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. Shortly after, Pomona Impact was founded!

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

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, and ongoing Venture Partner, and co-creator of Impact HUB Antigua and Chamba CoworkIng. 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.

ANN-CHRISTIN KORTENBREDE

INVESTMENT OFFICER

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 holds 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).

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