Village Capital
Democratizing Entrepreneurship
“If not now, when? If not me, who?”
No business founder or leader ever has all the answers. But together, a group of entrepreneurs probably has among them the right perspective and experience to support peers as they work to scale their ventures and their impact.
At Village Capital, we create the space for entrepreneurs to work together across the boundaries of their organizations, to help lift one another’s performance. By bringing entrepreneurs from similar communities together — whether the same city, or the same sector — we establish cohorts with shared experience and peer-driven mentorship. We then give authority over capital investments to entrepreneurs themselves, empowering them to make sound decisions about which among them is most likely to succeed.
VilCap, Inc., our 501c3 non-profit, operates business development programs for early-stage entrepreneurs in agriculture, education, energy, financial inclusion, and health. VilCap Investments, our affiliated, for-profit investment fund, invests in the two top-ranked graduates from each program.
Our unique model won McKinsey/Harvard Business Review’s prestigious M-Prize for innovation in 2013. Over the past 5 years, program graduates have reached 6 million customers, created over 7,000 jobs, and raised more than $110 million in follow-on capital. To date, 96% of its alumni would recommend Village Capital’s programs to other entrepreneurs, and 93% of its portfolio companies are still in business.
Details
| Website | http://vilcap.com |
| Location | 829 7th St NW, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20001 |
| Countries | Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Rep, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Dem. Rep. Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Reunion, Rwanda, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| Sectors | Agribusiness, Computer software, Education, Fintech, Healthcare, ICT, Mobile, Water, sanitation and hygiene |
| Offices in | Nairobi, Kenya |
Portfolio
Social Lender - Microcredit based on social reputation
Social Lender is a lending solution based on social reputation on mobile, online and social media platforms. The solution is designed to bridge the… read more
Ared - Communication and connectivity solution of the future
A.R.E.D is a Hardware as a Service (HAAS) company. We developed a business in a box solar kiosk platform to empower people at the… read more
Patasente Inc - Africa's # 1 Supply Chain Platform
We enable businesses to trade with each other. Patasente is an online supply chain platform that enables buyers and suppliers to undertake e-procurement, settle… read more
GrassRoots Bima - Narrowing the insurance protection gap through technology.
GrassRoots Bima is an insurtech company established to meet the insurance needs of the mass market through innovative inclusive insurance. We are dedicated to… read more
Ensibuuko - Equalizing access to financial services
Ensibuuko exists to equalize access to financial services. We are providing banking solutions to financial services entities unique to Sub-Saharan Africa. We have current… read more
PayGo Energy - Modern energy for all
PayGo Energy provides clean and affordable gas on a pay-as-you-go basis. Our micro-payment structure critically aligns with existing consumer spending habits to overcome current… read more
Riby Finance - We automate cooperatives, their business and financial activ…
Riby help individuals, businesses, families and groups to manage their finance as a person, a business or a group. Through our platforms we help… read more
Mazima Retirement Plan - Children shouldn't be your retirement plan
Uganda has a workforce of 17 million, only 2 million have a retirement savings account. $ 1 billion in retirement savings goes uncollected annually.… read more
Annona - Trusted trading from seed to stall
Annona is an award-winning for-profit, social enterprise that records and manages farmer interactions with the exporters that buy from them. Using a suite of… read more
CREDPAL - Improving Life Quality
CredPal is a financial platform that gives people access to credit for online and offline purchases and also enables businesses to offer credit to… read more
Ojay Greene - Improving livelihoods
Ojay Greene aggregates and purchases produce from smallholder farmers for resale in high-value urban supermarkets/restaurants. The innovation in the model is that: i) It… read more
Tulaa - Connecting you to the last mile
Tulaa is a marketplace for inputs, finance, information and markets for smallholder farmers in Africa. We use mobile technology to lower the cost and… read more
FPESA® - Save time changing money.
The market for retail foreign exchange in Kenya is $2Bn per month. Shopping for foreign exchange in Kenya is currently an laborious process that… read more
Youverify - Identity and address verification
One API for identity and address verification in Africa
Numida Technologies Inc. - We grow African small businesses with fair & unsecured credi…
Numida is building the missing digital products that African small businesses need to thrive. Our first product is a free financial management app that… read more
Articles
Updates
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Antoine NIRAGIRA posted an update on the Accelerator page Village Capital.welcom,excellent mission for africa startups at early stage
