In Impact Alpha, One Acre Fund’s Clémence Michelsen and Brian Heese outline the impact of catalytic capital on the organization’s efforts to close the financing gap facing smallholder farmers in Africa. One Acre Fund is a C3 field partner, with an investment from the MacArthur Foundation and other impact investors helping fuel its work.
“This pool of catalytic capital enabled us to build a first-loss layer into our capital structure to absorb risk for other investors,” they write. “This subordinated capital opened the door for new investors, bolstered our financing track record and accelerated our ability to grow — with the overall goal of supporting our efforts to empower smallholder farmers across Africa.”