Venture Capital and how to find, approach and work with VC firms

What is Unitus?

Unitus is a global microfinance accelerator that acts as a social venture capital investor for the microfinance industry. Unitus identifies the highest-potential microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing countries and helps accelerate their growth through capital investments and capacity-building consulting, thus empowering them to help exponentially more poor people worldwide. In doing so, Unitus aims to demonstrate that MFIs can be run as profitable, large-scale, poverty-focused businesses with links to local capital markets. As of December 2005, Unitus had seven MFI partners worldwide serving more than 540,000 poor clients. Based in Redmond, Wash., USA, and with an office in Bangalore, India, Unitus relies on innovative financial instruments, and the financial resources of like-minded individuals and foundations, to fulfill its mission. Unitus received the 2006 Fast Company / Monitor Group Social Capitalist Award for taking an innovative, entrepreneurial, business-minded approach to alleviating global poverty. For more information about Unitus, please visit: www.unitus.com

What is microcredit and microfinance?

Microfinance is the practice of extending small, or microcredit, loans to the poor for income-generating activities, often coupled with other financial services such as savings and insurance.  Despite the growth of microfinance over the last 30 years, less than 20 percent of those who could benefit from it have access to it, which is why Unitus focuses on dramatically increasing the availability of microfinance.

Can poverty really be alleviated?

Although poverty may never be eradicated, it can definitely be alleviated.  Microfinance isn’t a panacea, but it is a powerful tool in the fight against poverty.

Why is Unitus at a Private Equity conference?

We're here because the Unitus message, and our acceleration model, is one that particular resonates with investors and entrepreneurs.  These are people who want to make a big impact not only in their business endeavours, but in their social endeavours as well.  Through Unitus, they can do that.  Because we employ a social venture capital model, where we work to identify the highest-potential microfinance institutions and then invest to help them scale, we provide massive leverage to our funders.

What is the panel you will be on? 

I will be on Thursday's Entrepreneur panel.  When they asked me to participate on this panel, I pushed back a bit, since many people expect 'founders' to comprise this sort of panel (for instance, you would be a prime invitee!).  However, the organizers were interested in my background working at Amazon.com as an early employee, and now at a small/start-up nonprofit that is working to effect massive industry change.

Why are Entrepreneurs attracted to the Unitus model?

I think primarily because they can uniquely appreciate how we are working to empower the working poor.  At some point in their life they were given a chance and took a bold chance, and they see a parallel with the experiences of the working poor and the model we have pursued to scale this effective, but underperforming industry.  The message of 'give a hand up, rather than a hand out' is very powerful with them.

Tell us about the FastCompany award that Unitus recently received?

Unitus is one of 25 winners nationally of the 2006 Fast Company/Monitor Group Social Capitalist Award.  Unitus was selected for its entrepreneurial, business-minded approach toward alleviating global poverty by increasing access to microfinance.  The application process was very rigorous, and it’s an enormous honor for Unitus to have been selected.  Unitus President and CEO Geoff Davis received the award at a ceremony in New York City on January 12, 2006.  You can read about Unitus and the other 24 winners on the Fast Company Web site here: 2006 Fast Company / Monitor Group Social Capitalist Award

For more information visit www.unitus.com or the Unitus Blog.