Small and growing businesses (SGBs) face severe challenges in emerging markets, including lack of access to the right kind of support and investment capital. These enterprises seek capital that ranges from $100,000 to $5 million, more than what microfinance offers but less than what traditional investors in venture capital and private equity are interested in. Moreover, New Ventures environmental enterprises operate in emerging markets and in sectors that are often perceived as high-risk.

We work to fill this gap by finding appropriate investment vehicles that suit the needs of environmental SGBs. By doing so, we work to turn Environmental Enterprise into a viable and recognized asset class, just like microfinance has become in the last 30 years.

We engage in three specific activities to increase the flow of capital into Environmental Enterprise in emerging markets:

• Develop metrics for financial, environmental, and social performance, recognized industry-wide, that SGBs in emerging markets can report on to provide credible evidence of their positive impacts to an increasing number of impact investors.

• Conduct research that informs investors of the investment and market potential of key environmental sectors in the countries where New Ventures operates.

• Pilot financing mechanisms and products that address investment barriers, reduce perceived and actual risk among investors, and facilitate the creation of new funds focused on environmental enterprise.

Browse the panel on the left to learn more about these three pillars.