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SPRING 2010

GBF at a glance

Since becoming an independent non-profit in 2008, GBF has committed:
  • 18 investments
  • $4 million in capital
  • $1 million in capacity building funds
  • 332,378 beneficiaries
The chart below details GBF's portfolio by region:





Below, please find...

A summary of GBF's latest investments

LabourNet survey update




Some of GBF's most recent clients include:

 LATCO
In fall 2009, GBF provided a long-term investment and technical assistance to Latco International, a Bolivian sesame seed producer and exporter. GBF’s investment has enabled LATCO to acquire new equipment for the production of value-added hulled sesame seeds and transportation vehicles to improve its distribution logistics.

SUR
In April 2010, GBF provided a follow-on investment to SURevolution, LLC, a leading social business it has worked with since 2009. SURevolution, LLC is a home décor and lifestyle design company that connects indigenous artisan groups worldwide with high-end wholesale buyers in the United States and Europe.

Viñasol
In March 2010, as a result of a cross-sector partnership between GBF, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and PERU LNG, GBF invested in Agrícola Viñasol S.A. (AVSA). This investment, GBF’s first in a Peruvian company, will assist AVSA in its support of local farmers by expanding AVSA’s portfolio of products in export markets.

The following four investments are a part of GBF's Client Incubator Facility (CIF):

In the past three years, Freshmacs Ghana has exported more than 180 tons of fruits and vegetables mainly to European markets. Recently, it received a working capital loan through CIF.

Lotus Pond is a handicrafts export and production company based in Cambodia. It sells woven silk items, stone and wood carvings, and metalwork. CIF financed working capital for an export order to a major UK department store as well as provided training on financial management and quality control.

VillageWorks is a Cambodian- based handicrafts company which focuses on production points in rural indigenous villages using traditional methods and materials. The company currently sources from more than 60 artisan groups in the Baray District.

Kona Agro Processing is a Ghanian-based cashew processor and exporter whose main market is Europe. Currently, Kona operates under capacity, but through a CIF loan, it will be able to hire more staff (primarily poor women) to increase its processing level and fulfill larger export orders.


LabourNet survey update

LabourNet, a GBF investee based in Bangalore which aims to improve livelihoods of the working poor, is continuing to use its progress out of poverty/customer satisfaction surveys as a tool to consistently gauge the demand for new value-added services for the workers in its registry. Created with the support of GBF, these surveys are completed by every new worker during enrollment and again during the annual renewal process. As of April 2010, LabourNet has executed over 5,000 surveys.

>> Click here to read more about LabourNet's survey update

Quick links:

Grassroots Business Fund

2009 GBF Semi-Annual Report

Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs

University of Michigan

University of Pennsylvania

LabourNet

Latco International

Contact us...

There are many ways to get involved with GBF's work. Read GBF's University Initiative to learn more about GBF's partnerships with leading universities and Contact Us if you are interested in volunteering.

Visit us on the web at:
www.gbfund.org
GBF Strives to Measure Impact
This spring, GBF brings you a metrics-inspired edition of our quarterly newsletter. As we gear up for the upcoming metrics workshop with the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) on June 7 and 8, we wanted to share some of our activities that we’ve been implementing in the area of impact measurement.

In this issue, you can read about:
If you’d like to learn more about metrics, or GBF’s activities in general, please visit our website or feel free to contact us via email at info@gbfund.org or by phone at (202) 518-6865.

GBF surveys measure more than just investee impact

By: Rebekah McKnight, GBF

 Like many other organizations in the field of social enterprise, GBF assesses the impact of its investments and technical assistance programs using basic indicators, including number of beneficiaries reached and percentage of women and youth impacted. However, GBF’s approach goes beyond these basic indicators, and teaches our client organizations how to track the progress of individuals or collective groups out of poverty. This method allows for verification of the basic indicators as well as an increase in knowledge about the end beneficiary and their use of the services provided by the GBF client organization. The assessment not only benefits GBF in evaluating each investee, it also benefits the investee itself.

>> Click here to read more about GBF's impact survey strategy

GBF co-hosts 2nd metrics conference with ANDE

On June 7 and 8, GBF will co-host the 2nd Metrics From the Ground Up workshop in Washington, D.C with the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE). The workshop will bring together leaders of impact evaluation and provide an overview of the leading tools of impact measurement. Working sessions on the Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS) initiative, the Global Impact Investing Rating System, capturing environmental metrics, and determining an organization’s impact via surveys, will also take place.

Presenters at the workshop include representatives from the Global Impact Investing Network, B Corp, E+Co, World Resource Institute, Acumen Fund, Dalberg Development Advisors, Harvard Business School, and GBF. Though the workshop will convene funders and practitioners in the field, its uniqueness lies in the participation of the Small and Growing Businesses (SGBs)—including several of GBF’s investees—who tackle capturing metrics on the ground. The workshop will also allow ample time for all attendees to participate in interactive break-out sessions, which will include organizations sharing successful tactics for implementation, as well as clearing up common misconceptions surrounding metrics.

To learn more about the metrics workshop, please visit the groupsite or to register, click here.


Student view from the field: winter break in sub-Saharan Africa
 By: Corey Metzman, University of Pennsylvania undergraduate

In December 2009, Inna Alecksandrovich (’11), Natalie Tejero (’11), Taishi Kushiro (’11), and I travelled to Tanzania as part of the partnership between GBF and the Huntsman Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Although the purpose of our trip was to develop and rollout surveys to measure the efficiency of GBF’s investees and their clients’ progress out of poverty, the trip provided us with much more than a typical internship experience.

>> Click here to finish reading about the UPenn students' trip to Africa




Latco International beneficiary snapshot


The typical Latco International producer has a family of five persons. The family’s annual income is approximately $3,740 or about $10 per day for the household. Typically, the most educated person in the family is literate, but only has a primary school education. However, on the whole, the producer is more likely to be literate thanks to many rural development programs sponsored by the government and outside organizations.

The typical family lives in a rural farming community in a wooden or adobe home with a thatched roof, and prepares meals over an open flame using piped clean water. The family’s largest sources of income are selling crops-- primarily sesame. On average, this producer has better access to clean water and sanitation than the Bolivian population as a whole.
Our mailing address is:

Grassroots Business Fund
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www.gbfund.org

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