Unmarkets

Unmarkets is a joint-venture studio. We partner with well-established, family-owned businesses to set up new JV’s in emerging markets. The JV’s are real-economy, industrial-scale businesses that target new markets and leverage the partner’s assets and capabilities. The new businesses are built to be cashflow positive, offer commercial returns and are optimised for impact. We fund them with our own pool of capital which blends concessional donor money with commercial funds. For our donor partners: we ensure their investments leverage commercial capital into businesses built to drive their impact priorities. For our commercial investors: we offer a market return + strong social impact + downside protection + the opportunity to invest into JV’s co-owned by successful businesspeople with decades of experience. Our JV partners typically occupy a market-dominant position, with brands, supplier and customer relationships that are respected and well-established. Their owners are high-net worth, self-made businesspeople with decades of experience and the motivation for wider social good. The new JV enterprises are intentionally designed for profitability, scale and impact - with inclusive value chains that improve incomes, create jobs and drive climate adaptation/resilience and gender-equality.