VENTURES

Mercy Corps Ventures

Manase and her husband grow teff, maize, and sorghum to support their seven children. During the dry season in Ale, Ethiopia, the rivers are low and Manase must dig through sand until she hits water.

Entrepreneurs around the world are deploying disruptive business models and transformative technologies to solve the biggest challenges of our time. These startups have the potential to reach 3.3 billion climate-vulnerable people, 1.4 billion unbanked people, and 162 million small businesses with innovative climate-focused and digital finance products that could drive their resilience. However, entrepreneurs are often undercapitalized and don’t have access to the resources they need for their ventures to survive and scale.

Mercy Corps Ventures invests in and catalyzes venture-led solutions to increase the resilience of underserved individuals and communities. Founded in 2015 as the impact investing arm of Mercy Corps, we’ve supported 47 early-stage ventures to scale and raise over $443 million in follow-on capital. 49% of our portfolio has at least 1 female co-founder and centers around climate adaptation and resilience-building solutions in adaptive agriculture and food systems, inclusive fintech, and climate-smart technologies, so that those living in frontier markets can withstand disruption and plan for the future. Through capital and support, piloting new approaches, action-oriented insights, and rigorously managing impact, we catalyze the ecosystem toward smarter, more impactful investments.

Resilient Future Thesis

Globally, we’re undergoing dramatic advancements in tech and increasingly severe disruption. At this inflection point, we see the opportunity to scale companies creating a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient world. We invest in adaptive agriculture and food systems, frontier fintech, and climate-smart systems.

Our portfolio

Explore our Annual Impact Report

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Powered by Mercy Corps

Outside of Mercy Corps Ventures, we support entrepreneurs within Mercy Corps to develop and grow social enterprise-inspired models for impact.

The Community Investment Trust

Owning real estate is one of the major drivers of wealth in the United States. But for many, it’s not a possibility. The Community Investment Trust is on a mission to bridge this gap and make it possible for all people to own commercial assets and build wealth where they live.

Gaza Sky Geeks

Confined to an area the size of Manhattan, youth in the Gaza Strip need an outlet for their ambition and creativity. Founded in 2011, Gaza Sky Geeks provides a vibrant co-working space, coding academy and software development services to nurture innovation and entrepreneurship.

MicroMentor

For entrepreneurs, turning a passion into a business is the ultimate dream. But that dream doesn’t come easily. On a mission to democratize social capital, the MicroMentor platform connects entrepreneurs in frontier markets with savvy mentors across the world, allowing them access to knowledge, guidance and support so they don’t have to go it alone.