Root Capital :: Resources

Resources

"Access to credit through Root Capital has helped us in many ways. With your support we've been able to provide more prompt payment to members. Now members can meet the needs of their family for food and education, and improve their lands as well."

Erick Geovani Velásquez
ASUVIM
Member and Bookkeeper

Films

Root Capital
Uncommon Heroes Film

Root Capital was selected to be featured in one of the three "Uncommon Heroes" films that premiered at the 2009 Skoll World Forum. Watch the film to learn more about Root Capital and our impact on farmers and artisans around the world. Run time: 8:16

Root Capital
Pioneering Finance for Rural Communities

Watch our short documentary film to see Root Capital at work. As you travel with us to Guatemala and Nicaragua, you will meet those whose lives we touch. Run time: 7:18

The Places
Coffee Cupping in Peru

The quality of your coffee is measured every step of the way, starting at the coffee cooperative itself. In this video Root Capital takes you to C.A.C. Chirinos, a small coffee cooperative in northern Peru that has been a Root Capital borrower since 2004. Watch Eber Tocto Bermeo, Chirinos’ coffee cupper, in action. Run time: 3:32

The Places
On The Ground

Find out how Root Capital staff literally reach their clients. With the use of trucks, mopeds, and even animals, journeys to the country can be challenging ... and fun. Run time: 3:04

The People
Organic Blooming

For the last 6 years, Jasmin Flores and her husband Gonzalo Collaguazo have been co-managing the farm owned by Organic Blooming, an Ecuadorian company that produces organic calli lillies. In this short video you will meet them and visit Organic Blooming’s breathtaking farm.
Run time: 4:02

The People
In Their Words

Hear what members and employees of our borrower organizations have to say about Root Capital. Run time: 2:09

The People
Rolando Lazo

Rolando Lazo is a coffee farmer and a member of the Nicaraguan coffee cooperative SOPPEXCCA. In this video, Rolando explains how Root Capital’s loans to SOPPEXCCA have empowered him to buy land and make a profit from his coffee. Run time: 2:12

Additional Resources

Brief Overview

A short summary of Root Capital’s mission, model, impact, and growth.

“From Grower to Green Market: Bridging the Rural Finance Gap”

Microfinance Insights, September 2007

Root Capital was featured in the journal Microfinance Insights for its unconventional lending approach that is demonstrating the viability of rural grassroots businesses.

“Ashoka Cites Innovation of Root Capital”

The prestigious “Ashoka: Innovators for the Public” Award recognizes Root Capital founder William Foote’s successful efforts to help underserved communities in the developing world.

“What Microloans Miss”

This article from The New Yorker (March 17, 2008) explains why small-to medium-sized enterprise finance is important, and how it addresses the gap left by microfinance.

“United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) Report”

Root Capital was featured in this recently released report by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI). This report was the result of an international workshop of experts in small and medium enterprise (SME) financing and sustainability from public, private and philanthropic investment communities, as well as Africa-based organizations working on SME financing.

Transatlantic Innovations in Affordable Capital for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises.

The Milken Institute and the German Marshall Fund of the United States highlighted Root Capital for its innovative model that "catalyzes systemic change" in its recently released report on Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) Finance.

Closing the gap: Reaching the missing middle and rural poor through value chain finance

This article by Brian Milder, Root Capital's director of strategy and innovation, focuses on external financial institutions operating in Africa and Latin America that are using innovative approaches to value chain finance to serve both small-scale rural producers and the SMEs that link them to urban and export markets.

El Cacao Peruano en 'Prensa Libre'

APPCACAO, a guild of Peruvian cacao organizations, highlighted a prize won by Tocache, one of Root Capital's clients, at the “Salon del Chocolate” in France, which took place in October 2009. The mention includes a video of a Peruvian news program that talks about the rising popularity of Peruvian cacao and how Tocache has helped its region get away from coca production.