About us

By operating at the intersection of need, opportunity and experience, we pursued social, environmental and financial goals by investing in agriculture, water, healthcare, renewable energy, and urban development. We weighed financial and impact considerations equally when evaluating potential investments, and only pursued opportunities with sufficient potential for both. We developed foundational tools to analyse and evaluate impact which proved to be an insightful way to guide our investing agenda.

In 2020, the Global Impact Investment Network’s 10th annual report looked back on the impact investing industry’s “Notable Commitments Over the Past Decade”. Their timeline begins with the launch of our USD 350 million fund. It recognized that our targeted investments have delivered essential development impact to millions of individuals and helped kick-off a decade that has seen so many important developments.

Our approach has delivered high-performing returns for investors and provided over 5.4 million individuals with solutions to critical challenges. These include improved access to clean water, affordable healthcare and nutritious food, as well as the creation of sustainable infrastructure and increased potential for local economic prosperity.

With decades of operational experience in managing and growing businesses throughout growth markets, we recognized we had a unique advantage. We understood how to organise and manage at ground level, with local communities, business leaders and key decision-makers. Encouraging collaboration builds stronger coalitions. It taps into a more diverse resource of ideas, expertise, and experience, resulting in more relevant, sustainable solutions. We are genuinely active, with the insight and confidence to step in when needed and to stand back and let the businesses fly when everything required for success has been achieved.

We are proud of the transformational impact of that we achieved – first and foremost by the communities we helped and then, as a result of our successes, by our industry observers and peers. A few select recognitions include:

2012

Vital Capital is a GIIRS (Global Impact Investing Rating System) pioneer fund. We received ‘Platinum and Gold Ratings’ reflecting our impact business model and ‘4 Stars Operational Ratings’ for our ESG excellence from 2012 – 2018. Vital Capital also guides portfolio companies to receive top scores.

2014

Forbes named us one of ‘5 companies making a splash for a better world’.

2015

Vital and the World Economic Forum hosted the Davos Impact game based on our investments at Davos and SOCAP15.

2016

B Lab announced us as the #2 Emerging Market ‘Best for the World Fund’.

2017

Our portfolio prominently featured in the London Stock Exchange Group’s list of Africa’s most dynamic high-growth private companies in their report, ‘Companies to Inspire Africa’.

Won the EMPEA Institute’s Sustainability & Operational Excellence Challenge for our management of the Luanda Medical Centre.

2021

Our Relief Facility was recognised as one of the ’30 Big Ideas Shaping ESG’ by Private Equity International, who called it ‘a trailblazing fund that seeks to bridge the gap between local need and multilateral/government focus in a time of crisis’.

2023

Selected as Impact Assets IA50 Emeritus Managers, graduating from IA50 Managers from 2014 until 2023 consecutively.