<h1 style="text-align:center;">Thoughts from the ANDE Meeting</h1>This past Friday I attended a small portion of the 3 day extravaganza that is the <a href="http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/aspen-network-development-entrepreneurs/">Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE)</a> annual meeting in Glen Cove, NY. ANDE is a membership organization that is bringing structure and something like a shared agenda to the new and uncertain field of SME (ANDE calls them “SGBs - small and growing businesses”) investment.This is sorely needed. The ANDE meeting was perhaps the only gathering I’ve attended where I felt that everyone there understood exactly why SMEs/SGBs are important and shared a common goal: help them succeed. The field spends so much time explaining itself that it’s important that organizations that do already “get it” can sit down and talk about where they are stuck, where innovation needs to occur and figure out who might have some good ideas.I also appreciated the fact that ANDE spans a range of nonprofit and for-profit approaches, and the <a href="http://www.aspeninstitute.org/sites/default/files/content/upload/ANDE">stellar roster</a> of participants mostly recognizes that this spectrum is necessary to move the SME field toward self-sufficiency. To me, some of the most exciting stuff to come out of this meeting has to do with how and where, exactly, nonprofit organizations can supply the sort of technical assistance that entrepreneurs need in order to prepare themselves to attract private capital. That is the sort of discussion that makes ANDE’s convening work exciting and of great value to the work that RENEW does.

This past Friday I attended a small portion of the 3 day extravaganza...

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Thoughts from the ANDE Meeting

<h1 style="text-align:center;">In Africa, Do What Works</h1>What a refreshing piece from the New York Times columnist (and longtime development aid advocate) Nicholas Kristof in last Sunday's Times. His insightful take on the much-debated value of development aid titled simply <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/books/review/Kristof-t.html?_r=2&amp;ref=review">How Can We Help the World's Poor</a>, was right on the money. Kristof advises that we take note of but look past the headline-grabbing debates between the various camps promoting or excoriating aid as a giant waste of time.Look, says Kristof, to the projects that are being rigorously evaluated, some of which actually produce measurable results for the poor. And guess what? Many of these turn out to be businesses:<blockquote>I was recently in Liberia, a fragile African democracy struggling to rebuild. It is chock-full of aid groups rushing around in white S.U.V.’s doing wonderful work. But it also needs factories to employ people, build skills and pay salaries and taxes."</blockquote>Through our online Marketplace, RENEW is working to provide a forum for these entrepreneurs to tell the story of the impact they have had and the impact they hope to achieve.<a href="https://renewcapital.com/marketplace">Take a look</a> and tell us what you think.

What a refreshing piece from the New York Times...

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In Africa, Do What Works

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Welcome to Our New Website</h1>We are excited to announce the launch of our new website. Assisted by the professionals at <a href="http://developmentseed.org/">Development Seed</a>, the RENEW team has worked hard over the past few months to offer a number of new services and features that we believe will add value to investors, developing world businesses and others in the social investment community. Here is a brief overview of what you will find as you navigate through our new site:<ul><li>For investors: We now offer an easy way to browse investment opportunities in developing countries. Our Marketplace (beta) currently features opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa with more coming soon.</li><li>For businesses in developing countries: In as little as 30 minutes businesses can apply to be featured in our Marketplace (beta). We will also be featuring resources and tools to help businesses grow.</li><li>For the social investment community: As part of our blog, we will be active in scanning the news and providing our thoughts and ideas for building the middle markets in developing countries.</li></ul>Enjoy the site and please send us your thoughts at <a href="mailto:renew@renewcapital.com">renew@renewcapital.com</a>.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/RENEW_Home_Page_Screen_Shot_Nov_2009_30de6c4623.png"></figure>

We are excited to announce the launch of our new website.

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Welcome to Our New Website

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Compelling Incentives to Invest - Is a Tipping Point Near?</h1>As Western investors slowly begin seeing potential in Africa, we'll probably begin seeing more articles like <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&amp;sid=aeuJT_pSE68c">Ethiopian Farms Lure Investor Funds as Workers Live in Poverty</a> coming from main-stream investment publications like Bloomberg. As African leaders shift their focus from aid to investments, they hope that market drivers will help take their economies up the <a href="http://www.doingbusiness.org/EconomyRankings">World Bank rankings</a>, and flood their markets with foreign direct investment. Africa's leaders can now be found as frequently on Wall Street asking for investments, as they can in Washington, D.C. asking for aid. The Fortune article, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/13/magazines/fortune/gunther_africa.fortune/index.htm">Investment in Africa Starts to Pay Off</a>, reads, "...virtually every country, their presidents, and even the leaders of the opposition parties, have gotten on the same page regarding the primacy of the private sector, the need to deregulate, and the importance of attracting foreign investment. Centralized planning, state control of assets and socialistic rhetoric, for the most part, are dead. Market forces have won."The U.S. only has a handful of funds actively investing in Africa, while India, China, the Middle East and Europe are moving in to take advantage of the handsome social and financial returns Africa is offering. So, although considerable amounts of perceived and actual risk exist, the questions is out there: is a tipping point near?Let us know your thoughts.

As Western investors slowly begin seeing potential in Africa...

Compelling Incentives to Invest - Is a Tipping Point Near?

<figure class="image image-style-align-center"><img src="/uploads/photo_2_3_338a22f9f6.jpg"></figure><h1 style="text-align:center;">Exporting Entrepreneurship and Innovation</h1>I had the honor of speaking on a panel at the <a href="https://www.un.int/kenya/news/2015-global-entrepreneurship-summit-ges-nairobi-kenya-25-26-july-2015">Global Entrepreneurship Summit</a> (GES) in Nairobi, Kenya, July 25 and 26, 2015. The energy in Nairobi was high for several reasons, including, of course, the presence of the President of the United States Barack H. Obama, “a son of Kenya” as the local newspapers like to call him. It was the first time a sitting U.S. president visited the country.More than a thousand entrepreneurs, investors and ecosystem partners from around the world woke up before dawn on Saturday morning and traveled to the United Nations compound in Nairobi to await his arrival. During the hours of waiting inside the auditorium at the compound, I was honored to sit with Lesa Mitchell (<a href="http://instigating.co/">Instigating+co.</a>), Philip Auerswald (author of <a href="http://auerswald.org/">The Coming Prosperity</a>, professor at George Mason University, and co-chair of the <a href="http://www.gern.co/">Global Entrepreneurship Research Network</a>), and Derek White (Chief Design and Digital Officer for <a href="http://www.barclaysaccelerator.com/location-london.html">Barclays Accelerator</a>). Jim Sorensen, the Utah founder of the <a href="http://sgiicenter.com/">SGII Center</a>, and <a href="http://www.coons.senate.gov/">U.S. Senator Christopher Coons</a>, a leader in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, were close by. What a pleasure it was to engage intellectual thought leaders regarding topics such as the bitcoin and blockchain movements, electronic intellectual property rights, the experience economy, and most importantly, entrepreneurship, as we awaited the founder of the summit, President Obama.<figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="/uploads/photo_2_1_1_0_42b94805cd.jpg"></figure>In the days leading up to GES, I also participated in two wonderful events organized in part by <a href="http://www.vilcap.com/">Village Capital</a>: “Pitch for Impact”, hosted by <a href="http://casefoundation.org/">The Case Foundation</a>, SGII Center and the <a href="http://www.doen.nl/web/about-DOEN/About-the-DOEN-Foundation.htm">DOEN Foundation</a>, and “Celebrating Entrepreneurship”, hosted by the Case Foundation and Barclays. Both events provided additional opportunities to experience the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Nairobi, including <a href="http://www.ihub.co.ke/">iHUB</a> and scores of entrepreneurs and other investors (be sure to check out <a href="http://www.barclaysafrica.com/barclaysafrica/Supply-Chain-Challenge">#BarlcaysAfricaChallenge</a>).<figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="/uploads/photo_3_1_253c5233ca.jpg"></figure>it was the first time I had participated in GES, and I left Nairobi reinvigorated about America’s role in the world. The President made a commitment six years ago to, in summary, export the American spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation – now this is something I can support! From my world in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and my travels around the globe, it has become clear to me that promoting entrepreneurship is key for the United States to maintain, and perhaps in some places even regain, our diplomatic relevance. During the past year, President Obama even named several <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/05/11/meet-president-obamas-entrepreneurship-ambassadors/">U.S. Ambassadors for Entrepreneurship</a>, including ABC’s Shark Tank favorite, <a href="http://daymondjohn.com/">Daymond John</a>, who I had the pleasure of meeting briefly. Ambassadors for Entrepreneurship - what a great idea!<figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="/uploads/photo_4_69bbe8c74d.jpg"></figure>Thanks to some of our partners at <a href="http://www.usaid.gov/">USAID</a>, I was asked to sit on an angel investing and crowdfunding panel. The panel was wonderfully moderated by Michael Ducker of <a href="http://jeaustin.com/about/">J.E. Austin Associates, Inc.</a> It also included Rich Hoops, a quintessential example of an angel investor, Hossam Allam, who leads the <a href="http://www.cairoangels.com/">Cairo Angels</a>, and Cecile Watson, who is pioneering a Caribbean crowdfunding platform called <a href="http://pitchandchoose.com/">Pitch and Choose</a>. It was a great, diverse panel that engaged audience of 80+ entrepreneurs and investors, including Suzanne Biegle of <a href="http://www.clearlysocialangels.com/">Clearly Social Angels</a>, Dan Awendo of <a href="http://www.investeqcapital.com/">Investeq Capital</a>, and Ben White of <a href="https://vc4africa.biz/">VC4Africa</a>.As President Obama instructed in closing the summit, “Go out and start something.” And when you do, persist and persist and persist in your vision until you change the world around you.

Laura Davis attends the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit.

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Exporting Entrepreneurship and Innovation

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Investing On The Frontier Podcast Series</h1>RENEW presents our new podcast series <a href="https://soundcloud.com/renewstrategies">Investing On The Frontier</a>. In this series, the RENEW team will be sharing unique insights on all things impact investing, life in Africa, remarkable stories of entrepreneurship, and a variety of other real and raw topics that we hope will leave you looking at the world a little differently.Investing On The Frontier’s first episode (Trust Your Gut) opens with Matt and Laura Davis getting ready to travel back to their home in Ethiopia, a 7,000-mile voyage that can prove to be a time consuming and exhausting process.<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/223071716&amp;color=ff5500"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/renewstrategies" title="Investing On The Frontier" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Investing On The Frontier</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/renewstrategies/trust-your-gut" title="Trust Your Gut" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Trust Your Gut</a></div></div>The pair briefly discusses the next three months’ upcoming activity, from working with our current portfolio companies, to developing our investment pipeline, to closing additional investments. Our teams in the U.S. and on the ground in Ethiopia are working around the clock across multiple time zones to ensure that both the portfolio and pipeline continue to grow. The podcast also describes how RENEW is gearing up for several Econ-Tourism Trips that are to take place this fall and winter.In this episode, you will hear about the importance of listening to your gut in investment environments where the numbers, legal structures and systems are not always as standardized as in the West.We hope you listen in to get firsthand perspectives from the RENEW team on investing in Africa. Have thoughts on what you would like to hear about in the future? We would love to hear from you!

RENEW produces its first episode on trusting your gut.

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Investing On The Frontier Podcast Series

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Power Africa: Any case studies yet? Maybe...</h1>What is Power Africa? First, let me direct you to the <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/06/30/fact-sheet-power-africa">White House Fact Sheet on Power Africa</a>. Great, quick read. Next, I’ll explain it in my own words.Simply put, I think Power Africa is a major shift in how our country views Africa…. and I like it! For a number of years the U.S. government’s focus has been on an initiative called Feed the Future, which, given the amount of arable land that has not been touched on this continent, is a good thing. In Fiscal Year 2012 (FY2012), the initiative focused on 19 countries and helped more than 7 million food producers make improvements, improved the cultivation of 4 million hectares of land, and helped increase the value of exports of targeted commodities by $84 million.With the world population rising, we need more food – it made sense to direct USAID in that direction. What I have observed is that much of the effort of FtF has been focused on helping smallholder farmers. Good? Yes. But, is that really keeping up with where Africa is today, and more importantly, where Africa is going?Well... here comes Power Africa. From what I observe looking out my office window here in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Africa is booming! I saw it in Uganda in 2008, Mozambique in 2010, Senegal, Zambia, Zimbabwe in 2011 and now in Ethiopia. The cities are alive. Addis is a great example. This growing metropolis has cranes scattered across the skyline, carrying bags of cement, wires, sheetrock, bricks and blocks to the tops of large buildings. Up they rise. I have weekly meetings with construction companies, block factories, sheetrock companies, cable companies...the list goes on. They are growing and yet starving for capital. According to research conducted by the IFC and McKinsey Global Institute, the total financing gap for SMEs in Africa is between $140 billion and $170 billion.This country - this continent - is industrializing. Of course Africa has its share of problems and aid is still playing a role in helping the least served. But the hungry engine of capitalism is in fifth gear. And what does industry need a lot of? Power! That’s right. So, what is Power Africa? In my very non-jargony, sophomoric words it means “Wow. I think I am getting that Africa is changing, growing, industrializing, and maybe the U.S. needs an initiative to get in, get involved and start participating with her private sector! Because everyone else is.”What does it mean for Africa? What I hope it means is that, instead of seeing just Chinese, Indian, Turkish and (fill in the country’s name other than the U.S.) doing all of the nation-building in the cities, we’ll start seeing some U.S. flags waving, painted on trucks, rigs and machines. I also hope it means that investors will see this great continent as an investment destination they can do business with. Come on over. There are amazing companies in these cities, some even working in the power sectors that could be great partners, clients and collaborators with U.S. companies. So, what does this mean for Africa? I hope it means more U.S. private-sector partners and investors knocking on their door.What does it mean for the United States? See above. America – it’s time.Any case studies? Actually, yes, there are a few. Here’s the 30-second rundown of one. In 2012, RENEW met a great entrepreneur who had lived in the United States, but, after starting a successful engineering company in Michigan, decided to come back to Ethiopia – his homeland – and start a clean energy company here. We introduced him to a group of impact angels from Charlotte, North Carolina in March of 2013 and, after a lot of work, due diligence, structuring, etc., the Charlotte angels closed an investment in dVentus. The investment is allowing the company to develop technology for a smart grid power transmission system in the country. The savings these little circuit boards will have are astonishing. The story goes on. Because of this angel investment the company is now attracting the interest of much larger financiers, and U.S. companies that want to be their partner. Success? Well, that remains to be seen. After all, this is business on the frontier.I know there are more of these stories out there waiting to happen. Investors are ready. Businesses are ready. Africa is ready. Thank you Power Africa for providing the phrase that will help transform this industrializing continent into an economic success story – one smart grid meter at a time.Contact us at <a href="mailto:renew@renewcapital.com">renew@renewcapital.com</a> or follow us on Twitter @RENEWLLC to find out more.

A closer look at the new Power Africa initiative.

Power Africa: Any case studies yet? Maybe...

<h1 style="text-align:center;">2014: What's Next</h1>Next year will be focused on scaling. We plan to make more great investments and focus on adding value to our portfolio companies. We will also be doing more work with our angel network. We plan to work more closely with our current chapters and expand organically into a few more cities. We’ll be offering our angels more trip options, benefits for their family members, and creative ways for them to help engage and work with their investments.We will also embark on some innovative projects to strengthen our analysis by gathering and mining sources of local market data, and monitoring and evaluating our portfolio so we can accurately capture and report post-investment metrics.Finally, we hope to create some great success stories, and we will do our best to profile these throughout the year.So stay tuned. Thank you all for your continued support of our company, and we hope to hear from you soon.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/photo_ethiopia_whats_next_for_2014_fc1a0de3da.jpg"></figure>Contact us at <a href="mailto:renew@renewcapital.com">renew@renewcapital.com</a> or follow us on Twitter @RENEWLLC to find out more.

A look into what's in store for RENEW in 2014.

2014: What's Next

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Above the Clouds</h1>It’s been on my list for 17 years to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak. From October 17 to 24, 2015, Matt and I left the world of cellphones, emails, computers, internal team and portfolio board meetings behind to challenge ourselves in a different way.The 55-mile hike might be classified as little more than an extended “walk”, except for one major exception: the elevation change. But living in Addis Ababa, at 2,356 meters (7,730 feet), certainly helped prepare us for this adventure. We spent the first night at an elevation we were used to and went slowly up from there. After about 3,700 meters (12,000 feet), we were mostly above the clouds for the remainder of our trek. I love clouds, and it was mesmerizing to watch the weather change beneath us, and the fog and cloudbanks roll up the mountainside throughout each day. Basecamp was at 4,750 meters (15,520 feet) and at about 12:20 AM on Wednesday night, we started our final ascent.We left later than the other groups, but somehow our guides got us to the top first. Slowly placing one foot ahead of the other, with the oxygen getting thinner and thinner with every step, we made it to Stella’s point and then the grand finale, Uhuru Peak at 5,895 meters (19,340 feet), just as the sun cracked the horizon. Our guides timed it perfectly. With a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne to toast the accomplishment and our second wedding anniversary, it was a moment I will never forget.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/nov_essentials_kilimanjaro_36476295b8.jpg"></figure>The trek also allowed ample time to think and journal about what we are doing at RENEW, and it really helped me crystalize and ‘renew’ some of the lessons I have learned after living and working in Ethiopia for almost four years. These are …&nbsp;<ol><li>You can be very productive when you are offline - Being offline for a week allowed us to focus and have productive thoughts and conversations. We had hours to remember, talk and brainstorm about what is and will be in our personal lives and in the work we are doing with the Impact Angel Network in Africa.</li><li>Listen to the locals - One of our guides had been climbing the mountain for 28 years and the other 17. We went at their recommended hiking pace, we drank water, ate food and rested when they told us to, and we were fine. Our guides had many stories to tell us about Westerners (Mzungus) who thought they could do it better than the guides…and they did not fair so well.</li><li>Poly, Poly - The term means ‘slowly, slowly’ in Swahili. Doing things slowly is not in our nature in the West, but doing some things slowly may be the difference between a successful and failed summit attempt.</li></ol>&nbsp;In some regards I would like to think I came down the mountain a different person. Both Matt and I descended with a clarity and vision for a few key areas of our life, the IAN and RENEW.My advice - don’t wait. If you have those things you’ve always been meaning to do, make a plan and get them done. You will be glad you did.

Adventures and lessons learnt while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest peak.

For Investors