Articles by Coco Lim
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Guest Articles
Thursday
September 17
2026Missing the Exit: The Growing Need for New Exit Pathways in Agriculture Investing
Exits make the wheel of impact investing go around, enabling companies to sustain and grow their operations, while also allowing investors to recycle returned capital into other impactful solutions. But as Coco Lim at Acumen explains, right now that wheel is not turning — particularly in agriculture, which has the lowest ratio of exits to deals of any sector in Africa. She argues that this situation puts impact investors at a crossroads: They can stay the course and hope that big exits are around the corner, or they can build the necessary exit pathways themselves. She discusses the challenges of achieving exits in smallholder-focused agriculture, highlighting the limitations of current investing models and exploring some exit strategies that offer untapped opportunities for impact investors and businesses.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing
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Guest Articles
Wednesday
June 5
2024Paul Breloff / Daniel Waldron / Coco Lim
A Hidden Reason for Business Failure in Social Enterprise: Exploring Innovative Talent Solutions in Frontier Markets
Social enterprises need extraordinary talent and leadership to navigate the challenges of doing business in frontier markets. As Paul Breloff at Shortlist and Daniel Waldron and Coco Lim at Acumen explain, failure to find the right talent is a leading factor in company and investment failure — and top talent is in short supply, and often comes at a steep cost. They share learnings from Acumen and Shortlist's shared experience recruiting and retaining talent, exploring some innovative approaches that go beyond traditional full-time structures.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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Guest Articles
Tuesday
September 5
2023Rethinking Scale in Agribusiness: An Impact Investor Explores the Massive Benefits of Being Small
Many impact investors have adopted the mindset of traditional venture capital, seeking out companies with the potential to reach millions of customers. But Chris Wayne and Coco Lim at Acumen argue that this single-minded focus on scale ignores the realities of agribusinesses in emerging markets, and overlooks small businesses' potential to make a deeper impact. They explore why impact investors should focus on more than just the number of "lives impacted” by their agriculture investments, moving toward a more nuanced understanding of scale in this crucial sector.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing, Social Enterprise
