{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"EWB Canada","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.ewb.ca\/en\/","author_name":"rnavia","author_url":"https:\/\/www.ewb.ca\/en\/author\/rnavia\/","title":"Missed opportunities: celebrating impact that scales - EWB Canada","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ewb.ca\/en\/news-and-events\/news\/missed-opportunities-celebrating-impact-that-scales\/\">Missed opportunities: celebrating impact that scales<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script type='text\/javascript'>\n<!--\/\/--><![CDATA[\/\/><!--\n\t\t\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n\t\t!function(c,d){\"use strict\";var e=!1,n=!1;if(d.querySelector)if(c.addEventListener)e=!0;if(c.wp=c.wp||{},!c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage)if(c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if(t)if(t.secret||t.message||t.value)if(!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var r,a,i,s=d.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),n=d.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=0;o<n.length;o++)n[o].style.display=\"none\";for(o=0;o<s.length;o++)if(r=s[o],e.source===r.contentWindow){if(r.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message){if(1e3<(i=parseInt(t.value,10)))i=1e3;else if(~~i<200)i=200;r.height=i}if(\"link\"===t.message)if(a=d.createElement(\"a\"),i=d.createElement(\"a\"),a.href=r.getAttribute(\"src\"),i.href=t.value,i.host===a.host)if(d.activeElement===r)c.top.location.href=t.value}}},e)c.addEventListener(\"message\",c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),d.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",t,!1),c.addEventListener(\"load\",t,!1);function t(){if(!n){n=!0;for(var e,t,r=-1!==navigator.appVersion.indexOf(\"MSIE 10\"),a=!!navigator.userAgent.match(\/Trident.*rv:11\\.\/),i=d.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),s=0;s<i.length;s++){if(!(e=i[s]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))t=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t);if(r||a)(t=e.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute(\"security\"),e.parentNode.replaceChild(t,e)}}}}(window,document);\n\/\/--><!]]>\n<\/script><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ewb.ca\/en\/news-and-events\/news\/missed-opportunities-celebrating-impact-that-scales\/embed\/\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Missed opportunities: celebrating impact that scales&#8221; &#8212; EWB Canada\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe>","description":"By Nicolas Synnott, Muthoni Wachira, Beth Foster\u00a0 The African ventures market is thriving, and has seen significant growth over the past four years. In 2011, when EWB was just getting into impact investing in Sub-Saharan Africa, the market traction was low, and deals were hard to find. As the market has grown and evolved however, so too has our approach to driving impact through investment. Today, EWB supports early-stage, for-profit, social enterprises who are driving change through innovative and inclusive business models. Sector agnostic, we make tailored, long-term investments starting at $50k into ventures with high potential to drive systemic change for the underserved in new and untested ways. We seek out highly scalable, innovative, locally-founded ventures in Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and Ivory Coast, and have developed a strong gender lens strategy that we apply across the investment cycle. One key that hasn\u2019t changed in the last 8 years, is EWB\u2019s commitment to injecting financial and human capital to de-risk early-stage social enterprises targeting bottom-of-the-pyramid (BoP) populations. Our portfolio has grown to include Viamo, FarmDrive, M-Shule, Kwangu Kwako, Bloom Impact, Numida, Rent-to-Own and GreenPath, all of whom are focused on growing their impact in step with their revenues.\u00a0 As the market has matured, it has been exciting to watch various startup champions emerge. These trailblazers are creating precedents that increase the Continent\u2019s investment attractiveness, nurturing talent that will feed the growing ecosystem, and inspiring more leaders to launch transformative companies. In this article, we want to celebrate the successes of startups we did not invest in, but that are now scaling market-defining solutions. As impact investors, we recognize that we have much to learn, and looking at ventures outside of our portfolio provides a great opportunity for growth and reflection. mPharma (Ghana): How a B2B2C Play is Making Healthcare Affordable [&hellip;]","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/www.ewb.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Copy-of-Concordia_ChampagneParty1.jpg","thumbnail_width":1600,"thumbnail_height":1066}