Newsletter Summer 2025

Summer 2025

New Partnership

Uganda: Uplifting Women in Rural Communities

We’re excited to introduce our newest partner RDF, a Ugandan microfinance institution with an extraordinary mission. Over 80% of RDF clients are women and its portfolio is 100% rural. This unusually high rate of rural women is achieved through intentional outreach and the development of group loans. Group loans are particularly effective for women in rural Uganda, as the group structure serves as a form of collateral, something these women typically lack. RDF has demonstrated strong financial performance, and plans to use the much-needed funding from Envest to scale its green energy product that was launched in February 2025, and to introduce a new loan product for water tanks and irrigation solutions. Read more

Global Impact

Bernardo Antonio Echeverría, a 24-year-old entrepreneur in El Salvador, is a proud client of our new partner, OPORTUN. He owns a thriving business in San Miguel that specializes in polarized window tinting and decorative services for cars and motorcycles. Window tinting is environmentally friendly, helping to improve energy efficiency by lowering the need for air conditioning. When we met him in February, Bernardo had been running the business for five years thanks to a loan from OPORTUN, his first formal lender. “It’s very difficult to get credit from local banks,” he shared. Bernardo runs the business with his brother and values being his own boss. His reputation has earned him contracts with housing communities to tint all their windows, a turning point that significantly boosted his business. Today, Bernardo has an active loan of $1,600 with OPORTUN and has maintained a perfect repayment record. He dreams of expanding and opening a second shop in the near future.

Effects of USAID Cuts

Watch this video to learn how the recent USAID budget cuts are expected to impact Envest and our partners. We invited our President, Ruth Kaseregenyi, to share her perspective on how these cuts are affecting her home country of Uganda. Among the 13 countries where we work, Uganda has the largest USAID presence. Ruth reached out to colleagues in Uganda to highlight the specific impact on the microfinance sector. In addition, Envest Founder & CEO Jon Bishop, offers his perspective on the potential implications of these cuts for Envest’s operations.

Sustainable Investment

Envest was honored to speak on a panel at the US Sustainable Investment Forum 2025, held in June in Washington, D.C. The discussion focused on the global ripple effects of recent USAID budget cuts, which have disrupted aid flow across the world. The panel explored how these changes are impacting both international and national development agencies—and what it means for others in the sector who may be called upon to fill the critical gap left behind. Could this moment signal the rise of a new kind of finance or investor?

Return on Investment

In the last 11 years the average annual return to equity investors was 4.11% for the Envest Fund (2014-2024), and 5.12% for Envest Plus (last quarter of 2023, and 2024). A $100,000 investment could help many entrepreneurs like Bernardo launch or grow a businesses. Contact us to learn about investment opportunities.