About Us

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Why We Became Impact Investors?

In 2010 , the co-founders of Pomona Impact, Mark Jacobson and Richard Ambrose, read a book by Muhammad Yunus called Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism that fueled several long conversations. It piqued our interests and inspired us to do further reading and research on the good that social entrepreneurs were doing around the world and the role impact investing has in supporting these business leaders intent on bringing about positive change. Pomona Impact was founded in May 2011. Three reasons the members of Pomona Impact are excited about impact investing include:

Opportunity to Deploy Capital for Good: Many of us have worked hard to save money and create financial security. And many tend to treat their financial savings with mild neglect, allowing financial advisors to spread it out in financial markets in hopes that it will continue growing. Impact investing provides an alternative; it affords you the opportunity to be proactive with your capital and apply it to businesses that are working to solve social and environmental concerns.This is exciting!

Supporting Social Entrepreneurs: They are the engines for innovation in a field that is in dire need of a new mode of thinking. Working with these talented leaders is both inspiring and invigorating, and provides tremendous motivation at a personal level to find ways to bring about positive change.

Sustainable Model: While donations and grants certainly have a role to play, impact investing done well is much more sustainable since it affords you the opportunity to recoup and grow invested capital.

Our Team

RICH AMBROSE

MANAGING PARTNER

Rich is co-founder of Pomona Impact and is passionate about spurring on positive change across Central America through impact investing. He also co-founded Impact Hub Antigua and Chamba, two innovative co-working spaces in Guatemala that serve as nerve-centers for entrepreneurship, and is on the Board of Directors of Enactus Guatemala and ANDE's Steering Committee for Mexico and Central America. Rich has over 10 years of experience working in private equity and structured finance at EMP Global, Latin American Partners, and OPIC. He holds a BA from Furman University and an MBA from Georgetown University.

DANIEL GRANADA

MANAGING PARTNER

Daniel has over 10 years of experience helping entrepreneurs raise capital for growth and impact in Latin America. Before joining Pomona, he structured investments at the Inter-American Development Bank Group, focusing on scalable business opportunities aimed at the base of the economic pyramid in Central America. He holds a BA in Political Science from Florida International University, a Masters degree in Public Management from SDA Bocconi and an MBA from INCAE Business School.

MARK JACOBSON

VENTURE PARTNER

Mark is co-founder of Pomona Impact, co-creator of Impact Hub Antigua and Chamba Coworking, and a pioneer investor for social impact in Central America. He was born In Guatemala and for fifteen years worked as CEO of his family’s hotel management & development firm, with operations in Honduras, Panama, Guatemala, and Ecuador. He’s also a startup entrepreneur and has advised & mentored many others. He graduated from Cornell University with a BS, read and diligently applied the “ 10 Day MBA”, and attempted to glean wise insights from his failures along the way. At present, he’s writing a book about social entrepreneurship in Central America, criss-crossing the region visiting social entrepreneurs, meeting with those that support them, and spending time with the many that benefit from their efforts. He keeps a sharp eye out for impact investment opportunities along the way.

JULIO MARTÍNEZ ANDERSON

DIRECTOR OF ACCELERATION

Julio was born and raised in Guatemala, where he has helped manage his family’s company, Ganorsa. During his time as operations manager, he was in direct contact with rural areas of Guatemala and other Central American countries. He is a member of the Enactus Guatemala Board of Directors and is a teacher at Universidad del Valle de Guatemala. Julio has a BA in Industrial Engineering from Universidad del Valle de Guatemala and an MBA from Unis Business School in Guatemala.

SARAH STERLING

DIRECTOR POMONA IMPACT FOUNDATION

Sarah has several years of work experience in Central America, serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador from 2010-2012, where she focused on rural education and small business development. She previously worked for the Center for Social Impact Learning at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies at Monterey, and brings her skills in project development and management, logistics, fundraising, and outreach to the team. She has a BS from the University of Vermont and a MPA from the Middlebury Institute for Internationals Studies at Monterey.

ANN-CHRISTIN KORTENBREDE

INVESTMENT ANALYST

Ann joined the Pomona team as an investment officer after working for the investment banking of Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt. She focused on M&A and Equity Capital Market transactions. Furthermore, she worked for multiple structured finance divisions of DZ Bank. These included the Asset Backed Security team in New York City and the Leveraged Finance team in Frankfurt. She is holding a Master of Science in Economics from the University of Münster (Germany). Additionally, she completed studies abroad at the Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille (France) and at the State University of New York (United States).

KAMILLA KORSNES

INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO ASSOCIATE

Kamilla has a wide range of work experience, from sales and retail, teaching, coaching sports teams, managing student groups, planning and managing experiments in experimental economics, and founding a youth enterprise. She has a BA in Economics and Business Administration and a MS in Strategy and Leadership from the Norwegian School of Economics.

JOSEPH J. M. FLORES

INVESTMENT ANALYST

Joseph has over seven years of investment experience managing fixed-income assets for institutional and high-net-worth clients. He served with the Peace Corp for over three years in an international development capacity and his work focused on community and business development. He holds a MA from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex and was a Rotary Scholar. He received professional certification in Impact Investing and Social Enterprise Management from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

Our History

1st disbursement of $1mm PES Loan

NOVEMBER

2016

1st disbursement of $1mm PES Loan

Launched Central America AgTech Accelerator

OCTOBER

2016

Launched Central America AgTech Accelerator

Central American Road Show

JULY

2016

Central American Road Show

Completed Capria Accelerator

MARCH

2016

Completed Capria Accelerator

Opened Impact Hub – first ‘Hub’ in Central America

OCTOBER

2014

Opened Impact Hub – first ‘Hub’ in Central America

Rich Ambrose moves to Guatemala to lead Pomona full-time

JULY

2014

Rich Ambrose moves to Guatemala to lead Pomona full-time

Opened Chamba – 1st co-working space in Guatemala

SEPTEMBER

2013

Opened Chamba – 1st co-working space in Guatemala

Pirmera Inversión, Kiej de los Bosques

OCTOBER

2011

Our first Investment in Kiej de los Bosques

Launch Pomona Impact

AUGUST

2011

Launch Pomona Impact