Company History

Elevar was founded by Chris Brookfield, Maya Chorengel, Sandeep Farias and Johanna Posada, a team that collectively has over 50 years of experience in venture capital, private equity, emerging market transactions and microfinance. For the past five years, the partners have been active in the market defined by the underserved (in India, Latin America and South East Asia). Chris, Maya, Sandeep and Johanna have different backgrounds, nationalities and experiences and are able to leverage this diversity to partner with entrepreneurs to create the next generation of companies at the base of the economic pyramid. They have been actively involved in all phases of company creation and development of emerging industry. Elevar currently manages Elevar Equity II and the Unitus Equity Fund (UEF).

In 2006, UEF was launched by Unitus, a non-profit organization focused on supporting market-based solutions to poverty. While the idea of private investment in the microfinance industry was relatively unproven at the time, the belief was that market conditions created a compelling opportunity for a new generation of risk-tolerant, socially-minded investors. In 2007, UEF executed its final close with $24 million in capital commitments sourced entirely from private investors, becoming the first 100-percent privately-funded equity fund active in the industry. UEF played an important role in the development of commercial microfinance by increasing the amount of commercial debt and equity available to microfinance institutions, and by bridging the gap between commercial private equity investors and microfinance. Prior to co-founding Elevar, Chris Brookfield & Johanna Posada managed UEF on behalf of Unitus.

As the microfinance industry continued to evolve towards a commercially driven, high-growth market, the need for greater infusions of equity capital was evident, and Chris Brookfield, Maya Chorengel, Sandeep Farias and Johanna Posada joined forces and founded Elevar. Soon thereafter, Elevar launched Elevar Equity II in May 2008. World class investors, Legatum and Omidyar Networks, committed $20 million apiece to the fund, demonstrating their shared belief that enterprise offers one of the best long-term solutions to poverty. Elevar's strategy is to provide capital to growth-oriented microfinance institutions that are run by visionary, entrepreneurial leaders. In addition, Elevar has expanded its investment focus to entrepreneurs providing scalable and affordable products and services that enable the world's poor to create opportunities for themselves and their communities.