We believe that business growth and vibrancy is the best, sustainable road out of poverty.
Sarona Risk Capital Fund
Investments that benefit the poor
MEDA's Sarona Risk Capital Fund (SRCF) provides early stage capital, an important source of funding for young companies.
SRCF invests in promising companies in developing countries where we see both an excellent prospect of financial success and economic benefit to poor communities.
Your donation can help make it happen!
Experience and innovation for lasting impact
MEDA's first investment – in 1953 – was a dairy serving small farmers in Paraguay's Fernheim Colony. The Sarona Dairy, named after the biblical "plain of Sharon," became a smashing success.
As our partners in Paraguay repaid the investment, MEDA created a pool of capital to re-invest elsewhere on behalf of the poor.
That investment was repaid in full in 1972. The Sarona Dairy closed a few years ago, but that initial investment spun off a variety of dairies that today provide a large portion of Paraguay's milk products.
That was the beginning of MEDA – a pioneer in sharing risk with the poor – decades ahead of today's emerging impact investing trend.
The Sarona Risk Capital Fund (SRCF) provides capital, both directly and through funds, to growing companies.
Now with $15 million in total assets managed, SRCF achieves MEDA's mission of creating business solutions to poverty and creates funds to invest in these companies.
Today, MEDA also co-invests with private investors through the SRCF 1 LP fund.
Portfolio highlights
Companies:
- MiCredito in Nicaragua is one of the country's top 10 microfinance institutions (MFIs), providing financial services to 3,000 clients with small businesses.
- IMON, a leading MFI in Tajikistan, aims for improved quality of life for its 39,000 clients, 70% living in isolated rural areas.
- CODIPSA in Paraguay, now the country's largest starch producer, makes starch from the manioc of 4,000 local farmers.
- Fonkoze, Haiti's alternative bank for the organized poor, provides financial services and basic literacy, business and life skills to its 250,000 clients.
- ACM, Ukraine – Agro Capital Management sells and finances agricultural equipment to small farmers to help create more profitable operations.
- MTZ, Zambia – Mobile Transactions serves more than 20,000 customers with cell-phone based money transfer, payment and voucher services.
Funds:
- MicroVest provides capital to financial institutions that serve the working poor near the base of the pyramid.*
- Sarona Frontier Markets Fund invests in growing small and mid-sized businesses through private investment funds in developing countries.
[* In economics, "base of the pyramid" refers to the largest but poorest socio-economic group – the 2.5 billion people who live on less than $2.50 per day.]
How you can help
Poor people want to feed themselves. They don't want aid. They want a job. Or they want to grow their business so they can put daily bread on the family table. But in most parts of the world, growing a business is tough because capital is scarce.
Through the Sarona Risk Capital Fund, MEDA invests to support these businesses. When you donate to SRCF, your gift continues to give as funds are repaid and reinvested in new opportunities – ensuring that your contribution to alleviating poverty continues for future generations.
Your donation provides much-needed funding to promising initiatives that will create:
- jobs
- markets for farmers
- loans for micro-enterprises
- housing for poor families
- better food security
- health services
- education
- clean energy
- and much, much more
Purpose
MEDA is committed to serving poor communities. SRCF focuses on ...
- leveraging profitable market and business opportunities, and,
- offering solid social and environmental dividends,
... while providing strong growth and financial returns to reinvest.
We believe investing for social impact is a powerful way to sustainably increase the prosperity, health and wellbeing of millions of families around the world.
Want to know more?
Contact a MEDA gift officer by email or call 1-800-665-7026:
- Marlin Hershey, Lancaster, PA - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
- Mike Miller, Kansas - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
- Marion Good, Waterloo, ON - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
- Bob Kroeker, Winnipeg, MB - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it