NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

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.

Free Access to Capria Quantum

Applications for Capria’s 5th Investment Cycle are currently open. For the first time, every applicant will also get free access to Capria Quantum – a first-of-its-kind proprietary, comprehensive and holistic capabilities assessment tool. Fund managers can use this tool to assess themselves against 8 primary categories comprised of more than  75 different sub-elements that are critical for building a world-class investment firm. Capria Quantum was designed using insights and learnings from 12+ years of fund creation and management activities, Capria’s experience evaluating over 400 fund managers globally, and feedback from leading LPs. Over the course of its 5th investment, Capria seeks to invest in 3-5 additional fund managers from Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia, though consideration will be given to all qualified fund managers from emerging markets around the world. .

About Capria Ventures

Capria Ventures is a global financial services innovator investing in the “missing middle” finance opportunity in emerging markets. Capria manages multiple investment funds and a global network of impact fund managers who deeply collaborate to achieve superior financial returns with scaled impact. In addition to providing fund managers with capital and access to its global network, Capria deeply partners with each fund manager to provide them with strategically tailored advisory services and hands on support. Capria’s goal is to unlock over USD $500 million in capital by 2021, delivering strong returns to investors and positively impacting the lives of millions. Capria has offices in Seattle and Bangalore. More at: http://capria.vc and http://usf.vc

Photo courtesy of miuenski miuenski.