Where does elea invest?
Investment thesis
Across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, elea invests in entrepreneurial solutions that have a substantial and measurable social impact at the base of the pyramid. Our ventures leverage scalable innovations and technologies to create opportunities to improve livelihoods in regions of the world where average daily incomes are USD 3 per capita or less. Investments focus on three topical areas: employable skill building, global agricultural value chains, and informal retail & last-mile distribution.
Employable skill building
Through vocational skill training or capacity building programs, socially disadvantaged people obtain a chance to secure their existence and to live a more independent and dignified life. elea supports entrepreneurial projects and social companies who create market-oriented opportunities for able and motivated but underprivileged youth that allow them to directly apply their improved or newly acquired skills upon completion of the training.
Global agricultural value chains
With the livelihood of 70% of the population in emerging economies depending on the agricultural sector, entrepreneurial solutions to effectively enhance smallholders’ productivity and to improve quality in accordance with ecological and fair trade standards are an urgent need. As most of these farmers still have no direct access to local, regional, or global market, elea invests in partners who help to build skills and aim to optimize specific links of the (global) value chain.
Informal retail and last-mile distribution
In less developed countries, most products and services are sold in the informal retail market. Lack of adequate infrastructure and inefficient market structures limit the availability of innovative solutions, and make customers often pay a hefty premium. elea supports initiatives that strengthen the capacity of small merchants and of distribution systems to increase value creation and livelihood opportunities for all stakeholders.
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