Aiming for profit by investing in women

American entrepreneur Nathalie Molina Nino has come up with a scheme that aims to do good while also making a return — a company that sets out to create a billion-dollar portfolio by bankrolling start-ups that meet one condition: they must disproportionately benefit women.

Funds that target women-run firms have popped up over the years. They've helped entrepreneurs get off the ground, Molina Nino says, but they don't exactly generate billions.

Her company, BRAVA, borrows its structure from Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett's monster conglomerate. Buffett, 86, has said he built his fortune by backing businesses “forever”, as opposed to supplying shorter-term funds. As the companies grew, so did shareholders' pockets.

Molina Nino envisions building similar relationships. BRAVA will pick companies that already churn out a profit but need a serious cash infusion to reach their potential. The average investment would be between US$1m and US$15m, she predicts, although the company could occasionally give smaller amounts to newbie enterprises with special potential.

BRAVA is accepting money from friends-and-family investors, Molina Nino says, and aims to pick a handful of investments next year. She will not disclose how much has been raised.

One start-up on the shortlist digitises medical-device prescriptions, a process that often relies on handwriting and is therefore prone to error. Molina Nino says she realises this concept is not sexy. But she'll consider backing it if the founder can prove the majority of people who use crutches, for example, are women, and that they would ultimately save money because of his business.

Another contender for BRAVA support updates factory conditions so that manufacturers can meet the standards necessary for green certifications, the kind that would help them make deals with brands such as Nike. The firm would be eligible if the founder can show most of the workers are female and that they make a living wage.

BRAVA has found support from financial and philanthropic juggernauts, including Howard W. Buffett, grandson of the Berkshire Hathaway billionaire. Another is Trevor Neilson, co-founder of the Global Philanthropy Group, which advises celebrities with charities, including Madonna and Angelina Jolie.

Molina Nino met Neilson at a Utah technology retreat a couple of years ago, as he worked with Howard W. Buffett to develop (i)x, a socially conscious holding company with a focus on clean energy, water scarcity and sustainable agriculture. They discovered their values aligned and decided to work together on BRAVA.

“We wanted to take a step back and invest in what we thought actually creates meaningful change,” says Neilson, (i)x's chief executive, “with the belief that change will create top-tier returns.”

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