Video: Willy Foote of Root Capital at TEDxBYU
Since TEDGlobal took place this week, it is only appropriate to share a TED Talk relevant to social finance for this week's Video of the Week. Willy Foote, founder and CEO of Roote Capital, took the stage at TEDxBYU, hosted at Brigham Young University in Utah in February. In this inspiring talk, he described the importance of supporting agriculture by filling "the Missing Middle" (the segment of capital that is too small for traditional institutional investment, yet too large for microfinance). He also talked about how creating social change does not necessarily entail deep social innovation, one of many things he learned in his experience of forming Root Capital.
Root Capital (profiled at SocialFinance.ca) is a nonprofit social investment fund that is pioneering finance for grassroots businesses in rural areas of developing countries. It provides capital, delivers financial training, and strengthens market connections for small and growing businesses that build sustainable livelihoods and transform rural communities in poor, environmentally vulnerable places.
We invite you to share your thoughts about this video below. How does this fit with your work? Are there any inspiring stories of your own that you would like to share? Please let us know!
