Village Capital

About

Village Capital is a nonprofit that supports impact-focused startups through accelerator programmes, investment and work with entrepreneur support organisations (ESOs). Founded in 2009 by Ross Baird and Bob Patillo, it ran its first accelerator in New Orleans and uses a peer-selection model in which each cohort of founders chooses which of its peers receive investment. Its programmes focus on climate innovation and adaptation, economic mobility and equitable access to essential services, and it structures and manages funds using equity, debt and revenue-share instruments. Its fund VilCap Investments launched in 2012, and alumni featured on its site include Balad, a remittance company in Cairo, and Crop2Cash, based in Ibadan, Nigeria, which works on farmers' access to credit, agricultural inputs and insurance. It also partners with locally led ESOs to co-deliver programmes and provides them with tools and curriculum.