As a global network of fund managers looking to continue their investing despite lockdowns and travel restrictions, we've all been exploring the best tools and processes for investing without travel -- embracing remote due diligence. At the same time, the realities of the pandemic have caused many in our network to re-look at their investment […]
A “V-shaped” Recovery?
I’v started a personal blog that I’ll post every quarter or so, sharing topical learnings and observations from my perch co-managing a $100M family of investment funds and a network of 20 fund managers who invest in more than 25 countries in emerging markets. Here’s my first installment - feedback is always appreciated. To "V" Or Not to "V"? As […]
Only the Decisive Survive
Over the past 7 years, our fund has invested in some 30 early-stage startups in India, and through our global partners, another 30+ in other emerging markets. Many are thriving, some are challenged but still growing, and some are just hanging on. None have Softbank-level funding, yet -- meaning that the impending shock to the business climate of […]
How entrepreneurship can help Chile and LatAm – My reflections on a risky visit to Santiago during protest week five
I first traveled to Chile in 2005 on Microsoft business and then again in 2011 for a family holiday. In my work for Capria, I’ve been to Santiago at least five times over the past three years, focused on fundraising for our global efforts and on selecting and supporting a great local fund manager to be a part of the Capria Network (we found one - […]
The “Advancer” takes impact to the next level
Uma Sekar, Director, Impact & ESG, Capria has some lessons for other players in the impact investing space. Uma leads the impact investment strategy implementation and framework development at Capria and Unitus Ventures. She believes aligning a CEO’s long-term vision to impact through integration as a part of their business strategy, is […]
Market Brief: Local Consumption Expected to Drive Private Asset Resilience in Emerging Markets in the Event of a US Market Crisis
At a glance: Few would disagree that a downturn in the US economy in the next two years is becoming an increasingly likely scenario. While adverse economic conditions in the US typically affect the performance of both public markets and real assets in emerging markets (EMs), evidence suggests that the vast majority of EMs show high […]
Capria’s learning from 3 years of investing in African fund managers
Marking the 3rd anniversary since Capria’s inauguration at SOCAP 2015, I wanted to comment on a few of our learnings about investing in and with fund managers in Africa. I’d also like to encourage both new and established managers to consider joining Capria’s growing global network, as our 7th investment cycle has just opened. As you can see […]
Saved by a ‘SAFE’: Three Lessons from a Broken Impact Investing Deal
We don’t like SAFEs, but this one saved us. Many in the tech investment sector are familiar with the acronym SAFE. It refers to the “Simple Agreement for Future Equity,” and was first coined by the seed-stage accelerator, YCombinator (YC). SAFE instruments have become popular with early-stage founders in Silicon Valley, and for good reason. They […]
Policies to Promote Impact Investing in Chile
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with President Sebastián Piñera of Chile who was interested in hearing a global perspective on impact investing and discussing ideas that Chile could consider to promote both foreign and domestic impact investing. President Piñera was recently elected to his second term, so he is no stranger to the […]
Key Characteristics of Top Fund Managers in Developing Markets
Insights from Capria’s research of 85 principals and partners. Since launching in late 2015, Capria has received applications from nearly 300 experienced and aspiring local impact fund managers around the globe. To better understand the fundamental components of the best impact fund managers in the world, we performed a deep analysis of 85 […]
Scaling the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem – Development Dialogue 2017
I recently attended the 10th annual Development Dialogue, hosted by Deshpande Foundation, in Hubli, India. As always, there were invigorating discussions among an interesting mix of ecosystem developers, entrepreneurs from both for-profit and NGO sectors, funders, and investors. I participated in a panel discussion that focused on the challenges of […]
Finding Smart and Big Money in a Small Country – Chile
At some level, last week felt like “ground hog day” from 4 years ago. For those not familiar with the Americanism “ground hog day” - it means a repetition that happens every year, and it’s also the name of a very funny movie. In 2012, my partners Srikrishna and Dave and I were doing something that nobody else had done – we were raising money for […]
