elea

Lisa Jean-Mairet, Executive Director and a key member of the Extended Leadership Team at elea, is driving impactful change across Africa. Based in Johannesburg, she leads the elea Africa Hub and is responsible for expanding their activities and investment portfolio across the continent. 🌍 With a strong focus on due diligence and awareness activities, Lisa also represents elea on the boards of innovative organizations like AMAZI, Lernern, and Qwili. Her dedication to social impact and investment is making waves in the African business landscape. 🚀✨ Don't miss her insights at the #SankalpAfrica2025 👉 Register here: https://lnkd.in/dMJC2aN7 #SankalpAfrica2025 #ImpactInvesting #AfricaLeadership #SustainableGrowth #eleaAfrica

Une grande première à Abidjan : elea , Barka et Ring Capital débarquent au Mstudio ! ✨ Rejoignez-nous pour le premier Mtalk de l'année 2025, un événement inédit sur les impact ventures en Afrique ! 🌍🌱 🎯 Au programme : → Les tendances clés de l'écosystème de l'impact en Afrique. → Des opportunités à saisir pour avancer ensemble. → Un échange sur les défis des entrepreneurs sociaux. Pour les curieux 👀 : 🔹 Elea lutte contre la pauvreté avec des moyens entrepreneuriaux, grâce à la mondialisation. 🔹 Barka finance et soutient les PME et startups innovantes en Afrique subsaharienne. 🔹 Ring Capital soutient des solutions aux défis sociaux et environnementaux tout en favorisant la performance économique. 📍 Lieu : Ivoire Trade Center - Tour D, Mstudio 🕰️ Heure : Dès 18H00 Venez échanger avec Shrutika Singh, Felix Wüthrich, Rekia Foudel et Thomas Giannetti ! 🚀 🔗 Inscrivez-vous vite et rejoignez nous : https://lnkd.in/dEjdp3i3

We are delighted to welcome Zebra CropBank (ZCB) to our impact venture portfolio! Despite fertile soil and huge food demand, smallholder farmers in rural Nigeria face issues such as lack of market access, financing, and infrastructure, leading to low socioeconomic wellbeing and significant food losses. Meanwhile, local buyers struggle with low quality and unpredictable supply, resulting in high imports and increased food prices. ZCB is significantly improving the lives of these farmers by operating a network of storage facilities in remote farming communities. By aggregating demand and selling directly to food retailers, processors, and exporters, ZCB ensures that farmers receive fair value for their produce, cutting out ineffective intermediaries. Through our investment and as a member of ZCB’s Board of Directors, we aim to increase the food security in Nigeria while ensuring transparent pricing, higher produce quality, and a more efficient market. We look forward to supporting ZCB’s innovative approach alongside the inspiring founder Buffy Okeke-Ojiudu, his team, and co-investors such as Acumen and Catalyst Fund! 

Last week, I had the honour to engage with distinguished speakers and African and American students from several universities throughout the east coast of the US at the Yale Africa Innovation Symposium. Thank you very much to Shukraat Adesina, Mike Masamvu, and Modupe Karimi for inviting me to host an Innovation Lab on Impact Investing in Agribusiness and to the whole YAIS team for organizing a wonderful two days! The conference was full of energy and ideas to solve complex problems. The Executive Director of YAIS, Mariama Sow introduced the event by saying, “This conference is a space where radical imagination takes shape. Radical imagination is not just about envisioning change but about mobilizing it in new and dynamic ways….I have come to appreciate the sanctification of classrooms as a vulnerable setting that invites our voices to engage in discourse. We have the agency to create makeshift classrooms, starting with these [Innovation Labs], allowing all of our voices, cultures, and histories to be included in the discussions.” At a time when the world feels disjointed and governments seem to be pulling away from globalization, this conference renewed my energy for believing in the power of cross-border exchanges. Innovative ideas for complex problems flowed, students connected with leaders in business and society who are offering internships, and the speakers formed relationships that may lead to new deals on the African continent. Thank you, YAIS, for an inspiring and insightful few days!

I had the pleasure of representing elea at an amazing event hosted by Centro Mexicano para la Filantropía, A.C. It was fantastic to be on a panel with friends from Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and Earthworm Foundation, discussing the power of collaboration and a multidisciplinary approach in the NGO sector. 🤩 We had some great conversations about the strong connections between Switzerland and Mexico in social and environmental initiatives. We emphasized how crucial integrity, coherence, and teamwork are in tackling issues like sustainable supply chains, food systems, and poverty alleviation. A big thank you to our moderator, Julie Wynne, for guiding the discussion so smoothly. And a heartfelt thank you to my fellow panellists and the CEMEFI team— Saul Morris, Sandra Romero, Ana María Sánchez Rodríguez PhD, Marilú Villalón— for their incredible insights and dedication. Together, we're making a real impact!

Pleased to 🎉 announce 🎉 ATEC Global has signed a large-scale #Article6.2 #ITMO purchase agreement with KliK Foundation #Switzerland for #eCook in #Malawi It is now irrefutable to say that large-scale 100% #DataAuditable #IoT 📈 projects are not just viable, but sets a new #integrity #benchmark for global #CarbonMarkets. The same #TechStack doesn't just increase carbon claim data veracity, it can also be used to drive #ValueTransfer to the actual decarboniser - #women in the #GlobalSouth. Exact details on total stoves, ITMOs and value transfer will be published post-project validation in the coming months........ Technology built on #Web3.0 design principles, combined with transparent science-led baseline data is essential to #rebuild trust and credibility in #CarbonMarkets. I will be publishing an article that encapsulates these points and what is means for #Phase2 of global carbon markets in the coming weeks. A big thanks 🙏 to everyone at ATEC Global and KliK Foundation for their tireless effort in embracing these #principles to turn this cutting-edge opportunity into a #reality.

“What has four stomachs and could change the world?” – This intriguing question headlines a recent article by The Economist, which features elea’s former portfolio venture Green Dreams TECH Ltd / iCow. According to The Economist, while an American dairy cow produces around 30 liters of milk per day, an African cow yields just 1.6 liters. Closing this dairy divide could help alleviate poverty, improve child nutrition, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Led by visionary founder Susan Kahumbu Stephanou, iCow’s core is a mobile platform that provides smallholder farmers with affordable access to essential knowledge. By applying tips on nutrition, hygiene, and breeding practices – or even by reducing herd size – farmers can increase milk production, making better use of limited resources, and fostering more sustainable livelihoods. As a long-standing partner, we have always believed in Su, her team, and the innovative impact model of the venture. We are thrilled to see iCow featured in The Economist and proud to have played a part in its success. Congratulations to everybody who made this impressive journey possible! You can find the article here: https://lnkd.in/d2Q5CGBT #iCow #TheEconomist #socialimpact

Last week, Essmart’s board members were in town for our annual board meeting. We took this opportunity to visit FPOs, local agri-shops, and our Experience Centre in the Kolar region of Karnataka. Our team illustrated how our strategy of partnering with FPOs and selling livelihood products through them is enabling us to drive access and adoption of innovative tech in rural markets. Back at our Bangalore office, these interactions provided valuable insights into the impact of our work and the challenges we continue to address through rural distribution and market research. It was heartening to share our on-ground work with the board; their continued support reinforced our shared commitment to driving lasting impact. Adrian Ackeret Kris Inapurapu Dr Farahnaz Karim Lisa Jordan Ken Lewis Jackie Stenson Prashanth Venkataramana Poonacha kalengada Varun Gowdru Mallikarjun Chandra Mouli Prataparao

Are you an entrepreneur working on climate-smart technologies such as solar-powered solutions for smallholder farmers, electric vehicles, cold storage, clean cooking solutions, etc.? We very much encourage you to apply to ClimaFii: https://shorturl.at/a19td! ClimaFii supports startups in Sub-Saharan Africa and India that deploy climate-smart technologies specifically designed to benefit microentrepreneurs. elea is participating in the selection committee for the Sub-Saharan Africa cohort for which applications are open until February 21st, 2025. What’s in it for you? 💡 Venture Acceleration: Hands-on, customized support over 5-6 months to refine your product, optimize your go-to-market strategy, and prepare for investment. 💰 Grants: Up to USD 45,000 in milestone-based funding to help you achieve your goals. 🤝 Partnerships: With Accion, we will develop credit solutions to enable MSMEs to invest in clean energy and growth. We look forward to this collaboration to boost investment readiness of ventures creating positive impact on climate and livelihoods! Maxime Bayen Maelis Carraro Felix Wüthrich Niloufar Aazam-Zanganeh Mercy Corps Ventures Toffene Kama Katapult Africa Yann Vaudin Shankha Lahiri Vishal Ajmera Meera Bharadwaj Rachna Chandrashekhar Shruti Goel Amolo Ngweno Jane Del Ser Ngetha Mwangi Sydney Thiam Charles I. Nweke Maureen K. Carmen Wamukoya Nelly Ramírez Moncada Jacob Winiecki

2024: A Year of Growth & Innovation at Oorja 🌱 In 2024, we expanded our clean energy solutions and helped farmers thrive with: 🔧 New Services: Our solar EPC and FMI models increased access to affordable renewable energy. 📱 Dhoop App: Coming soon to streamline irrigation bookings and advisory services for farmers. 🎓 Empowering Farmers: Over 2,200 farmers trained in climate-resilient crop management. Explore more about our impact: https://shorturl.at/kD57P We look forward to driving energy equity and sustainability for rural communities in 2025! 🌞 Photography by Sharon Avraham (https://lnkd.in/eksdVF3b) #OorjaSolutions #SolarEnergy #FarmersFirst #Sustainability #2024Recap