Gender-inclusive agriculture: Root Capital
Our direct impact investments in Root Capital, a nonprofit social investment fund, delivers credit and financial training to food producers in Africa and Latin America that provide reliable economic opportunities to women.
Launched in 2012, the Women in Agriculture Initiative enables female producers in poor, environmentally vulnerable places to improve their production and incomes to invest in the food security and nutrition of their families, invest in their children’s health and education, and participate more actively in community decision-making. It also empowers female business leaders and employees to grow their careers and businesses through targeted investments and training.
Root Capital’s gender lens investing focuses on industries that traditionally source from and employ large percentages of women, to date supporting over 420,000 farmers gathering wild-harvested crops such as shea nuts, producing shade-grown coffee, or farming staple food products, 65 entrepreneurs and 11,000 employees. Recently, Root Capital’s Women in Agriculture Initiative’s programs have focused on climate risk and adaptation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico to help strengthen the climate resilience of women farmers.