Mercy Corps Ventures

Mercy Corps Ventures is the impact investing arm of Mercy Corps, the global humanitarian organization that operates across 40+ countries. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the fund backs early-stage startups building solutions for communities most exposed to climate and economic instability. What makes them unusual in the African VC space is the direct connection to one of the world's largest NGOs, which means portfolio companies can pilot inside Mercy Corps' operational footprint and access real distribution in hard-to-reach markets.

The fund manages two main investment vehicles. Fund I is an evergreen fund that invests at pre-seed and seed stage in climate-resilient startups, and has realized 7 exits to date. Fund II, the Resilient Future Fund, targets early-stage tech-enabled companies building climate adaptation and resilience solutions. Across the portfolio, they have backed 60+ ventures that have collectively raised over $750M in follow-on capital and reached 46+ million customers across 90 countries. Around 45% of their portfolio companies have at least one female co-founder, which signals they genuinely weight founder diversity in their investment decisions.

Beyond capital, the Venture Lab is their innovation arm that co-designs, funds, and tests promising technologies through real-world pilots inside Mercy Corps programs. This is a particularly powerful entry point for early-stage founders who may be too nascent for a traditional equity round but have technology that could solve real problems in humanitarian contexts. The Venture Lab has launched 64+ pilots to date, and graduating from a pilot often leads to a direct investment relationship.