Six entrepreneur support organizations in Kenya and India will receive funding from a new Investment Innovation Fund to catalyze investment in waste and circular economy businesses.
CONTACT: Lizette Olmos Godfrey
lizette.olmosgodfrey@aspeninstitute.org
Roger Santodomingo
ANDE’s Associate Director of Communications
roger.santodomingo@aspeninstitute.org
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 19, 2024 – The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) today announced the recipients of grants from its Investment Innovation Fund, a partnership with the IKEA Foundation. These grants will support projects in Kenya and India that aim to bolster investment in small and growing businesses (SGBs) focused on waste management and the circular economy.
ANDE’s research identified the waste and circular economy sector as ripe for investment in both countries. The Investment Innovation Fund aims to address the challenges entrepreneurs face in this sector, particularly access to finance. By piloting, testing, and expanding scalable solutions, the fund seeks to generate valuable insights and catalyze investment in waste and circularity SGBs.
“Through our ongoing partnership with the IKEA Foundation, we’ve been able to identify critical areas for investment to help foster entrepreneurial approaches to climate action in underinvested sectors,” said Devin Chesney, Interim Executive Director of ANDE. “We are excited that the Investment Innovation Fund will grant the needed resources to entrepreneur support organizations to boost private capital infusion into small business ecosystems.”
An expert panel selected the six awardees from nearly 100 applicants. Each organization will run dedicated support programs for entrepreneurs in the waste and circularity sector, employing diverse approaches to increase investment flows in these businesses.
Kenya
- Circle Innovation and KOIS: Will launch the “Circularity LaunchPad” to actively co-design innovative finance mechanisms for early-stage investors and support circularity and waste SGBs to build relevant traction to attract investments.
- Smart Regional Consultants (SRC) & Kenya Climate Ventures (KCV): Will run a comprehensive program to prepare Small and Growing Businesses (SGBs) in the waste and circularity sector for investment, including facilitating matchmaking with investors.
- Agri Frontier: The Agri Frontier Growth Hub accelerator will launch an 18-month program to support waste and circularity small and growing businesses (SGBs) in Kenya, focusing on increasing the pipeline of investment-ready SGBs and catalyzing $10 million in investment.
- Sote Hub: Will accelerate SGBs with innovative green marine plastic waste management solutions in coastal Kenya, leveraging digital technology and partnerships.
India
- Upaya Social Ventures, Global Business Inroads (GBI), and rePurpose Global: Will run an investor and market-led accelerator program to increase capital to waste and circularity SGBs, offering a combination of low and high-touch support.
- IIM Calcutta Innovation Park: Will lead a consortium to fast-track the growth of selected SGBs and secure seed funding from investors.
The projects are slated to begin in August 2024, as part of the Access to Green Finance Project, and will contribute to the growth of a thriving green entrepreneurial ecosystem in both Kenya and India.
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The IKEA Foundation is a strategic philanthropy focused on tackling poverty and climate change, the two most significant threats to the future of children living in vulnerable parts of the world. Partnering with over 140 organizations, they work to improve family incomes and protect the planet, aiming to transform systems and build evidence of what works. Since 2009, they have committed over €2 billion to their partners, granting approximately €200 million annually. With an additional €1 billion pledged over five years to accelerate greenhouse gas emission reduction, the IKEA Foundation operates in vulnerable regions across Africa and Asia, as well as high-emitting countries like the EU, India, Brazil, and Indonesia, where they strive to make the greatest impact.
The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) is a global network of organizations that propel entrepreneurship in developing economies. ANDE members provide critical financial, educational, and business support services to small and growing businesses (SGBs) based on the conviction that SGBs create jobs, stimulate long-term economic growth, and produce environmental and social benefits.
As the leading global voice of the SGB sector, ANDE believes that SGBs are a powerful yet underleveraged tool in addressing social and environmental challenges. Since 2009, we have grown into a trusted network of nearly 300 collaborative members that operate in almost every developing economy. ANDE grows the body of knowledge, mobilizes resources, and connects the institutions that support the small business entrepreneurs who build inclusive prosperity in the developing world.