Founder and General Partner, Impact America Fund | Oakland, California
For investing in overlooked entrepreneurs
Kesha Cash is a venture capitalist who focuses on “impact investing”–strategic bets aimed at generating financial return as well as positive community impact. After working as a mergers and acquisitions analyst for Merrill Lynch, Cash worked as an associate at the London-based firm Bridges Ventures, which primarily invests in economically disadvantaged areas of the U.K. In 2013, she launched Impact America Fund, which makes early-stage investments, ranging from $200,000 to $2 million, in companies and industries usually overlooked by traditional investors–including black hair care, pawn shops, and supply chain diversity. The nine companies in Cash’s initial $10 million fund have generated $75 million in revenue since 2014–$35 million last year alone.
Cash will next focus on home healthcare and other industries that employ large portions of low-income women of color.