Village Capital

Inspired by the village bank model used in microfinance throughout the world, Village Capital is an innovative investment model built on the hypothesis that entrepreneurs, working intimately together and providing peer support to one another, will be able to efficiently and wisely allocate investment to one another’s companies.

First Light Ventures is testing the Village Capital model through four distinct pilot programs in four locations: San Francisco Bay Area, California (West Coast Village Capital); Boulder, Colorado (Unreasonable Village Capital); New Orleans, Louisiana (Idea Village Capital); and Mumbai, India (Dasra Village Capital).

First Light Ventures, a sister enterprise to Gray Ghost Ventures, invests in social entrepreneurs at the idea and startup stages.  First Light distinguishes itself through small deal size, high volume, high risk tolerance, and support from peers and experienced entrepreneurs.  We work with entrepreneurs who are developing scalable enterprises at the pilot or proof-of-concept stage that provide goods and services to low income customers around the world.