As a global emerging market fund investor, we evaluate more than 200 VC/PE fund proposals per year across Africa, Latin America, and South/Southeast Asia, and work closely with a global network of 16 fund managers we have invested in. I have found that recycling provisions could be better understood and better utilized across the industry by both […]
Category: Thinking
Venture Capitalists Beware: Here’s What Not To Share With Potential LPs (Forbes)
Quality limited partners will respect your boundaries on what you don’t share prior to their commitment to enter full due diligence on your fund. Recently, in a first meeting with an institutional LP, I was asked “How are you exactly allocating the fund’s carry amongst the team?” I responded, “We would be happy to share important details on this […]
Saved by a ‘SAFE’: Three Lessons from a Broken Impact Investing Deal (Next Billion)
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 […]
Why Silicon Valley’s Money Can’t Solve Africa’s Tech Problems (Wired)
Parachute investing is a problem. If you’re investing in early-stage companies from an airplane, you should consider philanthropy. When Mark Zuckerberg went to Kenya and Nigeria in 2016, he proclaimed that the future would be built in Africa. That same year, Y-Combinator accepted startups with African roots for its much sought-after […]
Impact Action and Opportunities in Southeast Asia
Global impact investment firm Capria is doubling down on its efforts to advance local fund managers in South and Southeast Asia. Capria’s goal is to invest in 2-3 funds in Southeast Asia and 1-2 additional funds in India, where it already operates the leading early-stage venture fund Unitus Ventures. Dave Richards, Capria Co-Founder and Managing […]
Why management fees for emerging-market VC funds should be predictable (VCCircle)
The traditional private equity-birthed model for management fees does not align interests for limited partners (LPs) and general partners (GPs) for emerging market venture capital and early-growth PE funds that are under $100 million. As a global emerging market fund investor, we evaluate more than 200 VC/PE fund proposals per year across […]
Learnings from FLII – Latin America Impact Investing Forum Building a “GLOCAL” community
FLII (“Fondo Latino de Inversión de Impacto”) has become a definitive event for impact fund managers, entrepreneurs and investors in Latin America. With over 400 attendees every year, the event is pivotal to everyone interested in impact investing. Representatives from all over Latin America were joined by participants from North America and […]
A new paradigm for scaling early stage impact investing in South Africa (VentureBurn)
The world is facing diminishing natural resources, a growing population and an increasing economic inequality. But impact investing can help solve these issues. Impact investing seeks to create both a financial return, alongside a positive social or environmental impact. As governments and civil society struggle to achieve the UN’s Social […]
Unlocking the Other 95% from Foundations
In 2012, the endowments of US Foundations represented $715 billion in aggregate assets and they distributed approximately 7% ($52B) per year for grants, operations and program related investments (PRIs). According to Larry Kramer, President of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the question is “whether the social returns generated by our […]
Nudge to make smarter decisions (YourStory)
If applied correctly, nudges can be used to encourage customers to move from one stage of the customer experience journey to the next, from initial consideration of your product to converting your users. I distinctly remember the moment in college when I decided to upgrade to a MacBook. I was helping a professor set up her PowerPoint […]
Think Like Sharks to Swim with Sharks (YourStory)
“No offense, but VCs are overrated.” I listened quietly as an entrepreneur who’d recently closed a round of funding voiced his frustration. “One day they’re investing in your business model, and the next day, they want to fundamentally alter it.” It’s nothing I hadn’t heard before – skepticism of their VC’s motives, claiming they seemed far more […]
