<h1>Reflecting on 2022 and Looking Forward to an Impactful 2023</h1>Renew Capital celebrates its continued growth across Africa.Renew Capital has closed out 2022 having achieved a string of important milestones and generating a lot of momentum for growing the company and furthering its mission in the year to come. This past year, the firm celebrated its 10--year anniversary of impact investing in Africa with expansion to several new countries and investments in gender-smart business and new areas of technology, as well as a brand refresh.In the coming weeks, it will be launching a series of new partnerships, some of which are announced here below.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/10_Years_707878f4d8.png"></figure>Investing In and Building GenderSmart Companies&nbsp;Building on Renew Capital’s ongoing commitment to invest in African women, this year, the firm worked with its partnering organizations to create several toolkits to empower businesswomen to grow and participate in gender-smart small and medium enterprises (SMEs).One of the biggest examples was the publication of the&nbsp;<a href="https://sg2x.squarespace.com/entrepreneurs">SME Gender Growth (SG2X) Playbook</a>. Co-written and designed by Renew Capital and its partners USAID and the gender-lens investment empowerment organization 2X Challenge, the SG2X toolkit was created to help fund managers and SMEs operating in Africa to build gender-smart SMEs with gender-balanced executives that aim to deliver both attractive financial results and impact.The content for the toolkit was developed from two years of online gender-smart courses provided by this partnership and implemented by Renew Capital.&nbsp;&nbsp;Renew Capital and the Alliance for Green Revolution (AGRA) have also spent the last two years providing women in agribusiness with training and resources through the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/arise-re-launches-the-last-week-of-september-2022">African Resilience and Investment Series for Women Executives (ARISE) Program</a>. ARISE was developed with the goal to help women-operated agri-businesses recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and grow their capacity for other potential business crises. The program included training in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/speaking-up-and-stepping-up">building the self-confidence needed to meet these challenges</a>.&nbsp;Tech Package Delivers Four InvestmentsRenew Capital’s investment team spent much of 2022 training, preparing and ultimately investing in several SMEs in an East African tech package aimed at promoting food security, inclusive credit practices for unbanked populations, improved access to transportation and greater social and cultural exchange and preservation.&nbsp;Two of the Ugandan companies were direct compliments to each other. Renew Capital’s investment in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/Quest%20Digital%20Finance%20Connects%20the%20Unbanked%20to%20Formal%20Credit%20Systems">Quest Financial’s Akellobanker</a> platform will help the unbanked—especially those in rural areas—obtain access to credit, while the digital platform&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/Press%20Release%20Inputi%20Receives%20an%20Investment%20to%20Grow%20Smart%20Technology%20for%20Food%20Security">Inputi</a> will help farmers decide what inputs to buy for their crops and when and where to purchase them at agrishops in their area.&nbsp;Also contributing to more reliable and productive lives in Uganda is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/Press%20Release%20Easy%20Matatu%20Expands%20its%20Ridesharing%20Minibus%20Services%20in%20Uganda">Easy Matatu</a>, a minibus ride sharing app that has been especially popular among women who often carry the double load of handling more familial responsibilities and chores at home while also working an outside job. Unlike regular public minibuses, Easy Matatu can digitally track passengers in the company’s updated vehicles, and drivers are trained in finding the fastest and safest routes throughout Kampala.&nbsp;The Renew Capital Brand Refresh&nbsp;Finally, Renew Capital spent much of 2022 working on a massive&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/RENEW%20LLC%20Becomes%20Renew%20Capital">brand refresh</a> to the overall look and feel of the website and related company resources. It culminated in September 2022 with the rebranding of RENEW to Renew Capital, as well as bolder, brighter aesthetics and a forward-facing arrow logo for its branded collateral, all reinforcing the firm’s increased momentum in expanding across Africa.&nbsp;&nbsp;Moving Forward 2023Throughout its 10 years invested in Africa, Renew Capital has remained committed to growing the SME ecosystem of Ethiopia, the country where it first began on-the-ground operations.&nbsp;Starting in January, Renew Capital will serve as the implementer of the Government of Japan’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/JICA%20and%20MinT%20Invite%20Ethiopian%20Innovators%20to%20Apply%20for%20a%20Chance%20to%20Participate%20in%20an%20Acceleration%20Program%20and%20Pitch%20Competition">Next Innovation with Japan (NINJA) Acceleration Program in Ethiopia</a>. Run in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Ethiopia’s Ministry of Technology (MinT), this program will offer pitch session advice to 30 small Ethiopian businesses and training to MinT, then, after a process of elimination, six startups will be chosen to participate in a four-month accelerator program which will be documented in text, photos and video to showcase some of the nation’s best and brightest entrepreneurial talent and serve as a blueprint for acceleration programs elsewhere.&nbsp;This past year was one of many exciting ones for Renew Capital. Learn more about our ten years invested in Africa in our&nbsp;<a href="https://latest-api.renewcapital.com/uploads/Renew_Capital_2021_22_Impact_Report_b027a62dd1.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2TzBuu2dnqMlqxBC4ge0gWXkNNe3Odz8x0BlAPbs1vlHlsL5QzMcF4W3U">2021-2022 Impact Report</a>.<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/contact">Sign up for our newsletter by hitting the SUBSCRIBE button at the bottom of the page</a> to be sure you don’t miss any of Renew Capital’s exciting announcements in the year ahead. &nbsp;

Renew Capital celebrates its continued growth across Africa

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Reflecting on 2022 and Looking Forward to an Impactful 2023

<h1>Renew Capital Invests in Ethiopian Audiobook and Podcast Company Teraki</h1>Bringing Ethiopians Together Through Localized Content<a href="https://latest-api.renewcapital.com/uploads/FINAL_Teraki_Press_Release_a2099fbd15.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Download the Full Press Release&nbsp;</a>ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, January 3, 2023&nbsp;— In Ethiopia, two tech innovators have created a diverse online audio platform for amplifying Ethiopia’s tradition of storytelling. The company’s name is Teraki, the Amharic word for storyteller, and its two founding entrepreneurs, Nahom Tsegaye and Abel Engida are developing audiobooks and podcasts in various Ethiopian languages. They’re hoping to expand their company’s global reach with a recent financial and technical investment by Renew Capital.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/IMG_1460_7a201cd38c.png" alt="Two Founders of Teraki, an Ethiopian audiobook and podcast platform enhancing local storytelling, posing in front of Addis Ababa skyline, showcasing the vibrant cityscape of Ethiopia."></figure>The entrepreneurs began the project in 2019 with just $2,000, using those funds to recruit Ethiopian voiceover and acting talent to record narrations of some of their nation’s most popular books. As of November, the platform had an estimated 38,000 users listening to everything from novels, self-help books and children’s literature to podcasts on tech, entrepreneurship, interpersonal relationships, spirituality and current affairs.According to UN World Population Prospects 2022, 70% of Ethiopia’s population of 120 million is under the age of 30.&nbsp;“Our generation is highly and increasingly dependent on technology, and Ethiopian youth are increasingly using Teraki to understand different current affairs and define our place in this world,” said co-founder Nahom Tsegaye.&nbsp;“The youth really don't have that connection with their elders and those storytellers,” said co-founder Abel Engida.&nbsp;Teraki says over half of its more than 80 podcasts also create opportunities for Ethiopians to create a greater sense of community through online conversation.&nbsp;“We wanted to give a platform to everyone to discuss what it's like to experience feminism, sexism, relationships and other topics and what they mean in our own context,” said Engida.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/IMG_9045_d0123bfb52.jpg"></figure> According to 2021 data from the World Bank, &nbsp;Ethiopia is Africa's second largest country after Nigeria, and according to 2018 data from the Ethiopian government, there were three to five million Ethiopians living in the diaspora. This provides Teraki plenty of room for expansion. Teraki knows the diaspora is as Ethiopian as their compatriots living in the mother country, and they are confident their company can strengthen those connections, while reinforcing the linguistic and cultural identities of Ethiopian immigrants and expatriates, especially children enrolled in schools without their home languages.“It’s a really exciting project because we're planning not only to shine a light on these local talents, but also trying to reach out to this global community” said Engida.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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Teraki is an audio entertainment platform. Named after the Amharic word for “storyteller,” Teraki’s mission is to connect their customers through Ethiopian and Eritrean audiobooks and podcasts delivered in local languages.

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Renew Capital invests in Teraki, an Ethiopian audiobook and podcast platform, enhancing local storytelling and connecting Ethiopians worldwide through diverse and localized content.

Ethiopia

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Press Release: Renew Capital Invests in Ethiopian Audiobook and Podcast Company Teraki

<h1>Exploring Rwanda, a Frontier Market for Creative, Cross-Cutting Industries</h1>Renew Capital actively investigates impact investing opportunities in the East African nation<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/IMG_5392_3e558777eb.jpeg"></figure>It’s Saturday night in Kigali, and crowds of stylishly dressed Rwandans pour into Century Cinema in the city’s vibrant downtown for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.masharikifestival.org/">Mashariki African Film Festival</a>. Some men wear colorful Converse sneakers with their closely tailored suits. Some women wear ceremonial&nbsp;mushananas–&nbsp; flowy silk and satin dresses with over-the-shoulder sashes.&nbsp;“Film and creative industry usually has a lot of energy, especially on Saturday,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.minict.gov.rw/about">Rwandan Minister of ICT and Innovation Paula Ingabire</a> tells the audience during the premiere of La Gravité, a sci-fi movie written and produced by French-Burkinabé director, writer and actor Cedric Ido. The minister came to watch the film and tout Rwanda’s advances in growing creative, cross-cutting industries.“One can only say that the potential is real and there are so many opportunities going forward to really build a very strong and vibrant industry,” she continues. “The filming industry is one that has a high potential of creating decent jobs, and beyond just decent jobs, it is also an opportunity for us as Africa, as East Africa, as Rwanda to really tell our story, from the eyes of people that are being part of that story."<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/IMG_5123_fa95123da4.jpeg"></figure>The theme of the festival was Afrofuturism, a fitting description for the week-long event that closed on December 2, a date designated by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unesco.org/en/days/world-futures">World Futures Day</a>.&nbsp;The event also coincides with Renew Capital’s recent efforts to grow its Kigali office and scale up its engagement in Rwanda’s markets. The firm first established a presence there in April 2021 with the goal of growing the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises and helping connect Rwanda’s private sectors to international markets. Renew Capital now has a staff of four in Kigali, including investment and legal consultants and a marketing and communications associate.&nbsp;The film festival was one place for Renew Capital to explore opportunities and learn more about the potential that Rwanda offers for impact investing. As the minister noted, Rwanda’s creative industries are just one among many areas of innovation. She reminded audiences that the global film industry is learning to thrive after being disrupted by emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, internet of things and 3D printing, but those innovations can be instrumental in how members of a society engage each other. And she wants the world to know Rwanda is standing at the frontier of a whole new global economy.&nbsp;“With technology, we are very crosscutting. You'll find us in healthcare, in education, in agriculture,” Ingabire says.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/DSC_0788_df3571de6e.JPG"></figure>Rwanda is Ripe for Investment&nbsp;According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Rwanda is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. The Rwanda Development Board lays out at least&nbsp;<a href="https://www.visitrwanda.com/investment/investment-opportunities/">11 investment areas</a> with potential, including manufacturing, tourism, ICT, infrastructure, energy and agriculture—a sector that currently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.rw/highlights/economy-and-business">makes up 35% of the national GDP</a>. Entrepreneurship is also thriving in Rwanda thanks to the ease of doing business. It doesn’t take much to register a new company and the startup ecosystem is well developed. As a result, the SME investment landscape in Rwanda offers many opportunities.&nbsp;All across Kigali, Rwandans talk of the confidence they have in what they can provide to domestic and international markets, while also voicing concerns that old models of development are no longer working. Rwandan Chamber of Commerce Director of Finance and Administration Manzi Germain told Renew Capital that traditional aid institutions sometimes focus too heavily on the training aspects, without providing finance.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/IMG_5347_3a9584a33e.jpeg"></figure>For example, he noted that seven of Rwanda’s key agricultural products—coffee, tea, plantains, honey, beans and flowers—are in demand at the domestic, regional and international levels. While small-scale farmers have spent years updating their knowledge of producing these products and organizing their businesses through microenterprise cooperatives and development programs, Germain believes the bigger issue is the ability of these farmers to access capital to scale these businesses to meet demand.&nbsp;Businesses need credit to build the structures and obtain the packaging materials required to get their products to market.&nbsp;Germain says Rwandan agribusinesses often ask him things like “where am I going to actually store these fertilizers? Where are the facilities?”“Not all (development) agencies are open to it,” he says, noting that some agencies have a very simplified understanding of the teach-a-villager-to-fish philosophy. “They say, ‘No you teach them. That's it and that's it.’”&nbsp;Other industries are highly developed but lack the necessary connectivity to the population. This is common with agribusiness. It’s also a challenge for Rwanda’s healthcare industry which has been touted as a success story because of its universal health coverage scheme, efficient systems and world-class facilities. But when it comes to ambulances, the country is facing a major shortage.&nbsp;“We have Volkswagon here and we have Toyota here, but they cannot manufacture those quantities on the deadline we have,” Germain Manzi says, noting that there aren’t enough assembly lines for mass production. However, some facilities have produced a handful of specialized ambulatory vehicles for VIPs. “It would take them a year to be able to manufacture them, and you find it would be at a higher cost.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/IMG_5389_433c8265a7.jpeg"></figure>Renew Capital believes its model can help fill that gap. And in fact, Renew Capital Angels, the firm’s investor network, has previously invested in a private-sector ambulance solution in Ethiopia—East Africa Emergency Services LTD (EAES), which partners with Tebita Ambulance to provide international and domestic clients with access to reliable, high-quality emergency care.Renew Capital provides the level of capital that established SMEs need to get to the next level. Alongside investments, the firm provides a unique form of capacity building to ensure that SME executives can show they have done their due diligence to be investment ready and are prepared to scale.&nbsp;Desire Nduwarugira, a Kigali-based Renew Capital project manager, says the firm is ready to equip established SMEs with tailored support. Like Germain Manzi, Nduwarugira agrees that some entrepreneurs have the skills to run their companies, but access to finance is their biggest barrier to take their business to the next level. At the same time, there are still some who didn’t get the chance to learn about business management even though they got access to finance.&nbsp;“Renew Capital helps them to better use their capital. It has a solution for both categories of entrepreneurs,” says Nduwarugira. “Boosting SMEs’ growth creates more jobs and greatly contributes to the economy, specifically where unemployment is high.”“I like to think of Renew Capital as a home for entrepreneurs. In Rwanda’s private sector, growth-minded entrepreneurs are not quite sure of who to turn to for financial and management support which are the two pain points the firm sets out to remedy,” says Renew Capital Legal Counsel Lincoln Ford Linguyeneza.Back at Century Cinemas, Mashariki Film Festival Director Tresor Senga took a break from his event hosting to speak with Renew Capital. A pioneer in the country’s burgeoning tech and creative industries, Senga explains that it was the rehashing of one of Rwanda’s worst historical stories that led him to foster an industry for telling new ones. In the early 2000s, foreign filmmakers had been coming to Rwanda to chronicle the country’s 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. That included the production of films such as the 2004 Hollywood feature&nbsp;Hotel Rwanda.&nbsp;Senga, a used car salesman at the time, began learning film production basics by watching Youtube videos and networking with the foreign film crews. Through them, he was able to attend master filmmaking classes in Toronto, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Berlin and other major media production hubs.“The money that I (made) was invested in the film industry. I produced my first film in 2012 in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Gisenyi (a Rwandan resort city on the border with DRC),” he says. It was a short feature, but it gave him an entree to screen at different festivals. “Then I found myself in the industry until now.”By 2013 Senga had founded the Mashariki African Film Festival, and a few years later, he was partnering with Italian filmmaker Fabrizio Colombo, who has served as an advisor and director for the Zanzibar International Film Festival. With sponsorship from the European Union and Colombo’s technical support, Senga created the Tumenye Sinema, a master class series for Rwandan youth, which often takes place in rural communities. He has also developed several private film production companies in which he employs some of the 400 youth in his training program.&nbsp;Meanwhile, Rwanda has a new platform called Zacu on Canal Plus, a local TV channel showing exclusively Rwandan content.&nbsp;“Now our products here are in demand,” he says, adding that Rwandan film creators are also getting noticed internationally, and that some of the content his students have produced is getting into festivals in Europe. “It'll be a nice platform for them to flourish.”<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/IMG_5351_87fc61f59b.jpeg"></figure>The 2022 Mashariki African Film Festival showcased 22 short films directed, produced, shot and edited by youth who participated in Senga’s master classes across the country. While not all of these students will pursue long-term careers in Rwanda’s burgeoning media industry, the event reflected the collaborative spirit and imagination entrepreneurs need to develop innovative SME ecosystems.&nbsp;For young filmmaker Philbert Aimé Mbabazi, it sends a positive message about risk taking because, as he put it, “anytime you’re doing something that doesn’t look like what people see as a career, what people see as safe, it’s problematic,” but, he says, he did it anyway, and plans to keep going.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/IMG_5353_7ef400d902.jpeg"></figure>Another young student, Uwikijije Peace Antoinette, was excited to share how this kind of creative, technical training gives Rwandan women the tools they need to lay the groundwork for building their country’s future narrative.“It helps them to be more confident,”&nbsp;Uwikijije said as she stood at the front of a theater packed with her fellow film students. Petite but mighty, she exuded a sense of optimism, standing tall in a broad pink hat and clutching a bright yellow African print blazer under her arm. “Shooting the videos and writing the script puts their ideas out to the public.”&nbsp;Do you have an established startup making a social impact in areas such as youth, women and the environment in Rwanda? Renew Capital’s Kigali-based staff would be glad to discuss training and investment opportunities. Visit this&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/companies">link</a> to find out more.&nbsp;Want to know more about Renew Capital's last decade of impact investing in East Africa? Check out our <a href="https://latest-api.renewcapital.com/uploads/Renew_Capital_2021_22_Impact_Report_b027a62dd1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2021-2022 Impact Report.</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;

Exploring Rwanda, a Frontier Market for Creative, Cross-Cutting Industries

Renew Capital actively investigates impact investing opportunities in the East African nation

Rwanda

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Exploring Rwanda, a Frontier Market for Creative, Cross-Cutting Industries

<h1>RENEW’s Legal Corner: December 2022</h1>Primer on the Developments in the Investment Ecosystem in East Africa<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/unnamed_1_ff4089a587.png"></figure>ETHIOPIAThe Ethiopian Government Comes up with a New Regulation to Govern Immigration FeesA new regulation titled the “Service Fee for Immigration and Citizenship Service Regulation No. 516/2022” (the “Service Fee Regulation”) which deals with the immigration fees chargeable in Ethiopia was introduced in November 2022. By the provisions of the Service Fee Regulation, there has been a significant increase in the application fees of visa and passport services. In some cases, there has been an increase of about 200% when compared to the previous fees. The extant provisions of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.investethiopia.gov.et/images/Covid-19Response/Covid-19Resources/June-2/Investment-Proclamation-No.-1180_2020-Copy.pdf">Investment-Proclamation-No-1180/2020</a> which introduced a 3- and 5-year multi-entry visa category for investors has now been reaffirmed by the Service Fee Regulation. By the Service Fee Regulation, shareholders of companies registered in Ethiopia can apply for a 5-year multi-entry visa, while a general manager, a board member and top management employees of a foreign enterprise can only apply for a 3-year multi-entry visa. The current application fee for a 5-year multi-entry visa is USD 1K&nbsp; and the application fee for a 3-year multi-entry visa is USD 750. This is a welcome development and reduces the number of applications that expatriates and foreign investors need to make to come into Ethiopia. It also has the potential of improving the ease of doing business in Ethiopia. In addition, it is expected that this will streamline the application process and reduce the administrative burden on the immigration authority. The FDRE Immigration and Citizenship Service is expected to work closely with Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) to facilitate the issue of the new visa categories to foreign investors.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Government Expressed its Interest to Privatize Ethio-telecom&nbsp; The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mofed.gov.et/media/filer_public/38/78/3878265a-1565-4be4-8ac9-dee9ea1f4f1a/a_homegrown_economic_reform_agenda-_a_pathway_to_prosperity_-_public_version_-_march_2020-.pdf">Homegrown Reform Economic Agenda: A Pathway to Prosperity</a> states explicitly the government’s interest to privatize the telecom sector. According to the reform agenda liberalization measures will include the issuance of additional telecom service licenses to operators and the partial privatization of the state-owned Ethio-telecom”. As part of this move, Safaricom Ethiopia has joined the Ethiopian telecom sector and is operational. For the second phase, the government expressed its interest to privatize part of Ethio-telecom and issued a request for bids to interested bidders in 2021. However, the Ethiopian government canceled and postponed the proposed privatization plan. This month, the government reinitiated the proposed privatization plan and expressed its interest to privatize 40% of Ethio-telecom. The expression of interest is valid until December 12, 2022 and major telecom companies are expected to participate. This move coupled with other privatization targets of the government&nbsp; is expected to have a positive impact on the overall economic and social development of Ethiopia. &nbsp;&nbsp;<hr>UGANDAGovernment suppliers adapt to the new VAT change and its effect on their businessGovernment suppliers have raised a number of questions with the new amendment to Section 26 of the Value Added Tax Law that permits them (suppliers) to account for VAT on cash basis as a solution to the recurrent challenge of delayed supplier payments from the government. Initially, government suppliers with taxable supplies not exceeding USD 133K (UGX 500M) in annual revenue could make use of the cash method in order to account for&nbsp; VAT regardless of who they supplied and whether payment had been received. This forced suppliers to borrow from banks as an alternative to funding VAT payments to Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) while maintaining considerable cash flow that was adversely affected by the slow government payments.According to an article in the Monitor Uganda, the questions that arose from the amendment&nbsp; included:<ul><li>Given that invoices are now issued via URA’s Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS), how should invoices be declared in the VAT return when payment has not yet been received?&nbsp;</li><li>How should a supplier declare VAT incurred on its purchases and expenses when payment has not yet been made?&nbsp;</li><li>What criteria should a supplier use to determine if its customer qualifies as “government”?&nbsp;</li></ul>This amendment means that suppliers should keep record of payments received from government versus invoices issued to ensure an accurate declaration of VAT and avoid interest and penalties arising from late payment of VAT.&nbsp;The law states that any person who intends to access VAT on a cash basis should claim VAT charged on their purchases and expenses only when they have paid for them. Hence government suppliers would have to track invoices on purchases and expenses and how much they paid in that instance then claim only the input VAT on costs that have been paid.&nbsp;The Uganda Revenue Authority is yet to clarify on which institutions qualify as “government” for VAT purposes. The VAT law also doesn’t expressly stipulate whether the VAT incurred from government and non-government customers should be claimed on cash or accrual basis.&nbsp;<hr>RWANDAUSD 920K earmarked for online access for legal instrumentsAccess to the country’s domestic laws, law reports, judgements and even international treaties has been a consistent issue in the Rwandan legal system. Anyone that was interested in acquiring such information would have to acquire it either at the Office of the Prime Minister’s website or in person at the designated court of law. One would also have to keep an eye out for the legal amendments made either in the local newspaper or TV news segment. This significant USD 920K investment in developing a web portal of Rwanda law and cases dubbed (<a href="http://www.amategeko.gov.rw">www.amategeko.gov.rw</a>) will facilitate easy access to various legal documentation. Three languages; English, Kinyarwanda and French will be offered on the platform. It so far has over 700 laws available for students and legal practitioners. With the previously reported issue of case backlog in the judicial courts, this platform is a timely remedy to delivering swift justice and upholding rule of law. According to an article in the New Times Rwanda, Faustin Ntezilyayo, the Chief Justice, implored the software engineers working on this platform to update it regularly. He also pointed out evident gaps within the judicial system such as resources and literacy gaps that deter access to justice, adding that the web will address some of them.The portal was developed with the help of the judiciary, MINIJUST, technical support of the Rwanda Information Society Authority (RISA), and the Justice Sector IT team, engaged by LEXBASE S.A.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1) A Homegrown Reform Economic Agenda: A Pathway to Prosperity, https://www.mofed.gov.et/media/filer_public/38/78/3878265a-1565-4be4-8ac9-dee9ea1f4f1a/a_homegrown_economic_reform_agenda-_a_pathway_to_prosperity_-_public_version_-_march_2020-.pdf,&nbsp;2) https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/business/prosper/vat-change-causes-headache-for-govt-suppliers-4030054 &nbsp;

Primer on the Developments in the Investment Ecosystem in East Africa

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RENEW’s Legal Corner: December 2022

<h1>One year strong: Business after the SG2X Gender-Smart Exec’s Program</h1><h3>Q&amp;A with Rebecca Mugwanya, CEO of Ugandan-based Lhexcopt Investments&nbsp;</h3>For the past six years, Renew Capital has been helping to build the capacity of East African small and medium businesses through its training platform, the Renew Capital Exchange. Addressing gender imbalances and enhancing the role of women in SMEs has increasingly become an integral focus of that program as noted in the firm’s <a href="https://latest-api.renewcapital.com/uploads/Renew_Capital_2021_22_Impact_Report_b027a62dd1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">latest Impact Report</a>.&nbsp; Today, Renew Capital is furthering that effort through the creation of an SME Gender Growth Acceleration (SG2X) Playbook and its corresponding SG2X Gender-Smart Exec’s Program.&nbsp;&nbsp;Ugandan business leader Rebecca Mugwanya was one of its 2021 participants and agreed to share some of her learnings with Renew Capital. Rebecca has worn many hats in her career and within her community, something that explains her passion for community-centered interventions. Today, she is the CEO of Lhexcopt Investments, the owner of the Orga registered trademark. In 2018, Rebecca got her start with the value addition of sugarcane, producing natural sugarcane juice that is preserved with lemon, ginger, and passion fruit. This was after a life-threatening situation that took her off all carbonated soft drinks and processed sugars, as well as wheat. Through this innovation, her purpose was to provide a healthy alternative to the many carbonated soft drinks that are currently flooding the Ugandan market. Together with her innovative team, the company later added on more products like cane caramel, pumpkin-based flours, gluten-free pumpkin rice, and cassava blended flours for baking and for porridge that are now in a number of supermarkets.&nbsp;She says she continues to pass the value of SG2X throughout the business, and she is seeing the difference that it’s bringing to the company, such as successfully achieving gender balance in their senior management team.&nbsp;-This interview has been edited for length and clarity.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/New_Thumbnail_b07105a899.jpg"></figure>Q.&nbsp;Roughly one year has passed since you were part of the SG2X Gender-Smart Exec’s Program. What are some components that still stand out in your mind?A.&nbsp;The Five Habits of Effective CEOs training changed my way of thinking and doing things, especially the habit of practice. As entrepreneurs, we learn a lot, go through many training sessions, and read a lot, but the challenge is that we don’t put it into practice. During training, I learned that you first learn to do, and then go ahead and teach others. That's integrity because you cannot teach what you're not doing. And then the other habit is the habit of mindset, having a winner's mindset, waking up early and having my desk set, journaling my day, making sure I take my water, making sure I work out, making sure that I repeat my vision, the vision of the company and the vision of my life. I find that very interesting and exciting. You know you wake up and you're all bubbling with energy because you're focused. You have reason to live. You have reason to win. I find that very encouraging and very interesting.&nbsp;Q. In what ways did the tools you learned during the training have an impact on the way your business operates?A. When we started working with Renew Capital, I was afraid of strategic planning. I thought of an encyclopedia of plans that are too broad and too wide, and that you cannot put into practice. The training demystified that, asking what your future state is, what is the case for change, what are the bottlenecks and barriers, and what is the strategy. And then, of course, there’s the execution system that enables you to achieve your strategy. The other thing that really stood out for me was, as a team, we didn't know whether our product is a sold product or a bought product, but when we did the mastery of sales and marketing training, we learned that our product is a niche product, and therefore it is a sold product. That means sales leads and marketing support. Now that we know who our clients are, we’ve stopped getting into the spaces of clients that don’t belong to us, and we are already seeing the results.&nbsp;Q. The sessions specifically focus on teaching SMEs how to incorporate gender equality, diversity, and inclusion. How have you been able to incorporate gender-smart practices in your business?A. Right from lesson one, I remember gender balance was intertwined throughout the course. We were challenged about the mindsets that we hold even as entrepreneurs, even ladies, and gentlemen. For example, we learned that the two genders balance each other. You cannot afford to have so many ladies and you cannot afford to have so many gentlemen. We learned that as a company, these two contribute effectively when they're well balanced. So as a team, we did have a board, but that board was basically male-dominated. During the training, we were able to work through that. So as a team we are now cognizant of the need for gender balance. Whether it's in the production function or in the senior management, you find that we are well-balanced. For example, my production manager is a male. I'm the CEO. Our head of operations is male. Our finance is female. Our HR is female, and the head of marketing is male.Q. Have there been any difficulties in implementing gender-smart business practices?A.&nbsp;We realized that it can sometimes be hard to recruit the right talent while working to create workforce gender equity because of already existing opportunity gaps in education and professional development in which women haven’t been afforded the same privileges as men. At the same time, we also know that attitudes about women’s place in society have an impact on employers giving them a chance to show their skills and talents.&nbsp;You need to constantly keep educating because we come from different backgrounds. But as a team, we are determined to make sure that we challenge negative beliefs, stigmas, and gender biases that we had held on to. All of us are works in progress, I would say. Once in a while, you find something that is not gendered smart, or this is not favorable. And then because you are already aware of the challenges that all of you are dealing with as a team, then you're able to discuss it openly and see how best it can be resolved.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/Screen_Shot_2022_11_30_at_6_09_25_PM_1_1b71a07a32.png"></figure>The SME Gender Growth Acceleration (SG2X) Playbook portal for entrepreneurs&nbsp;Q. What advice would you give to SMEs deciding if they want to take the journey to become gender-smart?A.&nbsp;&nbsp;So, for an SME to progress and grow and flourish, we need to have gender-smart goals, and we have to be very intentional, right from the board. Having a board that is full of one gender will definitely affect the talent that you're bringing and can cause the company to miss out. Just be focused always on being gender-smart and setting gender-smart goals.&nbsp; We come from different backgrounds, and we are raised by the culture of the communities that we live in. But some of the culture we grew up with is making us miss such a very important component when it comes to the growth of an SME. I'm just encouraging them to try it out. It has worked for us, and I know it will work for them.Q. How could these tools be improved? Or what would you like to see more support in to develop your gender-smart business?A.&nbsp;I think that gender smartness starts from home. Those of us who have worked in the community as development workers can tell you that sometimes when a parent does not have enough school fees for all children in the household, the boy goes to school and the girl stays home. Sometimes you find that religious institutions have been key in promoting gender&nbsp;inequality. How do we promote gender equity at the school and community levels? This is a journey that we have started, but I know that it can't be solved by just having training of a certain few individuals.&nbsp;I am requesting that entrepreneurs, SMEs, the business community, and the development partners come together on this journey that we are supposed to work on as a team. We need more corporate social responsibility in that area of educating our people,&nbsp;of educating the different power centers about the need for gender equity and its benefits also at the family level, just knowing that all children are equal.As a&nbsp;CEO, you are at a level of influence, and you’re interacting with farmers and suppliers. You can identify key players in the community. We need to get started now by knowing how to deliver this material, how to influence, how to train, how to sensitize what you should say, what you shouldn't say, what may sound offensive. We need help in that direction.&nbsp;Q. Do you have any final words of encouragement for people who are thinking of participating in the training?&nbsp;A. We've just been onboarded by one of the biggest players in the confectionery industry and they were clear that they want to work with us because of the way that we do things. Where did we learn all these things that we are doing differently? From Renew Capital. The training has transformed our business forever. So, I'm encouraging those who have not yet gone through the SG2X Playbook training. For me, it is the best business training I've attended. I don't think there is anything that can transform an enterprise as well. It changes not only the business, but also changes your family, your mindset, and the way you carry yourself. I'm encouraging my fellow SMEs and my fellow CEOs. Let's get on board. It's what Africa needs. Check out the&nbsp;<a href="https://sg2x.squarespace.com/entrepreneurs">SME Gender growth Acceleration (SG2X) Playbook&nbsp;</a>for Women Entrepreneurs to access gender-smart business resources.&nbsp;

One year strong: Business after the SG2X Gender-Smart Exec’s Program

Q&A with Rebecca Mugwanya, CEO of Ugandan-based Lhexcopt Investments 



Gender Equality

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One year strong: Business after the SG2X Gender-Smart Exec’s Program

<h1>Ten Years Invested! Renew Capital Releases its 2021-2022 Impact Report Detailing its Decade-Long Journey</h1><a href="https://latest-api.renewcapital.com/uploads/Renew_Capital_2021_22_Impact_Report_b027a62dd1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Read our 2021-2022 Impact Report</a>It's been a decade since Renew Capital first opened operations in Ethiopia. Today, the firm has expanded its presence in Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda, with plans of opening in Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia by the end of this year, and half of Africa by 2027. This month, the firm is celebrating this decade of growth with the release of its 2021-2022 Impact Report, “Building on a Vision.”&nbsp;“Ten years invested into this work is much more than a milestone. But even as we reflect about these years in Ethiopia, the future invigorates us even more than what we have accomplished,”&nbsp;Renew Capital Managing Partner Laura Davis wrote in the report’s opening letter.&nbsp;“We are trailblazers, and the road ahead to bring our investors and our investment model to half of Africa in the next five years thrills us.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/Impact_Report_social_1_c003d130c1.png"></figure>The report recounts important landmarks in the evolution of Renew Capital as well as the impact investment sector over the last decade. For example, the concept of impact investing first took root around 2007. The report notes that five years later when Renew Capital was founded, in 2012,&nbsp;only a few people and organizations were familiar with the concept of impact investing, and only a handful of practitioners had started to tackle the complex challenge of deploying capital to achieve both financial and social returns.Today, surveys conducted by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), an industry leader in researching the impact investing sector, suggest major growth in this sector. The report notes that respondents in a 2014 impact investor survey&nbsp;conducted by J.P. Morgan Chase and the GIIN, reported $46 billion in assets under management (AUM) in 2013. Now in 2022, GIIN estimates suggest that the impact investing industry will surpass $1 trillion in AUM.&nbsp;“While impact investing is on the rise, it remains substantially underutilized in East Africa. Our team is driven by the opportunity we have to continue leading this movement, constantly pushing boundaries to learn how capitalism can be re-imagined and harnessed to drive positive outcomes for Africa,” noted Mariah Grubb, Renew Capital Senior Consultant of Private Sector Projects.&nbsp;Blended FinanceMatt Davis, the founder and CEO of Renew Capital, found early on that the most efficient way to leverage the trends of impact investing was to harness the already existing infrastructure of the international development sector’s donor community. Over the years, Renew Capital has been able to utilize grants from the international development community to help finance its overhead costs to attract private angel investors to take a chance on small and medium enterprises that are the backbone of Africa’s private sector. Part of those overhead costs include training entrepreneurs to ensure that they are, in fact, ready to accelerate their growth through angel investment.&nbsp;The development of these businesses comes through a three-part process:&nbsp;<ul><li>Pipeline Creation: Renew Capital’s partnerships provide entrepreneurial training through the Renew Capital Exchange.&nbsp;</li><li>Angel Round:&nbsp;Companies that have succeeded in becoming investment ready during the training phase are then recommended for screenings with the Renew Capital Angels who may invest anywhere from $50,000 to $500,000.&nbsp;</li><li>Growth Round:&nbsp;Those companies that have demonstrated success with angel investments may then receive additional funding, with the hope of readying them for larger investors.&nbsp;</li></ul><figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/IMG_010_cc4bfb4c79.jpg"></figure>Fostering Business Model Confidence and Greater Social InclusionRenew Capital has also developed a two-pronged approach to generating interest and confidence in their unique business model. For investors, the firm created and coined EconTourism trips—bespoke trips for the Renew Capital Angels network to visit Africa and see the work of entrepreneurs first hand, and to get a better feel for doing business on the continent. The firm then began working to lower investment risks for its Angels through a complimentary consulting practice carried out with like-minded partners in the NGO and multilateral aid community.&nbsp;This consulting model has been bolstered through the Ethiopia-focused Accelerating Business Growth (ABG) project with Global Affairs Canada. The ABG program sought to improve gender lens investing, and led to the creation of 2,632 jobs, of which 68% went to women.&nbsp;“We have the privilege of helping (women-owned and led businesses) be more successful financially, socially and institutionally. And when those women succeed in business, my hope is that they will attract others who might imitate this model,” said Renew Capital Angels member Julie Baker.&nbsp;Women also benefit from some of the innovations of entrepreneurs in the Renew Capital portfolio seeking to build more efficient and sustainable communities. For example, part of a tech package signed in 2022 provided capital for Easy Matatu, a minibus ridesharing app operating in Uganda that has been popular with working women for its safety and efficiency in helping them navigate their job and family lives.&nbsp;Solutions for a Sustainable FutureEasy Matatu co-founder and CEO, himself a longtime public transportation user and busy parent, told Renew Capital that private investment is key to improving the balance and productivity of African society.“Our cities are going to continue to grow over the next 10 to 20 years and government responses alone will not be able to meet demands,” he said. “Right now this presents the opportunity for private players like Easy Matatu to take an active role in transportation and be a part of Africa’s solution.”Those types of investments are welcome news to another early member of the Renew Capital Angels, physician and investor Dr. Andrew Umhau. In fact, he can already see how they’ve transformed cities like Addis Ababa.&nbsp;“When I first visited there was just one traffic light, but over the past decade, you can see the evidence of economic activity—hotels, infrastructure, an airline with global direct flights.”&nbsp;Even as the pandemic, drought caused by climate change and trade interruptions caused by the&nbsp; war in Ukraine have caused glitches in supply chain systems, Renew Capital is confident its training and investment strategy will help African companies continue to innovate.&nbsp;Quest Financial, another new tech package company is one example. Its digital platform Akellobanker is helping bank the unbanked. The program is heavily focused on small farmers who would otherwise lack the access to credit they need to scale their agricultural production, which can, in turn, lead to greater food security across the region.&nbsp;“If you look at finance 10 years ago, commercial banks were the owners of financial inclusion, but five years ago, financial tech—small financial technology companies came over and showed banks that we were able to break through places they weren’t reaching. That’s breaking a monopoly and creating healthy competition, which comes a long way in reducing prices and making services much more affordable for the local communities,” said Jean Onyait, Quest Financial Akellobanker’s team lead.&nbsp;Homegrown TalentThat spirit of healthy competition for the greater good is one Renew Capital hopes to foster as it strives to open operations in half of Africa by 2027, and its staff, many of them hailing from the continent, are at the forefront of fostering that effort.&nbsp;“In the next 10 years we are all going to realize that Africa has been the best solution for Africa all along,” said Diana Njuguna, the Uganda-based Renew Capital senior investment manager who helped develop and execute Renew Capital’s 2022 tech package.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Renew Capital releases its 2021–2022 Impact Report detailing its decade-long journey

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Ten Years Invested

<h1>Along the Road of Impact Investing</h1>Longtime Renew Capital COO Emily Ziethen Reflects on the Firm’s Ten-Year JourneyA significant amount of change, growth and development can happen over the course of a year, let alone over the course of a decade. It is with pride and a bit of nostalgia that I reflect on the 10 years since my journey to Renew Capital began. It started two years before my arrival at the company with my graduation from Loyola University Chicago, an institution which inspired me to “go forth and set the world on fire.” But my ignition was certainly that of a slow burn - it would take an internship with the U.S. Commercial Service (wherein I first discovered how SMEs can bring about private sector growth) and several years working at a U.S.-based private venture capital firm (wherein I observed how private capital investments can move economies) for me to find the perfect niche for my interests and passion for leaving the world a better place - the field of impact investing.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When I first came across Renew Capital in September 2014, my knowledge of impact investing could be best described as basic. I had completed a bit of internet research on the (then) somewhat nascent but quickly burgeoning field of impact investing, and I was immediately hooked on its long-term potential in shifting folks away from the traditional aid paradigm and towards a sustainable approach that could create tangible change.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/First_Trip_to_ET_2_efe0285fa5.JPG"></figure>What ultimately convinced me to make the leap was meeting with the firm’s managing partners, Matthew and Laura Davis, and seeing how they were (and continue to be) the living embodiment of Renew Capital’s guiding statements. I was inspired by their vision to build the best and most successful investment firm in Africa and change the way the world sees Africa - from a place of giving to a place of investing. To welcome the challenge of being trailblazers and see opportunities where others see problems. It was a call to action that I simply could not ignore; I joined the team as an investor relations analyst, supporting the growth of the Impact Angel Network (now Renew Capital Angels) and the execution of our blended finance consulting projects.Today, I’m proud to see how much this concept has, in fact, caught fire, as noted in the 12 portfolio companies and thousands of entrepreneurs in Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda and beyond that Renew Capital and its Renew Capital Angels have fueled through a combination of capacity training and capital investment.My eight-year anniversary coincides with Renew Capital’s ten-year anniversary on the ground in East Africa and with its rebrand. Last month, RENEW became Renew Capital to better depict its goal of entering half of Africa’s 54 countries by 2027. This rebrand also includes the use of a deeper, more fiery shade of orange in its marketing materials - which symbolically represents the firm’s own journey of change and development. I’ve witnessed Renew Capital grow from a small but steady flame to a virtual wildfire of ambition. And all the while, I’ve seen the firm continue to strike an equitable balance between seeking to generate positive financial and social returns.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<ul><li>Renew Capital seeks to create a cadre of&nbsp;“investment-ready” SMEs that are able to quickly scale and become market leaders through a variety of capacity-building training programs (i.e., PE Investment Bootcamp, The Exec’s Program, CFO100 Program, etc.), as well as group and one-on-one coaching.&nbsp;</li><li>Renew Capital seeks to&nbsp;build local ecosystems and&nbsp;crowd-in private investment through the creation of innovative financing structures and mechanisms, educating investors about the opportunities in Africa and ultimately adding “rungs” to the local capital market that are otherwise missing - be it through local angel networks, international angel networks, blended-finance investment vehicles, etc.&nbsp;</li><li>Renew Capital seeks to support&nbsp;gender equality and&nbsp;women’s economic empowerment by encouraging SMEs and other fund managers to create gender-smart SME portfolios by using the newly launched&nbsp;<a href="https://sg2x.squarespace.com/entrepreneurs">SG2X Playbook</a> - a publicly available toolkit for SME investing.&nbsp;</li></ul><figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/ac80aeec_6c9d_4cb2_b08f_2d63de23a50d_668183c6c0.JPG"></figure>Turning Challenges Into Opportunities&nbsp;There are still persistent and well-known challenges that SMEs must face and surmount across the East Africa region, including in Ethiopia. When Renew Capital began operations in Ethiopia in 2012, it was one of the fastest growing economies in the region. However, we believe Ethiopia’s private sector has been and remains constrained from achieving explosive, sustainable growth due to a lack of access to finance and a dearth of well-trained middle managers and executives (i.e., the missing middle, which tends to impact SMEs in particular). These capital and human capital gaps comprise the country’s “missing middle.”&nbsp;At the same time, the country faces an ever-changing and uncertain regulatory environment – Ethiopia's Ease of Doing business score in 2019, a ranking developed by the World Bank, was 159 out of 190. This means the business and investment ecosystem is simply not equipped to help the country's private sector take off and grow, which in turn can disincentivize entrepreneurs and investors from seeking to test and grow innovative business ideas.&nbsp;But what is so exciting about these identified problems is that we can turn them into opportunities. In fact, we are starting to see real indications that the government of Ethiopia is willing to explore the liberalization of the economy. For example, the country’s Homegrown Economic Reform agenda seeks to transform Ethiopia into an industrialized lower-middle-income country by 2025, which the Government of Ethiopia hopes to bring about through “structural reforms [that] aim to address bottlenecks inhibiting private sector growth” and “sectoral reforms [that] aim to address market failures and sectoral regulatory and investments constraints”1. We are starting to see the effects of this change in mindset with the opening of priority sectors to foreign investors, including manufacturing, agriculture and agro-processing, pharmaceutical, textiles and apparel, leather, tourism, information and communications technology, mining and power. The financial services sector has recently joined that list (pending final legislation, the NBE and Council of Ministers have adopted a plan to open it). We can see this change manifest in everyday life, from the growing Addis Ababa skyline to the conversations Renew Capital has with stakeholders in and outside of the country. There is a general excitement and hope for the country's potential that is electrifying to be around.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/fe35238d_8ef8_4be7_a741_94fd1292f00a_8364b72036.JPG"></figure>Always Moving Forward&nbsp;The investment and development strategy that Renew Capital is implementing today is not the same as the one we were pursuing eight years ago. In fact, it’s fair to say our current investment strategy has been years in the making. We have been consistently testing ideas, questioning assumptions, validating approaches and learning from our mistakes. That strategy has paid off. As of June 2022, our angel portfolio has received 15 investments from Renew Capital Angels, mobilized $38M in capital and supported just under 3,000 full and part-time jobs across two East African countries. &nbsp;None of this would have been, nor continue to be possible without the support of our development partners – Global Affairs Canada, USAID, MercyCorps, ACDI-VOCA, DAI, AGRA and many others – who have helped support Renew Capital as we have worked to perfect our blended finance (BF) model. For those who are unfamiliar, the purpose of BF is, simply put, to leverage public sector funding in order to crowd in private sector capital that would otherwise not enter into the space (namely, due to the risky nature of the market). As such, Renew Capital’s BF projects generally try to build the local ecosystem through capacity building training programs for executives, managers and owners of SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa; policy and advocacy work; and capital market formation activities that generate “investment-ready” pipeline and lower the costs of investing for Renew Capital Angels and other interested investors.&nbsp;&nbsp;And it has been such an honor to be part of Renew Capital’s journey these past eight years, helping to design our firm’s strategic approach in how we implement said ecosystem and infrastructure building mechanisms.&nbsp;&nbsp;I am hopeful and I truly believe that Africa is the next investment frontier and that, through concerted and intentional efforts made on the part of the donor and investment communities, we can shift away from the traditional aid paradigm to a sustainable, market- and growth-oriented mindset that is rooted in leveraging public and private dollars to their fullest potential. I believe Africa's private sector is becoming recognized as an engine for economic growth, and that we'll see a thriving and resilient middle class, as well as inspired and successful entrepreneurs creating SMEs generating millions of good jobs for men and women. In a word, I believe Africa's private sector represents real hope for the continent’s estimated 1.4 billion inhabitants.&nbsp; &nbsp;<hr>1) <a href="https://www.mofed.gov.et/media/filer_public/38/78/3878265a-1565-4be4-8ac9-dee9ea1f4f1a/a_homegrown_economic_reform_agenda-_a_pathway_to_prosperity_-_public_version_-_march_2020-.pdf">https://www.mofed.gov.et/media/filer_public/38/78/3878265a-1565-4be4-8ac9-dee9ea1f4f1a/a_homegrown_economic_reform_agenda-_a_pathway_to_prosperity_-_public_version_-_march_2020-.pdf</a>&nbsp;

Longtime Renew Capital COO Emily Ziethen Reflects on the Firm’s Ten-Year Journey

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Along the Road of Impact Investing

<h1>Speaking Up and Stepping Up</h1>A Self-Confidence Seminar by the ARISE Program Helps Women in Agriculture Assert Themselves in Business&nbsp;Women represent a large percentage of the agricultural workforce yet there is a gap in access to finance and training that makes women-led agribusinesses more vulnerable to shocks like COVID-19 and the impact of climate change on farming. In 2021, the Alliance for Green Revolution (AGRA) and Renew Capital partnered up to support women in agribusiness through the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/ARISE%20Re-Launches%20The%20Last%20Week%20of%20September%202022%20">African Resilience &amp; Investment Series for Women Executives (ARISE) Program</a>, which boosts resilience through capacity building in areas such as business financials; sales and marketing; and investment preparedness.&nbsp;The following is the first in a series of blogs detailing ARISE’s most recent training sessions. The next set of those same sessions kicks off November 16. ARISE encourages women in agribusiness to sign up and to join AGRA’s business management on the&nbsp;<a href="https://value4her.hivebrite.com/">Value4HerConnect</a> portal.&nbsp;Those sessions are listed here:&nbsp;<ul><li>Enhanced Investment Preparedness: November 16</li><li>Enhanced Investment Seminar: November 29&nbsp;</li><li>Confidence, Self-esteem and Ambition Setting Seminar: November 30</li><li>BDS Providers Seminar: December 14 - <a href="https://agra-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIocOurrDwpG9ZFNYZR23g5Y3RDIZGoz_VD" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Register Here</a></li><li>Enhanced Pitch Coaching Session: December 15 - <a href="https://agra-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAocemhrjojGNJNu03M_J2WBv4cyF_eNnpZ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Register Here</a></li></ul>While there are always exceptions to the rule, inequitable male-dominated power structures have existed throughout human history, and that has certainly been the case in many African societies. Often, it happens under the guise of benevolent intentions and institutions such as marriage, religion, education, division of labor and protection. Today, despite major growth in the number of women-led businesses on the continent, old attitudes about women’s capabilities and societal roles still take a toll on women's willingness to take risks and make entrepreneurial decisions that can take them to new levels of economic empowerment and leadership. Women participate in and own many agribusinesses in Africa, but their businesses tend to be small and don’t often operate as an alliance.&nbsp;Now, in an effort to mitigate these historic dynamics, entrepreneurial ecosystem builders are focusing on increasing women entrepreneurs’ chances of accessing finance and helping them build on other soft and hard business skills that will, in turn, empower them to scale their businesses.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/Confidence_Session_2x_940e30271b.jpg"></figure>“Being on the investment side, it’s unfortunate to see the number of women-led and -owned companies who drop off during the investment appraisal process due to lack of self-confidence,” said&nbsp;Renew Capital senior investment manager Diana Njuguna, who is helping to lead the ARISE program. “It’s time for women entrepreneurs to rise up, articulate their ambitions and take advantage of opportunities that would support their businesses to scale.”One of the new additions to the 2022 course was a preliminary seminar titled Confidence, Self-Esteem and Ambition Setting, hosted by Njuguna and two of Renew Capital’s other African women staffers, Senior Investment Manager Dagmawit Shiferaw and Senior Project Manager Samrawit Geremew.&nbsp;&nbsp;"We want to tell you that believe it or not, support organizations like AGRA, investors like Renew Capital, peers like the men that display more confidence than you in the business arena, have a lot of respect and admiration for you as women entrepreneurs who are consistently pushing multifaceted boundaries and running a business with much potential to impact food security, job creation and economic growth for the continent, so rise to the occasion throughout your entrepreneurial journey,” Geremew told the participants. &nbsp;A Safe Space for Sharing&nbsp;Inversely, a lack of self-esteem can cause an entrepreneur to have trouble accepting feedback, setting boundaries, and taking care of their own needs, all of which contribute to the so-called “imposter syndrome,” in which a qualified and talented individual - usually a woman - doubts their abilities and feels like an imposter, not belonging in the space.“Your success is determined by how confident you are. Business is like a game of sport, so you have to go out and win, and if you are doubting yourself already, then you are less likely to win,” Shiferaw told the group.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/LWN_4477_888f08a91c.jpg"></figure>The women attending the session are no strangers to these concepts.“Lack of confidence gives me trouble when I need to speak about my business. I am often overshadowed by people, especially males, who are confident in expressing themselves,” noted Piloya Innocent, the head of the Ugandan agribusiness company Ayandwe Foods, recognizing that women are less likely to put themselves out there by applying for big opportunities or voicing an idea that might get shot down. “I am learning to speak up, and learning along the way where I can.”And while there are real social and political barriers that can hinder women’s success in business, a huge part of rising to the challenge requires mind over matter.“When I look back at the times when I was not confident, I realize it's all in the head, and in the end, it is about reframing our internal conversations with ourselves,” commented Charity Ndegwa, one of the agribusiness owners in attendance. She encouraged the group to remember that they are already doing something great by running these businesses: “We should take up space accordingly.”Toward the end of the workshop, the women were challenged to articulate “ambition statements,” which they can repeat daily as a way of reaffirming their goals and giving them the confidence they need to direct and fully integrate their employees in the company’s mission. &nbsp;Joy Mary Lwanga, owner of Shalom Organic Farm in Uganda, thanked Renew Capital’s trainers with a self-affirmation that simultaneously reaffirmed them.“I am a risk taker, I am ambitious, and I am learning to be confident.” she said.&nbsp;&nbsp;

A Self-Confidence Seminar by the ARISE Program Helps Women in Agriculture Assert Themselves in Business 

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Speaking Up and Stepping Up

<h1>RENEW’s Legal Corner: November 2022</h1>Our take on developments in the investment ecosystems of East Africa<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/097_A2846_254237521f.jpg"></figure>ETHIOPIA&nbsp;Franco-Valuta Beneficiaries Are Expected To Show The Source Of Their Hard Currency Going Forward&nbsp;In April 2021, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) allowed importers to import basic commodities using the Franco-Valuta scheme without any requirement for verification of the source of their hard currency. This decision was made due to the inflation that is impacting the country’s economy. By allowing importers to import basic commodities without complying with the strict banking procedures, it was expected to increase the importation of basic goods into the country. However, in less than a year, the government reversed this decision. Starting from this month, importers are required to show the source of their hard currency to the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) to import goods through the Franco-Valuta scheme. The NBE has come up with this decision to control the parallel foreign currency market in the country. According to NBE, beneficiaries of the Franco-Valuta scheme are getting hard currency from the parallel market, and the requirement of verification is expected to alleviate this problem.&nbsp;&nbsp;Ministry of Finance Bans the Issuance of Letters of Credit For 38 Import ItemsThe Ministry of Finance (MoF) has banned the issuance of letters of credit for 38 selected import items. In a circular letter to the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), the MoF has ordered the denial of foreign currency issuance for these items, which was made effective on October 17, 2022, and will stay indefinitely. The restriction was imposed on the products as they were not found to be priority items. The prohibition spans a range of items, including processed foods, beverages, artificial jewelry and flowers, bottled water, fruits, carpets, hand and wall watches, human and artificial hair, perfumes, fireworks, bags, umbrellas, seafood, cigarettes, and others. Automobiles imported by private companies are likewise subject to the restriction. This ban will affect the nation both positively and negatively. It will have a detrimental impact on several business communities that are involved in the importation, wholesaling, supermarket business, and retail of the 38 items listed. It also has the potential to increase contraband trade. The prohibition will, however, assist the nation in obtaining foreign currency for imports of high importance, such as medicine and basic commodities, support the expansion of domestic enterprises, and reduce illegal money transfers related to the selected commodities.&nbsp;Trade and Investment Divisional Court Inaugurated in Addis&nbsp;The Federal Court of First Instance officially launched a divisional court solely focused on trade and investment. The court is composed of 11 hearings that deal only with construction, investment, banking, and insurance cases. Five of the hearings under the classification hearing are assigned to commercial matters, and the other five hearings are assigned to banking and insurance matters. The remaining hearing is assigned to deal with construction-related issues. The court is composed of 14 judges and five assistant judges. Although the court was inaugurated this month, the trial was started in June 2022. The bench is anticipated to improve service delivery in issues relating to business, banking, and insurance. Having a separate division court focused solely on trade and investment has a positive impact on enabling businesses in Ethiopia to operate more efficiently and productively by reducing the amount of time and money businesses are required to devote to dispute resolution.&nbsp;<hr>UGANDA<a href="https://www.newvision.co.ug/category/news/blb-fida-uganda-launch-partnership-to-champio-146166">BLB and FIDA Uganda partnership to prioritize women’s land rights</a>At the recent Legal Aid Open Day held in Luweero, the pertinent issues that arose for discussion during the legal clinics concerning women’s land rights included&nbsp;sensitizing women and youth, who are adversely affected the most during land disputes, about land ownership and offering legal support to these vulnerable groups in order for them to obtain unequivocal rights to their parcels. According to an article in the New Vision, a Memorandum of Understanding between the Buganda Land Board (BLB) and the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA Uganda) will purposely be driven towards obtaining justice for women and youth over contested plots of land. Furthermore, emphasis will be placed on securing or registering their tenancies and understanding the different rights that come along with the specific type of tenancy held.&nbsp;This partnership seeks to address pertinent issues such as the certificates of occupancy that are conclusive evidence of ownership and rights to the land. It is also a beneficial partnership with the land board which is entrusted to manage some of the biggest parcels in the Buganda Kingdom. The two parties have a duty to educate the women and youth on their tenancy rights on land which will contribute to the reduction of perennial land disputes in the country.<hr>RWANDARwandan corporate lawyers to play a role in economic growthRwanda is on track to establish itself as a top investment and tourism destination in Africa by providing several incentives and legislative amendments to attract more foreign investments. With that comes a number of transactional agreements and laws that need to be accurately structured in order to ensure compliance with domestic laws and also provide a precedent for other investment agreements. It is essential that the whole entrepreneurial and investment ecosystem realize the role of lawyers in structuring major deals, drawing up laws, amending legislation and facilitating dispute resolution while completing the deal.&nbsp;In a New Times article, Felix Manzi, the Director of the CERTA Center for Law and Innovation, a new initiative with the purpose of blending Rwandan legal expertise with innovation and creation, stated that lawyers play a very pivotal role in Rwanda’s economic prowess. He noted that “the entire African continent is trying to attract FDI” and lawyers should equip themselves with the requisite knowledge to understand certain concepts regarding innovation and creation. He also noted that there may be an evident lack of skilled manpower to deal with legal advice and representation in this field which will consequently lead investors to reallocate their funds to a more equipped jurisdiction like Kenya2.Rwanda needs to train and maintain an efficient and competent legal fraternity that can compete within the East African regional bloc and also handle all the legal related tasks that come along with the rapid rate of growth and development which the country intends to achieve. &nbsp;&nbsp;<hr>1)<a href="https://www.newvision.co.ug/category/news/blb-fida-uganda-launch-partnership-to-champio-146166">https://www.newvision.co.ug/category/news/blb-fida-uganda-launch-partnership-to-champio-146166</a>2)https://www.newtimes.co.rw/article/2023/news/business/competent-business-lawyers-crucial-in-rwandas-economic-voyage-experts