<h1 style="text-align:center;">An Evening of Stories and Impact</h1>This past Friday evening, members of the Impact Angel Network (IAN) and distinguished guests met at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C. for their first annual National Gathering.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/img_7051_e33990fe28.jpg"></figure>The event started with guests mingling and enjoying cocktails in the West Garden. Members then moved into the Cosmos Club's Powell Room to hear the former Director of the CIA,&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/img_7382_0_0644dbdea7.jpg"></figure>and now Chair of KKR's Global Institute, General (ret.) David H. Petraeus, share stories and insights on leadership, investing, Africa and Ethiopia. The evening continued as members gave toasts and shared stories throughout dinner of their Econ-Tourism trips and their investments in Ethiopia. The night concluded with Aman Adinew, CEO of <a href="http://metadplc.com/">METAD</a> , sharing how his specialty coffee farm created 500 jobs in 2014, positively impacted the local community and is on course to quadruple in size this year.Members of the IAN met the next morning for a breakfast to discuss multi-generational and legacy investing, and the next evening at the residence of the IAN's Washington D.C. chapter chair - <a href="http://renewcapital.com/impact-angel-network/chapters">Dr. Andrew Umhau</a>, to discuss updates on the portfolio and upcoming investment opportunities.The RENEW team would like to thank General Petraeus, Ambassador Tebege Berhe, and the IAN chapter chairs, Dr. Andrew Umhau, Jeff and Donna Turi, and Alan Gardner, and the staff of the Cosmos Club for helping deliver an unforgettable event. We also thank the members of the IAN and their families for coming to D.C. for a memorable spring weekend.If you are interested in learning more about RENEW, please contact Kathleen DeLaHoussaye at <a href="kdelahoussaye%40renewstrategies.html">kdelahoussaye@renewcapital.com</a>.

Impact Angel Network members came together in Washington D.C. for the first annual National Gathering.

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An Evening of Stories and Impact

<h1 style="text-align:center;">3 Reasons It's Time for Angel Investors to Go Global</h1>Times are changing - Markets around the world are opening up, technology is shrinking 3,000 miles to 30 miles, and angel investing is the new "VC". At RENEW, we think it's time for U.S. angel investors to start going global. Here's why:<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/renew_banners_connect_grow_1_2296e046e9.jpg"></figure>1. The risk return profile of frontier markets is changing. Small, mid-size and large companies across sub-Saharan Africa are sprouting up to meet growing domestic and international demand. Per the IMF, “the same crucial developments that presaged the arrival of institutional financial investors in emerging markets in the 1980s are taking place in parts of sub-Saharan Africa today—growth is taking off, the private sector is the key driver of that growth.”* Local companies are starved for capital as their financial markets scramble to keep up. This presents a good opportunity for investors to enter into regions where valuations are low. Still, investors must be very cautious. Do your due diligence, partner with people you trust, and know what you are getting into. This is the Wild West.2. Thankfully, frontier markets like Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda are more accessible through Western firms that have offices in these countries. Whether it is large institutional players or boutique investment firms, Western investors can find investment professionals working out of offices in Addis Ababa, Nairobi and Accra. In Ethiopia, where RENEW has an office, we offer our angel investors a full, turnkey, in-country investment service. This is encouraging news for investors since “sub-Saharan Africa is expected to continue being the second fastest growing region in the world” with growth rates at around 5% in 2014, and expected rates at 5.75% for 2015.**3. You receive two returns. When you invest in an ethically run company a frontier market, you have the chance of making both a financial return and significant social returns. You can receive the same in developed markets, but the dollar does go a lot farther in countries where wages are low. Last year, RENEW's angels created over 500 jobs. Their investments also help stabilize the economy by generating taxes to offset foreign aid, and bring in hard currency to help stabilize inflation.So, when you find yourself looking for that next big thing or an exciting venture to take on, consider joining the ranks of rock stars like <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/briefly/2015/03/30/why-private-equity-is-moving-into-ethiopia-at-a-glance/">Bob Geldof</a> and war heroes like <a href="http://media.kkr.com/media/media_releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=852684">David Petraeus</a>, and invest in frontier markets like Ethiopia.We welcome U.S. angels to participate in the discussion on angels going global at our May 1 National Gathering in Washington, D.C. Please contact a RENEW team member at <a href="mailto:renew@renewcapital.com">renew@renewcapital.com</a> to find out more.

At RENEW, we think it's time for U.S. angel investors to think about going global...

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3 Reasons It's Time for Angel Investors to Go Global

<h1 style="text-align:center;">RENEW Hosts Impact Investing Luncheon in Utah</h1>Last week, two of RENEW’s partners traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah to meet with local business and community leaders. While visiting, the RENEW team hosted a luncheon to discuss impact investing, angel investing and the U.S. government’s policies and viewpoints on Africa’s private sector.The luncheon opened with a<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/photo_2_2_c8b88d3cee.jpg"></figure> greeting from Matt Davis, founder and CEO of RENEW, after which he introduced the event’s honored guest, Devin Thorpe. Devin is an <a href="http://devinthorpe.com/author">author</a> and advisor based in Utah who focuses on helping individuals who are “doing good” in the world. He calls himself a "champion of social good”, and as a <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/devinthorpe/">Forbes</a> contributor, he covers stories regarding social entrepreneurship and impact investing. During the luncheon, Devin shared his own personal viewpoint on impact investing and how it relates to Utah.For Devin, it’s an exciting and dynamic space to be in because “people with old investment strategies are joining the impact investing movement, and new money is actually coming in to the field.” This space now not only includes the individual investor, but family offices, foundations and institutional investors as well.Matt closed the event by challenging the group to think differently about Africa, as it has moved beyond the image that many of us typically think of when hearing the word, and by speaking about the power of business to achieve a greater good. Overall, it was an encouraging and exciting event - one that has inspired RENEW to pursue launching a new chapter of the Impact Angel Network in Salt Lake City.Matt remarked, “As a Ute, I believe Utah should be a leader in the impact investment space because, 1) we understand ethical capitalism, 2) we are global, and 3) we are entrepreneurial.” RENEW feels that our nation needs more Utah leaders like Jim Sorenson, renowned entrepreneur and founder of the James Lee Sorenson Global Impact Investing Center <a href="http://sgiicenter.com/jim-sorenson/">(SGII)</a>, to venture across the world and bring the concept of U.S. businesses to countries like Ethiopia.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/photo_3_2_4e736f3a2b.jpg"></figure>

Two of RENEW's partners traveled to Salt Lake City and met with local business leaders

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RENEW Hosts Impact Investing Luncheon in Utah

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Impact Angel Network 2015 National Gathering</h1><figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/may_event_final_blog_0c240533b9.jpg"></figure>Members of the Impact Angel Network (IAN) and other distinguished guests will be in Washington D.C., May 1 to May 2, for the Network's 2015 National Gathering.The gathering will include a series of events throughout the weekend, with the main event occurring on Friday evening. IAN members and select guests will be spending the evening with politicians, business executives and thought leaders. Experts in the impact and angel investing space will be speaking throughout the night, sharing insights on investing in Africa, as well as other countries on the continent and throughout the world. RENEW aims to elevate the importance of angel and impact investing and how the private sector is driving growth in companies around the world, even in our own back yards.We will also be having an informal gathering for members of the IAN at the home of the IAN’s DC Chapter Chair. We will be providing updates on our current portfolio, as well as discussing our current investment pipeline.*Note: The event has sold out and registration is now closed.

The Impact Angel Network's 2015 National Gathering is to be hosted in Washington D.C.

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Impact Angel Network 2015 National Gathering

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Portfolio Accomplishments: Part Three</h1><figure class="image image-style-align-left image_resized" style="width:37.16%;"><img src="/uploads/metad_logo_rgb_d1f33c42a5.jpg"></figure>To conclude our blog series about our portfolio companies' accomplishments, we move on to <a href="http://metadplc.com/">METAD</a>, an Ethiopian specialty coffee producer and exporter. Over the past month, METAD has been completing work on its new brand (see the sleek new leaf logo above!) and redesigning its website. The company recently launched the <a href="http://metadplc.com/">new website</a>, which highlights METAD’s specialty arabica coffee and notable accomplishments aimed at building Ethiopia’s coffee sectors. Aman Adinew, founder of METAD, has a vision of discerning coffee drinkers around the world enjoying Ethiopian specialty coffee, and of Ethiopia achieving the worldwide brand recognition its coffee deserves. METAD’s new website and brand are key resources the company will use to make this vision a reality.Meanwhile, METAD also is making strides in expanding its operations. The company recently expanded to a new site in Gedeb, where it operates a washing system, dry mill and drying beds. The company continues to operate a 200-hectare original specialty coffee farm in Hambela. Aman is overseeing both sites to ensure the same quality of coffee bean is produced at both sites.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/metad_farmsite_ab61dd1576.jpg"></figure>In the process of expanding, METAD has created 545 jobs within the community and has increased sales by 402% since the IAN initially invested in 2013. METAD has come a long way since that investment, and RENEW is excited about the company’s future with Aman at the helm.<figure class="image image-style-align-right image_resized" style="width:22.26%;"><img src="/uploads/kids_8df5424b85.jpg"></figure>Another thing we love about METAD is the company’s dedication to giving back to the local community. Since 2013, METAD has adopted an elementary school with 408 students near its Hambela farm, purchasing benches and tables for the school and subsidizing teachers’ salaries to incentivize them to stay rather than take higher paying jobs in bigger towns and cities.We are proud to be a part of the METAD story.

Read about METAD's wonderful achievements to date...

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Portfolio Accomplishments: Part Three

<h1>Portfolio Accomplishments: Part Two</h1><figure class="image image-style-align-right"><img src="/uploads/dventus_a2d2621877.jpg"></figure>Daniel Gizaw founded <a href="http://www.dventus.com/">dVentus</a> with the idea of promoting sustainable energy solutions, which he and a team of local engineers would manufacture at facilities in Ethiopia. Since then, the company has focused on developing system integration and energy efficient solutions for renewable energy applications. By pursuing this focus today, dVentus is helping to ensure a brighter and cleaner future for generations to come.&nbsp;<figure class="image image-style-align-left image_resized" style="width:25.28%;"><img src="/uploads/dv_970ee77295.jpg"></figure> &nbsp;Since the IAN’s initial investment in 2013, dVentus has been making strides in building local capacity and in new product development. The company has successfully designed and built a prototype for smart meters to improve the reliability, security and efficiency of Ethiopia’s and other African and Middle Eastern power grids. The company is developing other exciting new products, such as energy efficient generators and other components of smart grid solutions.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;dVentus’ expansion has enabled the company increase its staff by 25%, as it has brought on engineers and other highly skilled local professionals since the close of the IAN’s investment. The company also<figure class="image image-style-align-right image_resized" style="width:52.86%;"><img src="/uploads/dv2_b5a83e9a12.jpg"></figure> won a grant from the African Development Bank, through its Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, and has been working on creating strategic partnerships with multiple organizations both in Ethiopia and the United States.We are proud to be a part of the dVentus story.

Read about dVentus' wonderful achievements to date...

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Portfolio Accomplishments: Part Two

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Portfolio Accomplishments: Part One</h1>&nbsp;<figure class="image image-style-align-left image_resized" style="width:9.4%;"><img src="/uploads/logo_tm_0_433b35c58a.png"></figure> In partnership with RENEW, the Impact Angel Network (IAN) has invested in three companies to date, with two more investments closing soon. RENEW’s portfolio consists of <a href="http://www.mama-fresh.com/">Mama Fresh</a>, a commercial manufacturer and exporter of injera and Ethiopian food products, <a href="http://metadplc.com/">METAD</a>, an Ethiopian specialty coffee producer and exporter, and <a href="http://www.dventus.com/">dVentus</a>, a clean energy company. RENEW is proud of the social impact and financial growth that each of its portfolio companies have achieved to date, and is excited to provide an update on those accomplishments.&nbsp;<figure class="image image-style-align-right image_resized" style="width:22.63%;"><img src="/uploads/img_9920_0_1a41ac55fe.jpg"></figure>Mama Fresh recently won an award as the #1 micro and small enterprise exporter from the Addis Ababa Ministry of Urban Development, Housing and Construction. Prime Minister Haliemariam Desalegn presented the award to Mama Fresh’s Hailu Tesema at a national ceremony. Mama Fresh also just finished transitioning its operations from a traditional injera manufacturing facility to a modern commercial injera and Ethiopian cuisine production facility. As a result, the company has doubled its capacity over what it was able to produce prior to the investment made by the IAN.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The company has also achieved many other milestones since receiving the IAN’s investment, including:<ol><li>More than 300 smallholder farmers or marginal producers have supplied raw materials to Mama Fresh or received training or other support, post investment</li><li>Generating more than $1.5M in export revenue</li><li>Establishing a strategic partnership with a Fortune 500 food company</li></ol>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/collage_mama_fresh_portfolio_update_64752845d6.jpg"></figure>These accomplishments come as no surprise. They have been brought about by Mama Fresh’s hard work and dedication to the quality of its products, its commitment to the wellbeing of its staff, and its mission to see more people around the world “dance with their fingers, and eat Ethiopian”.We are proud to be a part of the Mama Fresh story.

Read about Mama Fresh's wonderful achievements to date...

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Portfolio Accomplishments: Part One

<h1 style="text-align:center;">RENEW at Women in Agribusiness Conference</h1>RENEW’s Laura Davis recently attended and spoke at a conference in Ethiopia, hosted by The Women in Agribusiness Leadership Network (WALN) in conjunction with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). &nbsp;<figure class="image image-style-align-right image_resized" style="width:24.52%;"><img src="/uploads/dsc00069_fb97ed64bd.jpg"></figure>U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, Patricia Haslach and Ethiopia’s First Lady Roman Tesfaye opened the event, which focused on celebrating more than 100 women entrepreneurs and leaders from across Ethiopia who had a positive impact in the field of agribusiness. The women attendees were able to share experiences, best practices, and many other things related to owning and operating agricultural businesses.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;During this event, Laura sat on a panel that discussed private equity and the field of agribusiness. She was able to share some of RENEW’s hard earned insights on the relationship between small-medium enterprises (SMEs), access to capital and angel investing. &nbsp;<figure class="image image-style-align-left image_resized" style="width:21.34%;"><img src="/uploads/dsc_0630_6ee7fbe2c6.jpg"></figure>In the words of Ambassador Haslach, “women make up nearly half of the agriculture workforce in Ethiopia, but unfortunately face a number of disadvantages, including limited access to training, market information, and other resources, and problems in accessing markets and credit.”**Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs in Ethiopia fall into the category of the “missing middle”, enterprises that are considered to be too large or established for micro-institutional investors, and too small and risky for traditional financing. But, this is where impact investment firms like RENEW come in to play – by providing SMEs access to the “missing” capital they need in order to scale and become attractive to larger private equity and institutional investors. This is all accomplished through RENEW’s wonderful Impact Angel Network, one of the largest U.S. based angel networks for Africa.&nbsp;All in all, it was an enlightening and inspiring conference that RENEW was happy to be a part of.

RENEW's Laura Davis attends and speaks at conference hosted by WALN and USAID

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RENEW at Women in Agribusiness Conference

<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