Capria Network member Pomona Impact has had a stellar 2016. Read more below:

This year has been a series of incredible events and recognitions for us at Pomona Impact. Here are some of the highlights thus far:

• Starting back in February we were selected to be part of Capria’s first cohort of their Impact Fund Managers Accelerator as we work on launching the Pomona Impact Fund I, the first impact investing fund focused on early growth companies in Central America.
• We were also selected to participate in the VilCap Communities program that identifies and trains new partners to provide acceleration services using Village Capital’s proven curriculum. We won top prize among participants and received a $25,000 grant from theDOEN Foundation.
• Since then, we have been developing an AgTech Accelerator program to help identify and develop enterprises that have innovative solutions for agricultural producers in Central America and will be launching the program at the end of September.
• In July we also received formal approval for a $1 million loan and $200,000 technical assistance grant from the IADB (Inter-American Development Bank), which will be used to invest in social enterprises in our region of focus as well as help connect entrepreneurs with the resources and expertise they may need to help their business be sustainable and grow over the long run.
• Furthermore, we are working with several teams working to develop new Impact Hubs in Central American related to the Impact Hub’s Latam Seed Program, which is focused on providing seed capital and support for new Impact Hub’s throughout Latin America.
• Finally, we published our first ever Annual Impact Metrics Report which can be found and eventually will be published on our website.

We were also able to attend this year’s SOCAP in full force sending three of our team members to network as well as host one of SOCAP’s many social hours in partnership with Village Capital and Capria. This year’s SOCAP conference was focused on finding creative solutions to the world’s challenges in a variety of sectors and geography but notable topics of interest included innovations in sustainable agriculture both on the small and large farm scale and exploring impact metrics and how they affect accountability and transparency in the social impact sector.

As we march toward a first close of our new $20mm impact fund, we will remain active in the upcoming conferences leading panels on impact investment at the ANDE Global Conference, Central American Donor’s Forum, FOROMIC and the FLII Central America. Additionally, we are looking forward to hosting the AgTech Venture Day in mid-November to celebrate the graduates of our first accelerator program.  If you’d like to meet the dynamic entrepreneurs and attend the Venture Day, please reach out and let us know. Look forward to seeing you soon! – See more at: Pomonal Impact Highlights

This blog originally appeared on Pomona Impact’s website
For more information on Pomona, please contact sarah@pomonaimpact.com