Ladder Up

Based in Oakland, California, Mandela MarketPlace is a non-profit Community Development Corporation, incorporated in 2004, that works in partnership with local residents, family farmers and community-based businesses to improve health, create wealth and build assets through cooperative food enterprises in low income communities. Ladder Up, a program launched by Mandela Marketplace in partnership with FreshWorks and Capital Impact Partners, provided financing to small-scale healthy food businesses in underserved communities, offering loans from $1,500 to $34,000 with a unique wealth-building aspect where borrowers receive all interest paid back as savings upon repayment.