Open Road Impact (ORI)
Open Road Impact Fund

Deal Summary

We have committed $1m as part of a larger joint commitment with aligned partners to Open Road Impact’s (ORI) second fund, which provides short-term bridge loans to impact-focused organisations facing delays or gaps in financing. These loans sustain operations, preserve impact, and accelerate growth across a variety of sectors, including agriculture, energy, health, and financial inclusion.

Beneficiary Impact

Social enterprises can face delays of up to eight months in accessing committed capital, jeopardizing operations and jobs. ORI’s loans therefore play an important role in sustaining employment and enabling continued service delivery of these businesses, many of which are focused on creating deep impact for underserved communities. Around half of ORI’s borrowers reported to have no other bridge financing options and 81% reported that they would not have been able to cover operating expenses without ORI’s loan.

Intermediary Impact

ORI is a mission-first financial intermediary, providing essential liquidity to enterprises and funds in the impact ecosystem. It has disbursed more than 90 loans since 2020, with significant overlap to Ceniarth’s own impact-first portfolio. Its model has demonstrated a significant multiplier effect on its capital deployed, keeping more than $500m of impact funding on track to date. The fund prioritises climate and inequality outcomes, while also supporting diverse and emerging fund managers.

Capital Additionality

Our combined, concessionally priced commitment meaningfully expands ORI’s fund size, enabling enhanced provision of affordable, mission-critical capital in a market where alternative bridge financing is otherwise often unavailable or predatory.