By Lynda Kiernan
VilCap Investments, the Washington DC-based investment arm of Village Capital, announced it has reached a final close on its latest venture fund, oversubscribed at $17.7 million in commitments from 29 investors including Jean and Steve Case, Jim Sorenson, Bob Pattillo, Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein. The fund, which surpassed its original target corpus of $15 million, was launched to back high-growth, early stage ventures working to address needed innovation in the five key sectors of sustainable agriculture, energy, healthcare, education, and financial services.
VilCap raised $13.2 million by the summer of 2015, investing in startups active in agricultural data management, rural energy, and telemedicine.
“We’ve invested in 60 companies since we started,” Village Capital CEO Ross Baird told DC Inno. “The new fund will go to 75 investments over the next four to five years,” Baird said. “85 percent of the time we were the first institutional investor. Other institutions usually tell them ‘hey we’ll invest if you find someone else to take the lead,’ and that’s us. We want to be the signaling effect for much larger investment.”
Village Capital is also mindful of making funding available to segments of the population that historically have found it challenging to secure capital. To date, 40% of the group’s investments have gone to back women-led companies, compared to the average of 5% of total investments, while 20% of their investments have backed ventures led by people of color compared to an average of 1% of all investments.
In light of the fact that 78% of startup capital investment in the U.S. and 40% of global startup capital goes to only three U.S. states according to the company’s website, the group chooses to take a global view of investing in entrepreneurs, with nine investments in East Africa, one in Nigeria, and others in Mexico, India, and the U.S.
The group has a full-time regional team in place in Nairobi according to Disrupt-Africa, and from this base, the firm is planning to expand its investment reach across the continent within its five target sectors through the launch of additional Village Capital programs says managing director, Victoria Fram. To support this expansion, the firm announced it has added three new management team members:
Allie Burns has been appointed as the company’s new Chief Operating Officer effective July 2016. Formerly with DC-based venture firm Revolution and the Case Foundation, Ms. Burns has 16 years of experience with impact investing.
Lewis Hower has been appointed the firm’s new Chief Product Officer, who will direct the growth of new initiatives. Formerly the director of investments with Community Investment Management, and founding executive director of the Sorenson Impact Center, Mr. Hower has been a leader in socio-impact investment for more than a decade.
Marilyn Waite has joined Village Capital to lead the firm’s energy initiatives. Ms. Waite has an MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge, and has experience across four continents in venture investment, startups, renewable and nuclear energy at AREVA, economic development at the UN and public policy.
In addition, the firm is currently looking to hire a director of communications to lead strategic communications and direct the firm’s public profile, outreach efforts to both partners and entrepreneurs.