Tracey Turner: A Donor's Playbook for Impact Investing in East Africa

<p>Tracey&nbsp;Turner&nbsp;has&nbsp;spent&nbsp;three&nbsp;decades&nbsp;proving&nbsp;that&nbsp;the&nbsp;best&nbsp;answer&nbsp;to&nbsp;poverty&nbsp;is&nbsp;often&nbsp;a&nbsp;business.&nbsp;She&nbsp;started&nbsp;at&nbsp;Grameen&nbsp;Bank&nbsp;in&nbsp;Bangladesh,&nbsp;founded&nbsp;MicroPlace,&nbsp;one&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;first&nbsp;online&nbsp;platforms&nbsp;that&nbsp;let&nbsp;everyday&nbsp;Americans&nbsp;invest&nbsp;in&nbsp;microfinance&nbsp;(later&nbsp;acquired&nbsp;by&nbsp;eBay),&nbsp;and&nbsp;founded&nbsp;Copia,&nbsp;which&nbsp;turned&nbsp;52,000&nbsp;small&nbsp;shopkeepers&nbsp;across&nbsp;Kenya&nbsp;into&nbsp;e-commerce&nbsp;entrepreneurs&nbsp;and&nbsp;hubs&nbsp;for&nbsp;their&nbsp;communities&nbsp;simultaneously&nbsp;increasing&nbsp;their&nbsp;financial&nbsp;earnings&nbsp;2-3x.</p><p></p><p>Today&nbsp;she&nbsp;is&nbsp;early&nbsp;to&nbsp;an&nbsp;exciting&nbsp;new&nbsp;way&nbsp;to&nbsp;use&nbsp;philanthropy.&nbsp;She&nbsp;invests&nbsp;a&nbsp;meaningful&nbsp;share&nbsp;of&nbsp;hers&nbsp;in&nbsp;early-stage&nbsp;companies&nbsp;in&nbsp;East&nbsp;Africa,&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;cause&nbsp;she&nbsp;cares&nbsp;about&nbsp;most:&nbsp;lifting&nbsp;people&nbsp;out&nbsp;of&nbsp;poverty.&nbsp;When&nbsp;those&nbsp;investments&nbsp;return&nbsp;capital,&nbsp;it&nbsp;goes&nbsp;back&nbsp;into&nbsp;her&nbsp;charitable&nbsp;account&nbsp;to&nbsp;be&nbsp;invested&nbsp;again,&nbsp;multiplying&nbsp;the&nbsp;impact&nbsp;of&nbsp;every&nbsp;dollar&nbsp;she&nbsp;gives.</p><p></p><p>This&nbsp;conversation&nbsp;is&nbsp;a&nbsp;field&nbsp;guide&nbsp;for&nbsp;anyone&nbsp;with&nbsp;a&nbsp;donor-advised&nbsp;fund,&nbsp;a&nbsp;foundation&nbsp;or&nbsp;an&nbsp;annual&nbsp;giving&nbsp;budget&nbsp;who&nbsp;wants&nbsp;their&nbsp;money&nbsp;to&nbsp;do&nbsp;more.&nbsp;Tracey&nbsp;takes&nbsp;us&nbsp;to&nbsp;a&nbsp;roadside&nbsp;shop&nbsp;in&nbsp;rural&nbsp;Kenya&nbsp;where&nbsp;a&nbsp;woman&nbsp;named&nbsp;Teresia&nbsp;doubled&nbsp;her&nbsp;income&nbsp;and&nbsp;sent&nbsp;her&nbsp;kids&nbsp;to&nbsp;school,&nbsp;and&nbsp;to&nbsp;a&nbsp;hillside&nbsp;near&nbsp;Mombasa&nbsp;where&nbsp;six&nbsp;women&nbsp;farmers&nbsp;may&nbsp;become&nbsp;the&nbsp;country's&nbsp;first&nbsp;coastal&nbsp;cocoa&nbsp;growers.&nbsp;She&nbsp;explains&nbsp;what&nbsp;she&nbsp;looks&nbsp;for&nbsp;in&nbsp;a&nbsp;founder,&nbsp;why&nbsp;she&nbsp;goes&nbsp;to&nbsp;see&nbsp;every&nbsp;business&nbsp;in&nbsp;person,&nbsp;and&nbsp;why&nbsp;the&nbsp;fact&nbsp;that&nbsp;less&nbsp;than&nbsp;1%&nbsp;of&nbsp;global&nbsp;venture&nbsp;capital&nbsp;reaches&nbsp;Africa&nbsp;is&nbsp;the&nbsp;opportunity,&nbsp;not&nbsp;the&nbsp;obstacle.</p><p></p><p>In&nbsp;this&nbsp;episode:</p><ul><li>Why&nbsp;Tracey&nbsp;thinks&nbsp;of&nbsp;her&nbsp;philanthropy&nbsp;as&nbsp;capital,&nbsp;and&nbsp;how&nbsp;the&nbsp;returns&nbsp;get&nbsp;recycled&nbsp;into&nbsp;the&nbsp;next&nbsp;investment</li><li>The&nbsp;criteria&nbsp;she&nbsp;uses&nbsp;to&nbsp;back&nbsp;an&nbsp;entrepreneur</li><li>What&nbsp;she&nbsp;learns&nbsp;on&nbsp;the&nbsp;ground&nbsp;that&nbsp;never&nbsp;shows&nbsp;up&nbsp;in&nbsp;a&nbsp;pitch&nbsp;deck</li><li>How&nbsp;a&nbsp;DAF&nbsp;can&nbsp;fund&nbsp;for-profit&nbsp;social&nbsp;enterprises,&nbsp;and&nbsp;what&nbsp;to&nbsp;check&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;fine&nbsp;print</li></ul><p>If&nbsp;you&nbsp;give&nbsp;generously&nbsp;and&nbsp;have&nbsp;ever&nbsp;wondered&nbsp;whether&nbsp;your&nbsp;philanthropy&nbsp;could&nbsp;work&nbsp;harder,&nbsp;this&nbsp;is&nbsp;the&nbsp;episode&nbsp;to&nbsp;start&nbsp;with.</p><p></p><p>Companies&nbsp;mentioned:&nbsp;10X&nbsp;Nutrition,&nbsp;Nuru&nbsp;Solutions,&nbsp;Copia,&nbsp;MicroPlace.&nbsp;Learn&nbsp;more&nbsp;and&nbsp;see&nbsp;current&nbsp;investment&nbsp;opportunities&nbsp;at&nbsp;catacap.org.&nbsp;</p><p></p><p>If&nbsp;this&nbsp;conversation&nbsp;inspired&nbsp;you,&nbsp;share&nbsp;it&nbsp;with&nbsp;a&nbsp;friend&nbsp;who&nbsp;gives,&nbsp;and&nbsp;follow&nbsp;Catalytic&nbsp;Capital&nbsp;so&nbsp;you&nbsp;don't&nbsp;miss&nbsp;the&nbsp;next&nbsp;one.</p>