CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF
UNLOCKING LOCAL CAPITAL
STRENGTHENING LOCAL RESOURCES
BENEFITTING LOCAL PEOPLE
We are delighted to be celebrating this milestone with our global community, honoring our commitment as a nonprofit investment fund mobilizing resources for Southern Africa's economically disadvantaged communities.
in loan guarantees
$38 MILLION
OUR SUCCESS TO DATE
Since the founding of Shared Interest in 1994, with deep anti-apartheid roots, our organization’s mission has been committed to advancing racial, gender and economic justice in Southern Africa by unlocking local resources and empowering black-owned small and medium-sized businesses (SME) to improve livelihoods, create jobs, and build healthy, sustainable communities date.
$131 MILLION
in unlocked capital
2.3 MILLION
Black and economically disenfranchised Southern Africans that have ultimately benefitted.
We believe our model supports self-sufficiency among beneficiaries and increases sustainability and inclusion within the financial systems of developing countries.
THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE NEXT GENERATION
Starting in 2023, we are commemorating our 30th Anniversary with an exciting two-year Voices of Change campaign with activities that highlight the influential voices of financial inclusion, philanthropy, social impact and advocacy that have been critical to the economic empowerment of Black women entrepreneurs and other small and medium-sized enterprises in driving forward sustainable and inclusive development solutions in Southern Africa.
As we prepare to celebrate our 30th anniversary in 2024, the enduring vision that drives our work – then and now – is to be a catalytic vehicle of financial inclusion, systems change, economic empowerment and social impact that empowers black-owned SME businesses to be engines of sustainable development and growth in Southern Africa.
By 2024, our guiding star calls for implementing our new business model in Southern Africa, working with at least 10 commercial lenders, and ultimately reaching 100,000 people in economically disenfranchised communities.
SHARED INTEREST HAS INNOVATED ITS OPERATING MODEL TO:
Deepen our geographic footprint and impact in Southern Africa (South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and Eswatini) to support an inclusive Covid-19 economic recovery in our thematic development priorities of women’s entrepreneurship, climate change, agriculture, fintech and social enterprises.
Partner more effectively with local program experts and lending institutions to unlock local capital and to remove systemic barriers to financial inclusion for black women entrepreneurs and other SMEs.
Advance social impact investments in the black-owned SME sector that are critical for the Sustainable Development Goals aimed at poverty alleviation, climate change and gender equality.
TO SCALE OUR IMPACT, SHARED INTEREST
IS SEEKING $3 MILLION THROUGH OUR 30TH ANNIVERSARY CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT:
400
black women-owned businesses
150
SME Businesses
in key development sectors, including agribusiness, climate change, fintech, social enterprises
$12 MILLION
in capital unlocked
to scale the impact of the SME sector
10,000
jobs created
470
units of affordable housing
12
strategic partnerships
with local lending institutions that address the systemic barriers to gender-smart and inclusive SME lending practices, product and services
Shared Interest creates the means for U.S. social investors to invest in community based economic projects that will not only create jobs, but also alternative models of control and ownership. The sources of Shared Interest funds and the uses to which they will be put clearly distinguish Shared Interest from traditional corporate investments.
- NELSON MANDELA
CELEBRATING
OF CHANGE
30TH ANNIVERSARY CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES
2023-2024 VOICES OF CHANGE
Shining a spotlight on the voices of the anti-apartheid leaders that contributed to the impact of our work while shining a spotlight on today’s leading voices of change that are advancing the fight for economic, racial and gender justice. Key voices that will be captured will include our beneficiaries, program partners, donors, investors, volunteer leaders, advocates and influencers.
2024 30TH ANNIVERSARY GALA IN NYC
Celebrating our 30th anniversary by bringing back our in-person gala to NYC affording an exciting opportunity to dually acknowledge our strong anti-apartheid roots by commemorating 30 years of South Africa’s democracy – its resilience, hope, and the progress it has made in transforming the nation. Our proposed thematic focus will be on the economic empowerment of women and investing in climate change solutions in Southern Africa.
Stay tuned for more 30th Anniversary updates!