Village Capital Investments

Overview

Village Capital operates business development programs for early-stage entrepreneurs in agriculture, education, energy, financial inclusion, and health. VilCap puts the power of investment in the hands of the entrepreneurs. For every program, a group—or “cohort”—of approximately 12 companies working to solve different problems in a specific sector (agriculture, education, energy, financial inclusion, or health) is assembled. After each program workshop, the entrepreneurs rank each other according to six criteria and after the final ranking, the two top-ranked companies receive $50,000+ in investment. This is their peer-selected investment model. Village Capital’s unique model won McKinsey/Harvard Business Review’s prestigious M-Prize for innovation in 2013. To date, 96% of its alumni would recommend Village Capital’s programs to other entrepreneurs, and 93% of its portfolio companies are still in business. To further capitalize on the model, a for-profit VilCap fund was established in 2015. The fund has $15 million committed for follow-on capital as cohort companies continue to raise money after they complete the program.