Village Capital

When VilCap alum Lisa Curtis started Kuli Kuli Foods 12 years ago, she set out to introduce people in the US to the superfood moringa, while supporting small farmers around the world. The New York Times published a feature on Kuli Kuli Foods — a company we’ve known since they participated in a Village Capital Agtech accelerator program in 2015. Kuli Kuli also received investment from VilCap Investments and would go on to scale its impact and reach into grocery stores — even launching a sustainable superfoods section in 3,000 Walmart stores. Read the full feature in the New York Times at the link in the comments.

So glad to see Village Capital's article reshared via ImpactPHL - "As catalytic investors, we must rethink processes, structures, and return expectations. Our goal should be to enable startups to scale impact without compromising mission — while laying the groundwork for long-term value that attracts aligned downstream capital."

We just wrapped up the Reshaping Food Systems LatAm accelerator program! 🌱 Over the past months, eight innovative startups from across Latin America received mentorship, tailored training, and USD 4.4K in milestone-based funding to tackle one of the region’s biggest challenges: food waste. From Colombia to Mexico to Uruguay, startups like Eatcloud, Genius Foods Co., and UBI Meat are transforming how food is produced, distributed, and consumed, turning waste into opportunity and creating a more sustainable food system. Learn more about the cohort and their solutions here: https://lnkd.in/dvj5rnPP ¡Acabamos de concluir el programa de Reshaping Food Systems LatAm! 🌱 Durante los últimos meses, ocho startups innovadoras de toda Latinoamérica recibieron mentoría, capacitación personalizada y USD $4,400 en financiamiento basado en hitos para enfrentar uno de los mayores desafíos de la región: el desperdicio de alimentos. De Colombia a México y Uruguay, startups como Eatcloud, Genius Foods Co. y UBI Meat están transformando la forma en que se producen, distribuyen y consumen los alimentos: convirtiendo el desperdicio en oportunidad y construyendo un sistema alimentario más sostenible. Conoce más sobre las startups y sus soluciones aquí: https://lnkd.in/d8anqthg 

Read Village Capital's article on their shifting analysis on impact investing and catalytic capital models to embrace a new investment philosophy — one that scales innovative approaches. Learn more >> https://lnkd.in/emcrjfbg

Proud to be part of Village Capital, a pioneer in impact investing and a leader in advancing financial innovation to create a more inclusive and equitable economy. Their work identifying, supporting, and investing in early-stage ventures solving systemic challenges continues to set the standard for how capital can be more inclusive, catalytic, and community-driven.

What if the best thing for your brand could be closing the AI chatbot and opening up a paper notebook? AI may be a polarizing topic – especially among creatives in the brand and marketing world – but it’s here to stay, and founders are facing decisions about how and where to utilize it to gain greater visibility. There are certainly benefits and opportunities to unleash powerful AI tools to streamline work for a small team – especially for startups that may not yet have a dedicated marketing team or lead. But before asking an AI chatbot to write content for your website, social media, or other materials, first take a step back to your origin story and let it inform your overall strategy. From a brand and communications perspective, a new Village Capital blog explores what it means to find the balance – particularly for startups building their brands from the ground up. https://lnkd.in/gEfmV7wY

Last week, we brought together eight founders from across Latin America for the in-person event of the Reshaping Food Systems LatAm program in Mexico City — a week of connection, strategy, and growth, in partnership with Posner Foundation. From financial narratives to risk management, the sessions were designed to strengthen founders’ capacity to scale sustainable food innovations. Over three days, entrepreneurs strengthened their solutions through sessions on: 💡 Financial narratives and investor readiness 💡 Peer co-development and pitch practice 💡 Alternative capital structures 💡 Risk management and exit strategies 💡 Keynote and Q&A with Ida Posner from Hawthorne Food Ventures — exploring impact investment in food waste Each session brought founders closer to their goal: scaling their solutions to build regenerative, circular, and inclusive food systems in Latin America. 🔹🔹🔹 La semana pasada reunimos a ocho fundadores de Latinoamérica para el evento presencial del programa Reshaping Food Systems LatAm en Ciudad de México — una semana de conexión, estrategia y crecimiento, en colaboración con Posner Foundation. Desde narrativas financieras hasta gestión de riesgos, las sesiones fueron diseñadas para fortalecer la capacidad de los fundadores para escalar innovaciones sostenibles en el sistema alimentario. Durante tres días, los emprendedores fortalecieron sus soluciones a través de sesiones sobre: 💡 Narrativas financieras y preparación para la inversión 💡 Co-desarrollo entre pares y práctica de pitch 💡 Estructuras de capital alternas 💡 Gestión de riesgos y estrategias de salida 💡 Conferencia y sesión de preguntas y respuestas con Ida Posner, de Hawthorne Food Ventures, sobre inversión de impacto en el desperdicio alimentario Cada sesión acercó a los fundadores a su objetivo: escalar sus soluciones para construir sistemas alimentarios regenerativos, circulares e inclusivos en Latinoamérica.

In 2024, Black founders received less than 0.5% of the $140B in VC funding in the US. Zane Access® is working to change that. ⚡ Compounding this challenge: 72% of entrepreneurs report mental health struggles, and that rate is 20% higher for Black entrepreneurs. Zane Access isn’t just focused on getting founders ready for their first round of funding by sharpening their business model; they’re focused on the founder first. Each session of Zane Access’ Capital Readiness Program begins with a grounding exercise like meditation and breathing. They show founders how to build the habit of putting their mental health first within the fast-paced entrepreneurial environment. Zane Access empowers underrepresented early-stage founders and small business owners with the tools, knowledge, and network they need to access capital and scale with confidence. Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs) like Zane Access are building ecosystems where founders thrive alongside their own community.  Learn how our Resource Initiative is driving impact across the United States in the link: https://lnkd.in/eXCRJ7-n

Across the US, ESOs are on the front lines as trusted, embedded institutions that identify and back promising founders. Through years of strategic partnership and capacity building, Village Capital has gained unparalleled insight into how ESOs work, while strengthening our ability to identify, nurture, and fund the next generation of entrepreneurs. Rooted in the ongoing impact of the Resource Initiative, Village Capital introduces Resource Catalyst — a new investment strategy on this foundation to further unlock capital for under-resourced, impact-creating founders. Resource Catalyst is designed to demonstrate, in practice, what the data shows: that empowering Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs) can transform both returns and community outcomes. Resource Catalyst partners with ESOs as active venture partners to source, diligence, and support impact-creating companies in ways that extend beyond traditional investing: 💡 Community-rooted deal sourcing by ESOs, combined with centralized professional deployment, blends access and rigor, changing how capital flows. 💡 Flexible, purpose-suited capital meets founders where they are, aligned with sustainable business models, not just hypergrowth trajectories. 💡 Professional Rigor: Apply rigorous and proven bias-reducing evaluation processes to every investment opportunity. Contact Brahm Rhodes, Ph.D., Director of Investments and Fund Innovation for Resource Catalyst, to learn more, and check out our Impact Investing page (link in comments).