Vital Capital Invests in Vastpoint to Revolutionize Land Ownership and Support Sustainable Development in High Growth Markets

Vital Capital has made a strategic investment in Vastpoint, a pioneering land
management and geospatial solutions company, to help scale its efforts in
transforming how land is owned, managed, and used in some of the world’s most
vulnerable regions.

Vastpoint delivers land administration and advanced GIS technologies to support
governments and communities across Africa, Asia, and Latin America creating more
transparent, inclusive, and effective land systems and increasing property tax
collection. According to the 2024 Prindex Report, 23% of adults across 108 countries
feel insecure about their property or land rights; an increase of 239 million adults
over the past four years [1].

“From advancing food security and poverty reduction to enabling sustainable
urbanization and climate resilience, secure land tenure underpins a wide range of
global development goals,” said Tamar Pashtan, Vital’s Head of Impact. “With most
of the world’s population lacking secure land and property rights, Vastpoint is
tackling one of the most fundamental – and overlooked – development challenges of
our time.”

To date the company has impacted over three million people, issued more than
820,000 land titles, and provided training for more than 20,000 individuals. With
World Bank data [2] from 53 countries showing that over 70% of women do not own
any land, Vastpoint’s focus on gender equity is especially critical: more than half of
its land titles benefit women as owners or co-owners.

“Vastpoint is a perfect example of how technology, innovation, and strategic
investment can come together to address systemic development challenges,” said
Nimrod Gerber, Managing Partner at Vital Capital. “By improving land security, we’re
not only empowering communities, we’re laying the groundwork for long-term
prosperity and resilience.”

Vital’s investment follows an initial engagement that included seeding Vastpoint’s
initial project, overseeing a successful proof-of-concept. This de-risking approach is
core to Vital’s “build and re-build” strategy, which focuses on transforming greenfield
projects into scalable, high-impact and high-performing businesses. In addition, Vital
has helped to advance its mission of addressing six distinct impact objectives,
including sustainable infrastructure, climate resiliency, and economic empowerment.

Through this latest investment, Vital will partner with Vastpoint’s management to
accelerate the company’s expansion and bring first-time land ownership to millions
more people in some of the world’s least developed countries. Like all companies in Vital Capital’s portfolio, Vastpoint is designed to deliver market-rate returns alongside
measurable social impact.

Visit the Vastpoint website for more information: https://vastpoint.com/


 

1 https://www.prindex.net/news-and-stories/new-global-data-from-108-countries-reveals-increasing-tenure-insecurity-urgent-policy-action-required
2 https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/agfood/4-priorities-for-increasing-women-s-access-to-farmland

Examining the role of impact investors as international aid dries up

As traditional aid flows to growth markets from institutions like USAID dry up, Vital Capital’s Managing Partner, Nimrod Gerber, sees opportunity in adversity. In a recent interview with African Business, Nimrod argues that shifting from grant-based aid to commercially driven investment could ultimately result in more resilient, faster growing African businesses. With sectors like energy, water, food, and healthcare facing funding gaps, impact investors are well-positioned to step in to support ecosystem building and private businesses.

In particular, Nimrod highlights the role of blended finance—where development finance institutions absorb early losses—to unlock private capital. He also points to the untapped potential of African pension funds as a powerful force in supporting sustainable development.

 

Read the full article here.

Vital Head of Impact Highlights Blended Finance Solutions at COP29

COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, shone a spotlight on climate finance and the urgent need to unlock capital for underserved regions. In an interview with Environmental Finance article on the eve of the conference, Tamar Pashtan, Senior Director and Head of Impact at Vital Capital, outlined key priorities for negotiators to address, emphasizing the important role of blended finance in mitigating risks and increasing impact.

“Pooling and scaling blended finance for climate outcomes in the Global South will be one of the greatest levers to attract private capital in our markets,” said Tamar.

Tarmar highlighted the unique ability of blended finance vehicles to de-risk investments, attract new investors, and expand limited partner commitments, all of which are essential to meeting the ambitious climate finance goals being debated at COP29.

Read the full piece in Environmental Finance here.

Vital Managing Partner Shares Insights with How we made it in Africa

Vital Capital Managing Partner, Nimrod Gerber recently sat down with Jaco Maritz at How we made it in Africa for a wide-ranging interview covering everything from Vital’sbeginnings right through to where we’re currently seeing opportunities to invest. Nimrod shared his journey to becoming a private equity investor in Africa, insights on the deals that got away, along with mistakes made and lessons learned. Nimrod also dived deep on the markets where Vital sees the greatest opportunities:

 

“Where we invest, in this emerging consumer class and tapping into this demographic shift, I think we want to be in countries with real economies. Smaller countries are harder to invest in and get to scale unless you can do it at a regional level… so we look for the bigger economies. Francophone Africa is very interesting. First, because of the currency, and also because of the real markets and real growth opportunities; it’s less saturated.”

You can watch the full interview here.

ESG Investor Features Vital Head of Impact’s Perspective on Driving Transformative Change

In a recent ESG Investor article, Vital Capital’s Head of Impact, Tamar Pashtan, shared her insights on the evolution of private equity’s role in impact investing in sub-Saharan Africa, incentivising local institutional investors and Vital’s approach to creating its own deal flow.

 

 

“Zeroing in on basic needs is a winning strategy because it drives real transformative change, such as first-time access to potable drinking water and essential nutritional improvements in the form of proteins and dairy products.”

Check out the full article here.

Vital Discusses Disproving the Perceived Risks of EM investing with Environmental Finance

Vital Capital Managing Partner Nimrod Gerber recently caught up with Environmental Finance. Nimrod discussed the challenges of disproving perceived risk of emerging market investing, why the typical private equity playbook fails to work in sub-Saharan Africa, and what the continent’s pending demographic shift means for investors.

“Africa is entering an outstanding demographical shift, as its 1.4 billion population is expected to increase to 2.5 billion people in less than 25 years. There has not been a demographic shift like that anywhere during the history of mankind. We believe that the companies that cater to the most basic needs and services, delivering them in an affordable and accessible way, are bound for success,” shared Nimrod.

 

Read the full interview here.

Vital Capital included in Financial Times list of impact investors

Vital Capital has been included in a list of 100+ impact investors published by the Financial Times in collaboration with The Global Impact Investing Network.

The searchable list highlights our impact assets under management and our strategic focus across key sectors and global regions. The initiative marks a significant milestone for impact investing, providing a useful resource for investors to align their portfolios with impactful and sustainable solutions.

The initiative also includes reporting on the GIIN’s trend analysis by journalist Sarah Murray and an insightful op-ed from the GIIN’s co-founder and CEO Amit Bouri.

By contributing our data, we’re advancing transparency and driving momentum in impact investing, supporting a sustainable future across energy, housing, food, healthcare, education, nature and more.

Click here to check out the list.

Vital Honored on the 2025 Real Leaders of Impact Investing List

Vital is pleased to be recognized with the 2025 Real Leaders of Impact Investing award. Now in its sixth year, the list is a compilation of investors dedicated to reshaping business practices globally through impact-driven capital.

The award celebrates Vital’s commitment to transformative impact in Africa and other emerging markets, positioning our work among firms “making a tangible difference in the world by funding businesses that matter.”

 

 

 

View the full list here.

Vital Selected as Prestigious “Private Equity Manager of the Year” by Environmental Finance

Vital Capital is pleased to once again be named as Private Equity Manager of the Year by Environmental Finance’s Sustainable Investment Awards. These awards recognize the work of the world’s leading impact investors and, according to the judges, “highlight emerging pockets of best practice.” This prestigious recognition underscores Vital’s leadership and innovative approach to impact investing, particularly in the emerging markets of sub-Saharan Africa.

“A growing number of investors today are aligning their activities to the Sustainable Development Goals – not just to generate positive impact, but also to maximize the performance of their investments. So, this recognition for the second consecutive year as Private equity manager of the year by Environmental Finance’s prestigious Sustainable Investment Awards is a true honor,” Nimrod Gerber, managing partner at Vital Capital, expressed.

“From delivering first-time household tap water access in India’s drought-plagued Karnataka region to unlocking the potential of local smallholder farmers in East Africa, everything we do has the potential to transform millions of lives.

 

“With this win, we reaffirm our focus on impact-led value creation, so that we can build more future-proof companies that will bring transformative impact to the underserved communities who need it most.”

Read more about Vital’s win here.

Financial Times Features Vital Managing Partner’s Insights on Africa’s Untapped Market

Vital Capital Managing Partner Nimrod Gerber recently offered his insights for a Financial Times article about the relationship between impact investing and ESG. Among other leading sustainable investors, Gerber shared his perspective on the significant untapped opportunities for impact investing across Africa.

“You’re going to have a billion new consumers very soon consuming potable water, basic healthcare, better food, infrastructure, and education,” Gerber explained. “Silicon Valley is not looking at how to solve these huge challenges in Africa. Creative, smart African entrepreneurs that live the problems are developing the solutions. It’s a winning formula.”

Read the full article here.