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Matt and Laura Davis, partners of RENEW, have been traveling around the U.S. and Canada to meet with IAN members and potential investors. The multi-city trip started with a visit to New York City in mid-March and a great event co-hosted by Global Evolution, a boutique investment manager specializing in emerging and frontier markets. A special thank you to IAN member Jodi Morris for making the kind introduction!
Guests were invited to sunset cocktails and conversation with RENEW team and IAN members, as well as Global Evolution’s Robert Morier and Caroline Hauser. Global Evolution approaches its impact investments through publicly traded sovereign fixed income portfolios. In contrast, RENEW seeks to change the way people view and invest in Africa through a vibrant and experiential angel network and working alongside development partners via public-private partnerships, which in turn leads to investments into SMEs, sustainable economic growth, and a thriving private sector in frontier markets. While RENEW and Global Evolution take different investment approaches, we share a common vision - a future where African countries are financially independent and control their own destinies.
The partners then headed to Canada for meetings in and around Toronto, connecting with fellow impact investment firms and funds, globally focused non-profits, leading incubators and accelerators, and inspiring university students at the Rotman School of Business. All in all, it was a jam-packed but rewarding three days.
The trip continued over to the Eastern seaboard to spend time with one of our most active regions in the network - the Delaware group. Matt and Laura, Delaware-based IAN members and entrepreneurs from our Ethiopian investment pipeline went to the Delmarva region to get a closer look at the state’s poultry value-chain. The two-day agenda included an agri-cycle plant, a feed mill, a hatchery, poultry barns, a laboratory that services the poultry industry and various chicken eating opportunities along the way. It was a great way for Delaware members to connect with each other, the region and the investment pipeline. A big thank you to IAN member Jeff Turi and our friends at the Delaware World Trade Center for making this happen!
After a brief stint in Washington, DC, the partners headed across the country to Vancouver, Canada to start the West coast portion of the trip. Meetings and a wonderful event hosted at UrtheCast’s beautiful office in the Vancouver Convention Center set the bar high. A special thank you to Wade Larson, Abraham Fiseha and Aklilu Murat and IAN member Roman Brent for pulling together such a stellar group of change-makers.
Matt and Laura’s time in Seattle this past week was not to be outdone - IAN members Brian Ratzliff and Denise Seavitt hosted two fantastic events for us, bringing together globally-minded business and community leaders who are open to thinking, giving and investing differently. The events were highlighted by meaningful discussion on doing well by doing good, impact and Africa.
If attending one of these IAN gatherings is of interest to you, don’t fret! We still have a few more cities to go, so if you’d like to join us at an upcoming event, please check out the following information:
- San Francisco, CA- April 7, 2017 from 6-8pm
- Park City, UT- April 11, 2017 from 12-1:30pm
- Denver, CO- April 12, 2017 from 5:30-7pm
- Minneapolis, MN- April 18, 2017 from 5:30-7pm
If you have time to meet Matt and Laura, or know other like-minded investors in the above cities who would be interested in learning more about RENEW, the IAN or our upcoming investment pipeline deals, then please reach out and let us know. We hope to see many of you in the coming weeks!
