{"id":7101,"date":"2026-04-09T14:14:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T14:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.openvaluefoundation.org\/?p=7101"},"modified":"2026-04-09T14:14:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T14:14:29","slug":"blog-post-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/2026\/04\/09\/blog-post-18\/","title":{"rendered":"Blog post 18"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From the position we hold as investors in the social impact ecosystem, we can clearly see that there are common agendas in collective consciousness, corporate responsibility of companies, and the focus of public administration actions.<strong>&nbsp;Only by collaborating will we be able to generate systemic change.<\/strong>, which is becoming increasingly evident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To address the most pressing social problems,&nbsp;<strong>Co-investment in early-stage social impact projects is emerging as a key strategy<\/strong>&nbsp;to empower change from the ground up. This approach not only benefits communities and the environment but also presents significant opportunities for investors and entrepreneurs committed to building a more sustainable and equitable world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Co-investment goes beyond the simple provision of financial capital<\/strong>it implies the convergence of resources, knowledge, and networks to support the development and success of projects with a positive social impact. In the initial phases, where challenges are numerous and risks are high, co-investment becomes the best catapult for initiatives seeking significant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>To this end,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/fundacionadey.org\/\">ADEY Foundation<\/a>&nbsp;Over the past year, Open Value has co-invested in three social enterprises: one in Spain and two in Africa.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following the preliminary analysis carried out and from our conversations with the entrepreneurial teams, we can assure you that&nbsp;<strong>they all share the inherent challenges<\/strong>&nbsp;of the early stages in which they are found:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Managing limited resources.<\/strong>\u00a0Social entrepreneurs operate with scarce resources, which affects their ability to hire talent, invest in marketing, or expand their operations. Therefore, efficient management is key to success.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Access to finance.<\/strong>\u00a0There is little capital available due to the perception of financial risks and the difficulty in measuring short-term impact.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Developing sustainable business models.<\/strong>\u00a0Social entrepreneurs must find business models that generate sufficient income while fulfilling their social mission.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Measurement and demonstration of impact<\/strong>. The need to evidence impact is crucial for attracting investors and partners, but developing an effective system is complex and costly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Developing networks and collaborations.<\/strong>\u00a0Building strong relationships based on trust and credibility takes time; however, it is necessary to break down the barriers put up by the market.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We also found some&nbsp;<strong>specific challenges of the African context<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Insufficient infrastructure and technological gap.<\/strong>\u00a0In some regions of Africa, the lack of basic infrastructure, such as limited access to electricity and transport, presents a significant logistical challenge for entrepreneurs. Furthermore, in rural and less developed areas, there can be a noticeable technological gap, which limits the implementation of digital solutions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Political instability and conflicts.<\/strong>\u00a0In certain areas, political instability and conflicts can negatively affect the viability and sustainability of social projects. Furthermore, depending on the country or region, entrepreneurs face other challenges associated with a lack of regulatory clarity, excessive administrative burdens, or corruption.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Climate change and resilience.<\/strong>\u00a0Some regions of Africa are particularly vulnerable to climate change and face challenges related to environmental resilience and adaptation to extreme weather conditions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>In this context, co-investment allows for risk diversification and the alignment of the interests of multiple stakeholders.<\/strong>&nbsp;Furthermore, regarding technical assistance or non-financial support, the combination of skills, knowledge, and experience from the different investors strengthens the project's capacity to overcome initial obstacles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>By joining forces, investors offer a more holistic and strategic perspective<\/strong>. This collaboration contributes to the development of a more robust and collaborative ecosystem in the field of social impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>About our investments: UMOA, Whesoyy and ED Partners<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The co-investments made this year have been in companies from promising sectors in terms of impact investment:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Health and Well-being<\/strong>\u00a0Medical technologies, healthcare access solutions and pharmaceuticals that address underserved issues are some examples.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/umoacosmetics.com\/\"><strong>UMOA Cosmetics (Spain):<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;A natural cosmetics company with a purpose, created to offer a more sustainable consumption alternative, whose sales will fund the development programmes of the NGO Beyond Suncare, which has been working for years to improve the quality of life of people with albinism in African countries and raise awareness of their reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Sustainable Agriculture<\/strong>\u00a0investment in sustainable agricultural practices, in companies that promote food security and the reduction of food waste.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/whesoyy.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Whesoyy (Ghana)<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/a>A food company that produces high-quality, healthy, and nutritious powdered cereals, with fast delivery to remote locations and affordable prices for families. Their products are specially formulated for childhood, with the main objective of combating malnutrition and food insecurity in rural areas of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Inclusive Education<\/strong>\u00a0investments in educational technologies, training programmes and access to education for disadvantaged communities who use technology to address other related social issues such as financial inclusion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/edpartnersafrica.com\/\"><strong>Ed Partners (Kenya):<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;A company that offers financing solutions to under-resourced schools, with the aim of providing economically vulnerable populations with access to affordable, quality education; bridging the educational gap and reducing the school segregation so prevalent in this and other East African countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>We will soon share what the performance of these co-investments in impact has been.<\/strong>, taking into account that this is not measured solely in terms of financial returns, but also (and in this case, mainly) in the social or environmental impact generated.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Desde la posici\u00f3n que como inversores tenemos en el ecosistema de impacto social, podemos ver con nitidez que hay agendas comunes en la conciencia colectiva, la responsabilidad corporativa de las empresas y los focos de actuaci\u00f3n de las administraciones p\u00fablicas.&nbsp;Solo colaborando podremos generar un cambio sist\u00e9mico, algo que cada vez es m\u00e1s evidente. Para dar [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-post"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7101"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7103,"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7101\/revisions\/7103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}