Partnering with Brightwild
Catalytic capital works best at the front line - but the loans required are small, and making hundreds of them is operationally hard. We can help.
THE PROBLEM WE SOLVE
SMEs are at the heart of the renewables rollout and the main route by which its economic benefits reach more people. To do this they need patient, affordable debt of between $15k–$150k so that they can buy kit and employ people. Traditional forms of capital fall short - equity dilutes ownership and can erode mission, large-scale debt is expensive and out of reach, and grants are one-off that don’t encourage commercial discipline.
Lenders have traditionally avoided this segment, not only because of risk, but because underwriting a $50k loan costs almost as much as a $5m one. That is why the gap persists.
Brightwild is a not-for-profit, evergreen lender built to close it. We have built a platform to help reduce the cost of lending so small loans become viable at scale. Our platform runs the full loan lifecycle, from due diligence to monitoring, with people required for key decisions.
We are raising funds for a not-for-profit, evergreen loan vehicle and any funding contributes in two ways. Core capacity funding helps build, run and train the platform and funds a lean team across the UK and Africa. Capital to deploy funding contributes to the recycling loan pool, with diligence and impact monitoring assisted by the platform.
WHY BACK BRIGHTWILD VENTURES
We have built a platform that underwrites catalytic capital at speed and low cost, and an impact engine that makes every philanthropic dollar work far harder than a grant. This compounds in several ways.
The capital recycles: Each dollar is lent, repaid and lent again, so a single commitment funds loan after loan. Some is lost along the way, but the platform learns: as it underwrites more, transaction costs fall and the loss rate comes down, so each dollar reaches further over time.
We lend to encourage good business: Loan ladders and rate reductions reward borrowers who hit repayment and good-practice milestones, building resilience and lowering risk as the relationship grows.
We back infrastructure, not one-offs: Our borrowers are the renewables entrepreneurs who deploy distributed energy at scale and create local economic value, each loan seeding more rollout behind it.
Few philanthropic dollars work this hard, and the approach can bring provide a robust pipeline for development finance and commercial capital.
Our first loans are live; repayment is running at 85% on time with no defaults
SUPPORT THIS WORK
We are raising funds for a not-for-profit, evergreen loan vehicle and any funding contributes in two ways. Core capacity funding helps build, run and train the platform and funds a lean team across the UK and Africa. Capital to deploy funding contributes to the recycling loan pool, with diligence and impact monitoring assisted by the platform.