News

Webinar Impact Investing in Justice Startups on February 23

February 16th

What are the opportunities for Impact Investing in the field of justice? What does the Innovating Justice Fund launched by FOUNT and HiiL seek to achieve?

Each year, more than 1 billion people face a serious justice problem. Up to 55% of these problems remain unresolved or are resolved in a way that is felt as unfair. To address the gap in equal access to justice for all FOUNT and HiiL launched the Innovating Justice Fund. The Fund provides funding and technical assistance (TA) to early–stage start-ups that sustainably deliver innovative justice services in emerging markets. Read more in the press release of June 2022.

Join the webinar Impact Investing in Justice Startups on February 23rd at 15:00 PM CET to discuss why we need to drastically improve the allocation of capital in order to make justice available for all. The webinar will convene justice sector leaders and investors to discuss and share best practices and see how we could help each other close the justice gap.

Read more and register

AGRI3 Fund and Rabobank launch initiative “Renova Pasto”

January 18th

AGRI3 Fund and Rabobank have launched a new initiative “Renova Pasto” in Brazil which will support the renovation of degraded pasturelands and accelerate forest conservation. A 10 year loan product from Rabobank and AGRI3 Fund will enable farmers to restore the health of their pastureland whilst simultaneously accelerate their compliance with the Brazilian Forest Code. A great blend of soil restoration, forest protection and higher production!

Watch the video to learn more

Read the Press Release here

Solar panel installation at a Pratibha Syntex Limited facility. Image by Nitya Work

First investment of Good Fashion Fund demonstrates impact

December 5th

The Good Fashion Fund jointly with its expert partners Fair Wear Foundation and Sphera, had its first on-site monitoring visit in December 2022. The investment is already showing fruitful results and positive financial, environmental and social impact in Pratibha’s spinning, processing and garmenting divisions. The impact of the investment is above expectations, according to Bernadette Blom, director of The Good Fashion Fund. This investment is in line with the goal of the Good Fashion Fund, working towards a more restorative and regenerative apparel supply chain.

Read the press release
Good Fashion Fund’s first investment demonstrates impact

GFF-directors highlight the importance of turning words into action

November 28th

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the non-profit Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) have launched the Fashion Industry Target Consultation to agree on targets to help the fashion sector transition towards a net-positive industry. Bernadette Blom and Bob Assenberg, partners at impact investment firm FOUNT which manages the Good Fashion Fund, have shared their insights in an interview on Impact Investor: “We feel it is important that all stakeholders, including the brands go beyond words, and actually support manufacturers in their supply chains to become more sustainable.”

Read the article UN-backed global consultation on how to make fashion industry net-positive launched

New BIX 2 fund releases video

November 15th

BIX Capital believes that no woman or child should suffer from a lack of access to clean and improved technologies for cooking. On 14th November 2022, the second fund, BIX 2 (USD 80m), was showcased by The World Bank in the COP27. BIX’s Investment Advisor Samira Saidi explains the success of the first fund, BIX Capital, and how the new fund, BIX 2, will monetise wider impact benefits in addition to gender and health, fight climate change and continue to accelerate the finance SMEs in the Global South.

BIX is an initiative of Cardano Development, Shell Foundation and FOUNT.
FOUNT is investment manager of the BIX Fund.

GFF back in India to amplify it’s sustainability initiatives

September 14th

The Good Fashion Fund is back in India! FOUNT’s team member Jayanth Kashyap is in Tamil Nadu for an ongoing due diligence of a leading textile manufacturer.

The company is seeking to amplify it’s best-in-class sustainability initiatives through GFF’s potential support focused on upgrading and replacing legacy production equipment. This is expected to create significant consumption savings across energy, water and materials usage while ensuring fair working conditions for the factory workers.

GFF is an investment vehicle initiated by Fashion for Good and Laudes Foundation, managed by FOUNT. Read more on the website of Good Fashion Fund

Innovative finance

July 14th

Banking On A Theory Of Change

A partner of FOUNT is Cardano Development, an Amsterdam-based fund manager that has created innovative financial business concepts in emerging markets. Cardano Development, FOUNT and Shell Foundation jointly initiated BIX Capital. An article in TheInnovator features BIX Capital and the principles of Cardano Development. Read the article “Banking On A Theory Of Change“.

The Economist highlights Innovating Justice Fund in article about declining respect for law

June 16th

An interesting article in The Economist puts the global trend that respect for the rule of law is in decline. This is not only the impression of anyone following current affairs, the trend is also backed by data of the annually compiled Rule of Law index of the World Justice Project (WJP).

Every year an estimated 1bn people encounter cases of injustice of which 70% will never see the problem resolved; some 30% will not feel sufficiently empowered even to seek a resolution.

In the article the Innovating Justice Fund, recently launched by Hiil and FOUNT, is featured as one of the initiatives to enlarge people’s access to justice.

Read the article

The pandemic has accelerated a global decline in the rule of law. But it has also brought some needed change to the way justice is administered.

(available for subscribers of The Economist)

FOUNT and Hiil launch the Innovating Justice Fund

June 1st

FOUNT and HiiL have today launched the Innovating Justice Fund which strives to provide equal access to justice for all. The Innovating Justice Fund will address the justice gap by providing funding and technical assistance to early–stage start-ups that deliver innovative justice services in emerging markets. The Fund’s main ambition is to contribute to people-centered justice services at scale through this blended capital structure.

Read the press release

Impact Investor features BIXs’ clean cooking and water solutions to Africa’s poorest

May 11th

Impact Investor has published an interview with BIX Capital ’s Managing director Jeroen Blum and director Bernadette Blom. The pair explain how the concept for BIX Capital came about and how BIX Capital aims to improve living conditions for those at the bottom of the wealth pyramid, providing debt financing to SMEs offering clean cooking, energy and water solutions to low-income households in sub-Saharan Africa.

Read the article