<h1 style="text-align:center;">RENEW Attends Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility Conference</h1>RENEW’s Laura Davis recently attended a national conference titled “Weathering the Storm”, hosted by the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR).<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/logo_0_669900179c.png"></figure>ICCR is a coalition of over 300 faith-based and socially responsible institutional investors who collectively represent more than $100 billion in invested capital, and work in coalition to promote more just and sustainable corporate practices.This event aimed to engage ICCR members and multinational corporations to support and promote greater awareness of their impacts on global food and water supplies, climate change, human rights, public health and access to safe and affordable credit, among other issues. Several hundred people from around the U.S. attended the conference, which was sponsored by Rockefeller &amp; Co., Goldman Sachs, Walmart and a variety of other corporations who care about the environment, good sourcing practices and their organization's carbon footprint.Laura was encouraged to learn that there is indeed a large community of religious-based financiers who care about environmental and social impact, and who are looking to invest in companies and opportunities that align with these values. Founded in the 1970s, ICCR has been a forerunner in the impact investment movement. Today, this coalition and other organizations, such as RENEW, are using private investment as a powerful catalyst for social change. &nbsp;

RENEW's Laura Davis attends the ICCR conference in New York City.

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RENEW Attends Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility Conference

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Aspen Institute Showcased New Book on Impact Investing</h1><figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/ande_logo_web1_8d614abdbf.jpg"></figure>RENEW team members Kathleen DeLaHoussaye and Emily Ziethen attended an event for the recently released book titled, <a href="http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118860810.html">'The Impact Investor: Lessons in Leadership and Strategy for Collaborative Capitalism'</a>, authored by Cathy Clark, Jed Emerson and Ben Thornley. The discussion was hosted by the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, commonly known as <a href="http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/aspen-network-development-entrepreneurs">ANDE</a>, which is a part of the Aspen Institute. ANDE is “a global network of more than 200 organizations that propel entrepreneurship in emerging markets.”*Kathleen and Emily found the discussion surrounding the book and the field of impact investment to be interesting and compelling. According to the authors, this book serves as a hands-on resource that is both informative and practical by presenting investment strategies, providing case studies and teaching important lessons that will ultimately contribute towards the reader’s success in creating “mission-driven returns.”The research for this book drew on the practices and results of 30 different funds, firms and organizations in the field of impact investment that have historical data and a proven track record of meeting expectations and providing returns. The authors were then able to pull out trends, commonalities and conclusions from the data, which in turn empirically supports the opinion that all members of the impact community share; social entrepreneurship can be a successful means through which individuals can help lift a developing nation out of poverty, while providing financial returns.Ultimately, the beliefs and best practices presented in this book align with RENEW’s beliefs about impact investing. RENEW strives to engage its investors, practice exceptional financial discipline and due diligence, and ultimately provide an unforgettable experience that will hopefully inspire a movement across generations so that one day every individual will invest in impact.&nbsp;

RENEW team members Kathleen DeLaHoussaye and Emily Ziethen attended an ANDE event.

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Aspen Institute Showcased New Book on Impact Investing

<h1 style="text-align:center;">RENEW Partners to Attend SOCAP and NACO 2015 Conferences</h1>Next week, RENEW’s partners Laura Davis and Tom Scriven are attending two important conferences in the field of impact and angel investing.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/conferences_1_901afa96ac.jpg"></figure>Laura Davis will be participating in the Social Capital Markets (<a href="http://socap15.socialcapitalmarkets.net/">SOCAP</a>) 2015 conference in San Francisco. SOCAP is to take place over the course of several days, gathering more than 10,000 impact investors and social entrepreneurs from around the world in one place. Participants come from all sorts of backgrounds - ranging from individuals, wealth managers, government bodies, foundations and non-profits - but they all share a common goal to “actively seek out opportunities to accelerate the market at the intersection of money and meaning.”Tom Scriven will be attending the National Angel Capital Organization (<a href="https://nacocanada.com/">NACO</a>) 2015 Summit in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario. Tom will be joining more than 300 investors, industry leaders, entrepreneurs and development professionals from all over the world at Canada's largest gathering of angel investors. Participants will have the opportunity to collaborate and connect with like-minded individuals and experienced investors, as well as discuss industry best practices that lead to success.If you find yourself at either one of these exciting events next week, be sure to reach out and let us know!&nbsp;

Two of the largest events in North America for the fields of impact and angel investing.

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RENEW Partners to Attend SOCAP and NACO 2015 Conferences

<h1 style="text-align:center;">RENEW’s Impact Angel Network Closes Fifth Investment</h1>RENEW is pleased to announce that members of the Impact Angel Network (IAN) and another U.S. investment group recently signed an agreement to invest into a sesame company based in Ethiopia. The investors anticipate that over the next five years, the company will support more than 10,000 small farmers, strengthen the sesame industry in Ethiopia, generate $32 million in export sales and create more than 60 jobs in the manufacturing sector.The investment, like others the IAN has made into small and medium enterprises in East Africa, is anticipated to have a significant impact in the local economy.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/dsc_0064_4ec9b054d2.jpg"><figcaption>A sesame facility in Humera, Ethiopia. Ethiopia is Africa's largest sesame producer and exporter.</figcaption></figure>As a partner of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Feed the Future Agribusiness Market Development program, RENEW conducted investment analysis on the company. This investment would not be possible without the continued support of USAID, which aims to help stimulate the growth of small and medium enterprises in Ethiopia.This is the IAN’s fourth investment in Ethiopia since 2013, and their fifth investment in the East Africa region.

The IAN invests in a sesame manufacturing and exporting company

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RENEW’s Impact Angel Network Closes Fifth Investment

<h1 style="text-align:center;">How the Impact Angel Network Makes Investments in Africa</h1>One of RENEW's core beliefs is that great businesses are at the heart of a healthy economy, and that the best way to make an impact in a developing country is by making an investment. RENEW has created a short, fun, step-by-step overview of how the Impact Angel Network is transforming African economies by investing in growing businesses.<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://youtu.be/5Kly2CJvNkk"></oembed></figure>

Watch how RENEW's Impact Angel Network is making a difference in Africa through investment.

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How the Impact Angel Network Makes Investments in Africa

<h1 style="text-align:center;">RENEW Stories of 2014: Part One</h1>Built through laughter and heartache, challenges and great opportunity, stories capture the substance of life. The key actors in our story are the investors, entrepreneurs, development partners, colleagues, friends and family members who make RENEW and the Impact Angel Network (IAN) what it is today. In gratitude, we thought we’d take a few moments to recount some of our favorite stories from 2014.One of our favorite moments from 2014 is the day that Laura and Matt decided to visit the METAD coffee farm. In Laura’s own words:<figure class="image image-style-align-right image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="/uploads/dsc_0052_667d4a2513.jpg"></figure> “Mud and rain are really not my favorite things,but the image in my memory is epic: kids using banana leaves as umbrellas, trucks stuck up to their axles in mud, and Matt covered head to toe. I fled our land cruiser and rushed through the rain towards the welcoming arms of a young villager woman, and I sheltered under the porch of her mud brick and thatched hut. We were hours away from any semblance of modernity. Whose idea was it to visit our coffee farm near Yirgacheffe in the middle of the rainy season anyway? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image image-style-align-left"><img src="/uploads/dsc_0061_4fdf15c714.jpg"></figure>OK, I’ll admit it, it was mine – the desire to escape the city and go to that magical, mystical, ‘jungle-y’ place got the better of me. We didn’t make it to the actual farm on that trip, but ‘Ethiopia the beautiful’ renewed me once more and the jilted, jumbled conversations with the villagers gave me images of the impact of our investment: the hundreds of laborers who we employ at the farm and processing site, and the children who go to the school supported by METAD. These faces make up the real stories.”P.S. – Have no fear METAD investors, our team did make it to the farm to check up on things a few weeks later.

A three-part blog series with RENEW's favorite stories from 2014: Part one

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RENEW Stories of 2014: Part One

<h1 style="text-align:center;">RENEW Stories of 2014: Part Two</h1>One of RENEW’s goals for 2014 was to grow the Impact Angel Network, expanding to new cities across the United States. The Impact Angel Network is one of the largest U.S. angel networks working in in Africa. The members of the network are all conscious capitalists who seek to not only gain a financial return on their investment, but a social return as well.Here’s a story from Laura about the IAN’s growth in 2014:<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/renew_banner_little_gem_video_3_356b289e99.jpg"></figure>“’But what does that really mean?’ – When your father becomes a member of the IAN, it opens you up to a whole new level of awareness about the investor experience. Maybe it’s just the truth-telling nature of my dad, but I am grateful for his perspective on our process, and hopeful it will bring a whole new level of refinement to the investor experience we seek to create.Once I was able to provide the answer to his questions about our process and describe the fundamental core of RENEW, to grow mid-size companies in Africa into market leaders, his response was ‘It makes sense to me.’ The actual words of the quote may change slightly, but for most members of the IAN, the gist of the quote stays the same. Joining the IAN is not a hard sell for us to make: Invest in companies, create jobs, stimulate exports, generate returns, build economies. This is what made America great. ‘It makes sense to me.’”And so, the IAN continues to grow one member at a time.If you’d like to learn more, check out this short video How the Impact Angel Network Makes Investments in Africa

A three-part blog series with RENEW's favorite 2014 stories: Part two

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RENEW Stories of 2014: Part Two

<h1 style="text-align:center;">RENEW Stories of 2014: Part Three</h1>This past year, RENEW has been working to close an investment in the first private ambulance company in Ethiopia. We are excited to share another one of our favorite stories of 2014. In Laura’s own words:<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/dsc_0630_0_fb26a280bf.jpg"></figure>“This past summer, I learned that the owner was headed to the United States to gain exposure to advanced emergency medical systems. I emailed my former colleagues at Mayo Clinic asking if they would host him, so that he could experience a world-class health system, including air ambulances, dispatch centers and training programs. We arranged it all, including his stay with my parents outside Rochester, Minnesota.I was so excited about<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/dsc_0030_21f62b2ac0.jpg"></figure>his visit, but it wasn't until he came back to Ethiopia that I realized he had been confused by my invitation to visit a 'clinic in Minnesota'. In Ethiopia, a clinic is typically as small as one nurse in a remote village. He had gone to Mayo Clinic because he trusted me, and he came back to Ethiopia astonished and full of vision for building a world-class emergency response system in a place that really needs it. We are thrilled to be involved with an entrepreneur with so much potential for Ethiopia.”Looking forward, 2015 will be an exciting year for RENEW and the IAN. We are planning for more investments, some exits, second rounds, returns from our current portfolio, and Econ-Tourism Trips to Ethiopia. RENEW is also working to make it easier for our investors to diversify, connect with their companies, and meet with each other. We look forward to creating stories with you in 2015!

A three-part blog series with RENEW's favorite 2014 stories: Part three

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RENEW Stories of 2014: Part Three

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Angel Investors Travel to Ethiopia</h1>2015 has already proven to be a busy year, with RENEW hosting an Econ-Tourism Trip for members of the Impact Angel Network from Atlanta, Georgia during the first week of February. The Atlanta trip was initiated by <a href="http://www.signaturefd.com/">SignatureFD</a>, a wealth management firm in Atlanta with a mission to help their clients "live confidently, live fully, live purposefully." The group met with many Ethiopian entrepreneurs and visited a number of businesses in and around Addis Ababa. All in all, the investors were introduced to a total of eleven companies, spanning multiple sectors – from textiles to healthcare to food production - seven of which are being considered for upcoming investments.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/2015_february_atlanta_0_d22868a78f.jpg"></figure>During the trip, the group also went on a tour of Addis Ababa, which included a bird’s eye view of the city from the Entoto Mountains and a look back in history, with stops at Tomaco Coffee and the National Museum of Ethiopia, home of the infamous <a href="http://www.history.com/news/famed-lucy-fossils-discovered-in-ethiopia-40-years-ago">Lucy</a> skeleton - the oldest known hominid remains. The group also visited Mercato, the largest open air market in Africa, as well as enjoyed a reception at the Radisson Blu with partners and members of the business community.RENEW is in the midst of planning the next Econ-Tourism trip, which is slated to take place this summer with a focus on a multi-generational experience. Contact us to learn more about scheduling your own Econ-Tourism Trip!

A group of Impact Angel Network members travel to Ethiopia on an Econ-Tourism Trip

Investing in Africa