Miller Center Invest, a funding vehicle designed to unlock and catalyze capital for social enterprises in the Miller Center community, announced its first two investments. Funding specifically targers women and local leaders typically left behind in the impact investing ecosystem.

Nazava Water Filters, based in Indonesia, manufactures and sells low-cost water filters and will utilize its $75,000 investment to finance the enterprise’s expansion to East Africa. By providing safe drinking water, Nazava tackles climate change, health, and poverty, while also reducing plastic waste.

Sistema.bio, headquartered in Mexico, will use its $50,000 investment to bridge working capital requirements for growth in Kenya, where the enterprise has rapidly emerged as one of the leaders in the biogas space. A family foundation committed to povery alleviation in Africa is investing an additional $500,000 following Miller Center’s investment, a multiple of ten.

“When we created Miller Center Invest, our hope was that investing first in our high-potential social enterprise partners would reduce the risk of funding and serve as an incentive for other investors to join in,” said Brigit Helms, executive director, Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. “Catalyzing a 10x impact investment is compelling proof that the model is working.”