Village Capital
PRACTICE AREA
Investments; research
REGION
Sub-Saharan Africa
INVESTMENT YEARS
2017-2023
IN 2022
- 19 locally-led ESOs selected for research participation from 188 applications
- 359 ESOs used to develop a landscaping of the rural-impacting enterprise (RIE) ecosystem in SSA
Village Capital (VilCap) unlocks capital for impact startups building emergent solutions to environmental, social, and economic challenges around the world. The entrepreneur support organisation (ESO) has operated in sub-Saharan Africa since 2012, running over 14 accelerator programs across 15 countries in the region. VilCap has supported more than 120 locally-based startups and 78 ESOs working in sectors such as financial health, hardware, sustainability, and the future of work. Small Foundation has supported VilCap’s African practice since 2017, most recently for research on the impact of ESOs working with rural enterprises.
Systems lens
Small Foundation has supported VilCap since 2016, initially for the expansion of its Africa practice and agricultural accelerator. Through the Rural Enterprise Ecosystem Program, VilCap is building the capacity of ESOs to understand the needs of rural enterprises better and deliver improved services. Small Foundation and VilCap share a vision for a strong and vibrant ecosystem of early-stage entrepreneurs, capital providers and ESOs that are driven by local teams and local founders. VilCap has pioneered an approach to flip the power dynamics in venture investing across Africa.
Partner perspective
“Many entrepreneurs in SSA that run rural enterprises are locked out of existing support interventions due to limited education, skills, and lack of knowledge about available resources, as well as cultural and social barriers. Our work with Small Foundation in 2022 has enabled us to dig deeper into understanding the kind of support offered to RIEs and which initiatives across the region are working. As a result, we are strengthening the monitoring and evaluation aspects of a number of these organisations and building a regional report to help ESOs better understand enterprise support across the region.”
Makena Odongo,
Programme Manager, Africa,
Village Capital
30 Merrion Square North
Dublin 2, D02 VE40
Ireland
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