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.