How capital deployment drives solutions to global challenges

Across the globe, we face big challenges such as climate change, gender parity, access to clean water and affordable housing. These issues impact economic growth and security, and can’t be solved by philanthropy or the public sector alone.

That’s why at Bank of America, our business strategy is to connect private capital with the innovative ideas that are seeking to tackle these challenges–all while generating a strong return for our investors. This strategy grows our business responsibly while also helping us drive social and economic progress.

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Big goals need innovative capital to succeed

What keeps women from economic progress?

Big goals need innovative capital to succeed

The Rise Fund’s goal is to mobilize private capital investments that promote sustainable development—and to invest in a way that’s not only financially rewarding, but also gives back to the world.

When Dodla Dairy, an Indian company, wanted to help small dairy farmers sell their products in formal markets, they needed capital to scale to their goals. Bank of America, recognizing good business and a good cause, partnered with The Rise Fund to support thousands of small farmers in rural India. Now, those farmers have access to the basic tools and networks they need to bring their products to market.

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The world faces unprecedented challenges that require the deployment of vast amounts of capital.

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Anne M. Finucane, Vice Chairman: Philanthropy’s important, it’s just not scalable. It can’t scale to the point where you can solve these very large, gnarly, difficult problems with philanthropic dollars. Rise Fund is a more audacious way of approaching all of this.

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Jim DeMare, Co-Head of Global FICC Trading and Head of CREB:
A group of investors that came together with a goal, which is to say, this isn't our charity work, this is the work that we get paid to do, which is investing. But we want to do it in a way that's not only financially rewarding but we think is giving back to the world.

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The Rise Fund invested in Dodla Dairy, an Indian company that helps small dairy farmers join the marketplace.

Dodla needed capital to scale their social impact.

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Anne M. Finucane: Once we could get the investment bankers in, the capital markets people in, saying 'help us solve this in the same way you would solve it for a client, help us apply those same skills, that same rigor to this problem,'. It started to work.

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Bank of America is proud to be part of The Rise Fund, which is supporting Dodla Dairy’s goal

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of helping thousands of small farmers in rural India bring their products to market.

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Thomas K. Montag, Chief Operating Officer: We can use the connections we develop with all these people on our normal course of business, bring those parties together to have dialogues to find solutions to those very things.

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The Rise Fund is working to mobilize private capital to promote sustainable development around the world.

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Thomas K. Montag: Will the problems ever go away? It's hard to imagine them ever going away, but can we make a difference in solving those problems? Absolutely, and you can see it every day.

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What keeps women from economic progress?

“Access to capital is by far the thing that holds women back from growing and sustaining their businesses,” notes Laurie Fabiano, president of the Tory Burch Foundation. An innovative partnership between the Tory Burch Foundation, Bank of America and community development financial institutions (CDFIs) is changing that. Through this partnership, the bank has committed $50 million in financing to women entrepreneurs in the U.S. since 2014. In 2019 we're doubling that commitment to $100 million, helping create a more equitable economy.

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The world faces unprecedented challenges that require the deployment of vast amounts of capital.

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Women entrepreneurs are at a huge disadvantage.

Only $1 in every $23 in loans goes to a woman.

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The Tory Burch Foundation and Bank of America are working to level the playing field.

Thomas K. Montag, Chief Operating Officer: Tory Burch, when you start talking about her foundation and what she's doing, and I said 'I see the potential for a great partnership between the two of us, being able to finance women entrepreneurs in this country.'

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Laurie Fabiano, President of the Tory Burch Foundation: Access to capital is by far the thing that holds women back from growing and sustaining their businesses.

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Bank of America partnered with the Tory Burch Foundation and community lenders to come up with a creative solution.

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Laurie Fabiano: By creating this unique partnership between Bank of America, the Tory Burch Foundation, and community lenders,

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we were able to get capital to women who need it in an expeditious way, and in a way where they weren't being taken advantage of with astronomical interest rates.

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Together they have provided $30M in capital to 1,000 women entrepreneurs with early-stage, high growth businesses.

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Over 97% of these business are still operating and successful.

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Anne M. Finucane, Vice Chairman: We've been able to work with women through symposiums we hold, mentorships all over the world, but we do more than that. We deploy capital for these women, to grow their business and to increase their possibilities.

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More women-owned businesses means a more equitable economy

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And more employees which enrich their communities.

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Thomas K. Montag: We came from one business meeting and saying 'well there's things we can do together based on the things that we're doing, the things that she wanted to do, and I think unique skill sets that we both bring to the table, where 1+1 does equal 3 in this case, it doesn't equal 2.

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Originally published 03/08/19

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