build resilient communities and sustainable livelihoods. Instead of giving handouts, One Acre Fund invests in farmers to help them increase yields and profits through better planting techniques, naturally-produced hybrid seeds, and small amounts of fertilizer combined with education and training. One Acre Fund plays a critical role in addressing food security and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, where most people living on $1 a day are farmers and smallholder farms produce 80% of the continent's food. Their work delivers 45% more farm income on the same plot of land, helping create pathways out of hunger and poverty while strengthening local economies and communities across nine African countries.

Root Capital is a nonprofit social investment fund that partners with small and growing agricultural businesses to increase farmer livelihoods, fight climate change, uplift women, employ youth, and build rural prosperity. They provide credit tailored to agricultural enterprises' needs, along with free capacity building training, farming resources, and other support services to help these businesses develop and scale. Their mission is to grow rural prosperity and build the resilience of farming families around the world, with a vision of thousands of rural businesses supporting a thriving agricultural sector. They operate through four key pathways: Access to Finance, Climate Action, Women's Empowerment, and Next Generation Jobs, supporting the early development of agricultural enterprises because they believe these businesses can raise up whole communities. Since 1999, Root Capital has been creating transformative impact in some of the world's most vulnerable rural areas across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. They have positively impacted the lives of over 10 million people in farming communities, demonstrating their significant role in fostering sustainable agricultural development and rural economic growth. Their 25-year track record positions them as a key player in the agricultural impact investing ecosystem.