How we work

With knowledge and assets built up over 10 years supporting sustainable livelihoods and social enterprises at the base of the pyramid, we work with aligned co-investors to offer catalytic and concessionary social investment to revenue-generating social enterprises, and where needed, grants for training and market development.

GenEM’s heritage in the fund management world underpins our philosophy and approach.

We believe in:

  • Rigorous project appraisal on quantitative and qualitative dimensions
  • The value of multiple viewpoints and constructive challenge to come to better decisions
  • Portfolio diversification given the numerous risks that can throw projects off course
  • Clear performance metrics to hold us and our partners to account
  • Offering non-financial support to management teams in our portfolio.

Project reviewers work alongside the executive to evaluate, recommend, monitor and, where appropriate, advise project managers.

Approach

We look for opportunities for sustainable, long-term income generation benefiting marginalised communities currently beyond the reach of traditional government or market-based solutions.

We find, fund and engage projects in emerging markets where our team have sector and country knowledge.

We are comfortable with financial risk in our social investments – we wish to support revenue-generating, pre-breakeven enterprises on the bumpy journey to bankability. We expect to take impairment in the pursuit of impact.

Eligibility

Process

We review ideas and proposals throughout the year, meaning there is no ‘deadline’ and no initial application form.

We are open to ideas. If, after reading the Criteria, you believe you have a well-aligned enterprise or project, please send a ‘project idea’ with the key information requested.

We take appraisal seriously. Project reviewers work alongside the executive to evaluate and recommend projects to an investment committee. 

Each proposal is examined against a common framework and scored for impact and risk.

The Trust does not set a minimum or maximum grant value at application stage, although typically our ticket size is between US$50,000-US$400,000. 

There is no minimum or maximum timescale. Our social investments are structured over two to 10 years typically. Our usual practice is to support grant projects over a three-year horizon.

We always consider follow-on funding for management teams that perform (and pivot) well.

Funding

Criteria

Need: We serve marginalised communities. We look for project managers able to identify marginalisation in any form which impedes livelihoods and demonstrate they can produce meaningful and sustainable economic opportunities.

Solution: We look for sound evidence of market failure, government neglect or collective action problems, in order to be sure households, neighbours and enterprises require outside help.

Activity: We are lateral thinkers and sector agnostic but our work in sustainable livelihoods usually comprises:

  • enterprise development, including support for smallholders, in value chains which support marginalised communities
  • The improvement of vocational opportunities for marginalised communities, including targeted skills training
  • More effective and sustainable management of markets in natural capital

Instrument: We are looking to make more catalytic and concessionary social investments with the potential to recover meaningful levels of funding. We will prioritise appraisals of repayable grants and revenue-based loans.

Location and entity: The majority of the work and benefits take place in a developing country indicated on the country list.

The project manager is registered as an organisation in their operating country

or 

formally associated with an organisation with a social purpose recorded on an official register in the UK, the US, Australia, Canada, a member state of the European Union, New Zealand or Singapore.

Exclusions: We will not fund:

  • activities that do not directly further our charity’s purposes, where private benefit is incidental and necessary to achieving our mission
  • activities focused outside the country list
  • individual sponsorship or personal appeals
  • work that is aligned to a political party or preferential to a religious or spiritual faith
  • animal charities
  • third-party construction and infrastructure projects
  • funding for work that has already occurred
  • medical research.

We have thought about:

Please consider this before submitting an idea in these fields.

Your Ideas

Send us your project idea using the Contact Us form

If you have a social business or project transforming economic opportunities in marginalised communities, please send us your project idea using the Contact us form. Please include a concise outline, including its location(s) and these five figures:

  • The amount requested and the total project budget
  • The timescale, with any fixed start date
  • The number of participants or households expected to benefit
  • The best available forecast of the typical uplift in income expected at individual or household level
  • The registration number and type of organisations involved in fund holding and project delivery.