The Global Catalyst Initiative (GCI) helps emerging social ventures prove their models and attract growth funding through three main activities: 1) providing proving capital to ventures to reach key milestones, 2) offering technical assistance, and 3) connecting ventures to networks. To date, GCI has reviewed over 150 ventures, invested in six, and seen positive early signs. However, GCI faces challenges in functioning as a private sector intermediary in a market that cannot pay for it and determining whether to focus on in-house capital or building expertise.

1. Global Catalyst Initiative (GCI)
Agenda-
- What We Do
How it Works
Our Work to Date
Team
The Challenge(s)

2. What We Do
GCI helps emerging social ventures prove their
model and attract growth funding
Helping market
innovators eradicate
poverty

3. How it Works
Traditional Angels Seed/Venture
Series A
Capital
Seed/Venture
Impact Ventures ??? Series A
Capital

4. How it Works (cont.)
PROVING CAPITAL
Fund to key milestones (financial)
Technical assistance (human)
Networks (social)

5. Our Work to Date
An Experiment Partners & Advisors
$300,000 pilot budget
150+ ventures reviewed
6 grantee/investees
Positive early signs
Early Lessons
It’s not a lack of capital
Intermediation and long term support key
Subsidization likely required

6. Team
Core Team
Sean Peters Shawn Smith Nanjala Nyabola
The Committee
12+ professionals on fundraising, pre-and-post investment support,
including CAs, MBAs, CFAs, legal and investment professionals.
Current Advisors
Keely Stevenson (Bamboo) Ron Dueck (Farris)
Kevin Starr (Mulago) Carter Crocket (Karisimbi)
Andy Lower (Eleos) Samuel Ssenyimba (LGTVP - PENDING)
Teju Ravilochan (Unreasonable) Ryan Fix (Pure Project)
+ GCI Entrepreneurs

7. The Challenge(s)
1) How to function as a private sector style
intermediary, in a market that can’t pay for it.
2) Is in-house capital to scale our investments
important or should we focus on building
intermediary and incubation expertise?

8. Contact
Questions For more information, please contact us:
Sean Peters
sean@catalystinitiative.org
? +1 604 209 7336
Shawn Smith
shawn@catalystinitiative.org
+1 778 385 5552