Innovative Funding Vehicle with We Share Forward Foundation: Seven women-led social enterprises supported
We have partnered with the “We Share Forward Foundation” to provide catalytic funding to impact entrepreneurs with the “Women Entrepreneurs Funding”. Through this initiative, we are supporting women-led ventures that tackle critical challenges in health, food security, climate resilience, and economic empowerment, in Africa, APAC and Latin America.
By establishing an endowment of pooled philanthropic capital at We Share Forward Foundation, we support the scaling of women-led social enterprises in emerging countries. These entrepreneurs provide healthcare access, create inclusion tech and enable farmers to conduct agriculture more sustainably. With Bayer Foundation’s funding, flexible and innovative impact financing models in the form of fair impact loans, convertible loans and equity arrangements have been provided through We Share Forward Foundation.
“Revolving Grants” mechanism
The model is based on the concept of “Revolving Grants”: Donors like Bayer Foundation, are providing a philanthropic grant to We Share Forward Foundation, which in turn establishes tailor-made financing agreements with social impact makers. These agreements may include equity or convertible loans, designed to meet the needs of the enterprise. Once the entrepreneurs are successful and generate both impact and returns, the repayments flow back to We Share Forward Foundation, guaranteeing funds for additional enterprises. Any revolved funds secured through the mission-based investments will be redeployed to support more women entrepreneurs, thereby maximizing the impact of each philanthropic donation.
Here are the first seven remarkable entrepreneurs from our network, that are receiving funding through the “Women Entrepreneurs Funding”:
My Medicines: Transforming access to quality medicines across Africa.
Hear Me: Bridging communication gaps with the first Indonesian Sign Language Translator using 3D animation.
Kaaro Health: Bringing affordable, high-quality healthcare to rural African communities.
Tirando x Colombia: Breaking the cycle of poverty through innovative sexual education.
Happy Ground: Enabling farmers and restoring ecosystems with biochar solutions.
Aloi: Enhancing the investability of informal sector MSMEs with digital finance solutions.
Uganics Repellents: Combatting malaria through accessible household products.
“We are proud to establish gender-lens impact investing funding that not only speeds up sustainable growth for women entrepreneurs but also innovatively leverages philanthropic capital to create evergreen grants meeting the financial needs of entrepreneurs.”
Dr. Peng Zhong, Director Social Innovation Bayer Foundation
A second round of funding to support another cohort of inspiring women entrepreneurs will launch soon. If you are interested in co-funding this initiative and joining an innovative joint-decision making committee, please contact our office (bayer.foundation@bayer.com).
