Impaqto Capital invests in impact companies in Colombia as well as in Latin America’s smaller investment markets like Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. The firm provides flexible loans of up to $200,000 for working and growth capital to startups delivering basic services, agricultural development and climate resilience in the Andean region.
The Quito, Ecuador-based fund manager raised $2.1 million for its first fund, slightly surpassing its $2 million target. Its investors include Sorenson Impact Foundation, Full Spectrum Capital Partners, CREAS Ecuador, DF Impact Capital, Boosting Opportunities, WCCN and UnTours Foundation.
Impaqto’s Michelle Arevalo-Carpenter called the firms’ successful raise in a difficult funding environment “a proof point for the power of proximate fund managers who deeply understand the challenges and opportunities within the Andean region.”
Impaqto has invested in a half-dozen companies supporting the livelihoods of more than 175,000 people. Four of the companies have female founders. Three of its portfolio companies are based in Peru: Elsa, a software company helping address sexual harassment and other workplace safety issues; waste collection and recycling company Sinba; and Quenco, which connects smallholder farmers to buyers. In Colombia, Fibrazo provides high-speed internet access on a prepaid basis. Bolivia-based tuGerente is digitalizing small and informal businesses and helping them secure credit. Cusi in Ecuador is a fair trade, healthy food brand.
