I’m the CEO and founder of Root Capital, an impact-first agricultural lender working in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. I began my career on Wall Street in Latin American corporate finance, later working as a business journalist in Mexico, where I became familiar with the challenges faced by agri-businesses and small-scale farmers who lacked access to capital and markets. I was on my way to Harvard Business School in the late nineties, when I took a detour and founded Root Capital. Since then, we’ve grown to over 100 employees, with clients across Latin America and Africa, and $100 million in assets. I’m a Skoll Entrepreneur. an Ashoka Global Fellow, and was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2008 and one of Forbes’ “Impact 30” in 2011. I currently belong to the 2012 Henry Crown Fellowship Class of the Aspen Institute. As for academic credentials, I’ve got an M.S. in development economics from the London School of Economics and a B.A. from Yale University.

Founder and CEO @ Root Capital is a nonprofit social investment fund that is pioneering finance for grassroots businesses in rural areas of developing countries. We provide capital, deliver financial training, and strengthen market connections for small and growing businesses that build sustainable livelihoods and transform rural communities in poor, environmentally vulnerable places. From January 2002 to Present (14 years)

bachelors, History @ Yale University From 1986 to 1990 Willy Foote is skilled in: Non-profits, Microfinance, Social Entrepreneurship, Emerging Markets, Corporate Social Responsibility, Entrepreneurship, Social Impact, Rural Development, International Development, Sustainable Development, Nonprofits, Economics, Training, Africa, Impact Investing