Impact investing firm Capria announces investments in an unnamed fund manager in Latin America who is creating a US$21m fund focused on Chile, and in Lateral Capital, a Sub-Saharan African fund.

(Press Release) Capria, a global investment firm advancing the next generation of local impact fund managers in emerging markets, has signed agreements to invest in two fund managers, operating in Latin America and Africa, who have joined Capria Network.

Since launching in 2015, Capria has reviewed more than 425 fund proposals and selected 11 fund managers who form the Capria Network. Capria’s two new fund managers are enabling significant impact in Africa and Latin America.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, Lateral Capital is advancing patient capital into tech-enabled businesses that are profitably solving pain points across financial services, healthcare, education, renewable energy and housing through their US $50M Lateral Africa Opportunities Fund. They will make debt and equity investments from $250,000 – $5M. The other fund manager joining the Capria Network is from Latin America, creating a $21M fund will focus on early-stage tech-enabled companies in Chile with high impact potential and international expansion strategies. The initial ticket sizes will be $100,000 – $400,000 and the fund intends to make upwards of 20 investments by 2021.

“We’re excited to welcome Lateral Capital and another fund manager from Latin America into the global Capria Network,” said Will Poole, co-founder and managing partner of Capria. “In our highly-selective partnering process, we look for fund managers who bring local knowledge and best practices not only to their own investing operations, but also to the entire network. Every Capria Network member we add makes the entire network smarter and stronger.”

“In less than two years, Capria has utilised its decades of global investing experience in successfully bringing together 5 partner funds across the continent, to come together to contribute to Africa’s growth in a sustainable way. We are excited to be part of driving this change,” said Steven Grin, Managing Partner, Lateral Capital.

A Growing Movement Filling the Missing Middle: Capria Network Members Complete Initial Deals

The 11 funds in the Capria Network will be deploying capital across 15 countries primarily targeting investments in sectors such as essential services, healthcare, education, energy and financial services. Collectively, over time the funds being raised will result in more than US $400M being deployed to entrepreneurs building businesses that provide strong financial returns and measurable benefits to local communities. The Capria Network currently consists of four fund managers with previously-raised assets under management and seven first-time fund managers.

“In 2017, our partner funds have already completed 8 investments in their respective geographies with more than a dozen more expected in 2018. This is a testimony to Capria’s growing momentum in filling the “missing middle” in emerging markets by leveraging the collective power of our network to mobilize USD $400 million in local and global capital over the next 5 years,” said Dave Richards, co-founder and managing partner of Capria.

Fund managers in the Capria Network have completed investments using capital raised from Capria and other LPs. These fund managers and investments include:

Vakayi Capital: Invested in Homelux, an affordable, quality housing provider– Zimbabwe
Idacapital: Invested in Reengen, a cloud based energy management platform for capital light businesses — Turkey
Pomona Impact: Invested in Organic Gum LLC, a locally and sustainably harvested gum producer — Guatemala
Unitus Seed Fund: Invested in two healthcare companies, an education company, and two fintech startups — India
Capria anticipates existing Capria Network members to close additional deals in Brazil, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, South Africa, India, and Nigeria by Q1 2018.