In order to address some of the world’s most fundamental challenges—feeding the future, preserving the planet, and securing peace—we need to focus on 2.5 billion people. That’s the number who are dependent on small-scale farming for their livelihoods. Many of them are feeding the rest of the world, yet they are not getting enough to eat. Many live hundreds of miles from accessible markets, without the roads to reach them.

Root Capital invests in the growth of agricultural enterprises that support these smallholder farmers. We seek out enterprises whose credit needs are too big for microfinance and too small or risky for commercial banks. We provide loans ranging from about $200,000 to $2 million specially tailored to harvest and sales cycles. To help businesses grow over the long-term, we mix that financing with highly-customized training to strengthen their financial management, governance, and agronomic capacity.

With growth, these businesses become engines of impact that can raise incomes and create jobs, empower women and young people, sustain peace, and preserve vulnerable ecosystems.