On Friday last week, Forbes commended the RSF non-profit loan maker that seeks to assist sustainable farmers and other social companies via grants, loans, advisory support and collaborative investments. RSF Social Finance currently oversees an integrated capital funding program utilizing the above mentioned forms of assistance, which in turn has enabled social enterprises to develop production techniques and kick-start operations without necessarily seeking forms of traditional financing.
The Local Food Capital fund served as the company’s pilot project wherein $2 million was channeled into sustainable foods domain in the first two years. So far, the program has supported well over 50 initial phase social franchises employing eco-friendly food production processes including innovative supply chain frameworks plus green transportation. The approach could also serve as a salient case study for economies being plagued by the higher costs of sustainable farming, as it would cut into the margin benefitting conventional producers, and therefore transcend sustainable farming as a less competitive domain in the eyes of major banks.
Reference
Jinhwa's Social Entrepreneurship 