What Open Value Foundation does

Open Value Foundation (Fundación Open Value) is a Spanish family foundation established by deed in 2001 and operating under its current brand and structure since 2017, headquartered in Madrid and owned by the family holding Santa Comba Gestión SL. It was co-founded by María Ángeles León López (President, also founder/president of Global Social Impact Investments and vice-president of SpainNAB) and Francisco García Paramés (Vice President), who together have directed personal capital toward vulnerable communities for more than 25 years.

The foundation operates a hybrid model combining strategic philanthropy and impact investment, with programs grouped into two pillars: "Abrimos oportunidades" (strategic philanthropy grants and impact investment, including the IMPULSA_Inclusión and IMPULSA_Territory calls of €10,000–€50,000) and "Abrimos mentes" (capacity building, including the Fondo de Fundaciones de Impacto co-investment vehicle with 45+ participating foundations and the Acumen Academy España leadership program delivered with Universidad Camilo José Cela and Arcano Partners). Catalytic Ventures, launched in 2025, extends the model into a pooled investment club for business angels, family offices, and foundations.

The geographic focus is Sub-Saharan Africa and Spain, with additional engagement in the Philippines (CODESPA/Julius Baer partnership, 2021). The investee portfolio spans nutrition (Plumbee, Kenya), housing (Primero H, Spain), agriculture (Agro Supply, Uganda), logistics (YomYom, Ghana), recycling (Coliba, Ghana), financial inclusion (Íkualo, Europe), food service (B de Bocata, Filantrópico, Spain), and malaria prevention (Uganics, Uganda). The organization is a non-profit with 1–10 employees, no proprietary technology platforms, and revenue not publicly disclosed; distribution occurs via open calls, collaborative investment vehicles, and direct partnerships with local accelerators and organizations.

Name

Open Value Foundation

Legal name

Open Value Foundation

Website

https://www.openvaluefoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Open Value Foundation is a nonprofit organization that focuses on sustainable solutions to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Impact Investing Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH), Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Impact investing
• Strategic philanthropy
• Venture philanthropy
• Social enterprise funding
• Grantmaking programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Strategic Philanthropy / Grants: The foundation provides donations and strategic grants to social projects aligned with its mission to improve livelihoods of vulnerable people. In some cases, donations can be converted into loans or equity participations that generate returns, creating a hybrid model.
2. Impact Investment: Patient capital investments in social enterprises through equity, loans, and revenue-based financing instruments. The foundation supports entrepreneurs with capital, technical support, and strategic partnerships to help projects grow and become sustainable.
3. Training and Education Programs: Through initiatives like Acumen Academy Spain and the Fondo de Fundaciones, the foundation provides training programs to help non-profits and foundations learn about impact investing and venture philanthropy, creating a collaborative learning ecosystem.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Open Value Foundation is a Spanish family foundation that provides strategic philanthropy (donations that can be converted into loans or equity) and impact investments (patient capital through equity, loans, and revenue-based financing) to social enterprises addressing the livelihoods of vulnerable populations in Spain and Sub-Saharan Africa. It complements this with capacity-building programs, a foundation co-investment vehicle (Fondo de Fundaciones de Impacto), an investment club (Catalytic Ventures), and a social leadership training program (Acumen Academy España).

Product overview

Open Value Foundation operates as a family foundation offering a portfolio of interconnected products and services centered on strategic philanthropy and impact investment. The core offerings include grant programs (IMPULSA_Inclusión and IMPULSA_Territory) that provide funding and mentorship to social enterprises in Spain, an investment vehicle (Fondo de Fundaciones de Impacto) enabling foundations to co-invest in early-stage social ventures, a social leadership training programme (Acumen Academy España), and an impact investment club (Catalytic Ventures) that brings together business angels, family offices and foundations to invest directly in high-impact companies. These products work together to support vulnerable populations through a hybrid model combining donations, impact investment, and capacity building across Sub-Saharan Africa and Spain.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Catalytic Ventures: Impact investment club that brings together business angels, family offices, and foundations to jointly invest in high-potential, high-impact social enterprises in Spain, Africa and emerging markets.
• IMPULSA_
• IMPULSA_Inclusión
• IMPULSA_Territory

Products and services

• IMPULSA_Inclusión Open funding call targeting social enterprises in Spain that work with vulnerable groups or those at risk of exclusion; provides grants of €10,000–€50,000, plus technical advice, mentoring, and access to the OVF impact ecosystem and strategic alliances.
• IMPULSA_Territory Funding programme (developed with NESI Forum) for social enterprises in Spain working to invigorate rural areas, promote territorial redistribution, and strengthen community ties; offers €10,000–€50,000 plus specialized mentoring, technical advice, and access to OVF's network of allies.
• Fondo de Fundaciones de Impacto (FdF) Collaborative initiative for Spanish foundations and non-profit entities that provides training in impact investing and venture philanthropy plus a pooled investment vehicle for co-investing in early-stage social projects selected by the participating foundations; over 45 foundations have joined.
• Acumen Academy España Social leadership training programme in Spain (run with Universidad Camilo José Cela and Arcano Partners) that equips emerging change agents with tools and resources to develop solutions to complex societal issues; operates as the Spanish edition of Acumen's global leadership programme.
• Catalytic Ventures Impact investment club that mobilizes catalytic (patient, flexible, risk-taking) capital from business angels, family offices, and foundations to jointly invest directly in early-stage social enterprises in Spain, Africa, and other emerging markets, focusing on social inclusion and vulnerable groups.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 30,000 smallholder farmers supported (Agro Supply alone)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Kosmos Innovation Center GhanaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022Co-organizer of Impact Entrepreneurship Competition in Ghana with Glovo and Open Value Foundation.
• GlovominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022Co-organizer of Impact Entrepreneurship Competition in Ghana with Kosmos Innovation Center and Open Value Foundation.
• Universidad Camilo José CelacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2022Collaboration agreement with Open Value Foundation and Arcano Partners to promote the Acumen Fellows Programme in Spain.
• Arcano PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2022Partnership with Open Value Foundation and Universidad Camilo José Cela to promote the Acumen Fellows Programme in Spain.
• CODESPAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership to support seaweed producers in the Philippines. CODESPA identified Hinatuan as an affected area and implemented interventions to connect producers with international buyers.
• Acumen AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to promote the Acumen Fellows Programme in Spain, training social leaders who work on complex societal challenges.
• NESI ForumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on IMPULSA_Territory call, focused on projects that invigorate rural areas and promote territorial redistribution.
• CEAMSAminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSpanish seaweed processor based in Manila that serves as international buyer connecting directly with Hinatuan seaweed producers.
• Impact EuropeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization whose member Peter Cafferkey spoke about the important role of foundations in impact investing at FdF Impacto Demo Day.
• BURN ManufacturingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial enterprise manufacturing affordable electric and biomass stoves. Open Value made initial R&D donations over 15 years ago, now invested through GSI.
• Blue HopeminorOthersSocial enterprise that created the Open Value Foundation website, turning challenges into opportunities for people to develop their potential.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Acumen: Global impact-investment fund backing social entrepreneurs in Africa and South Asia. Directly comparable as a patient-capital impact investor with philanthropic roots; OVF partners with Acumen Academy and shares the venture-philanthropy playbook.
• Yunus Social Business: Berlin-based foundation supporting social businesses through loans and capacity building. Directly comparable hybrid philanthropy-impact-investment model; OVF partners with YSB to channel capital to African social enterprises (e.g., BURN Manufacturing).
• Global Social Impact Investments: Spanish impact-investment fund manager co-founded by OVF's president María Ángeles León. Closely aligned mission, geography, and team — and a direct co-investor/competitor for Spanish impact deals.
• Fundación CODESPA: Spanish nonprofit foundation focused on poverty alleviation through enterprise support in developing countries. Directly comparable as a Spanish family-style foundation operating across Africa, Latin America, and Asia with grant-plus-technical-assistance models.
• Toniic: Global network of impact investors (individuals, family offices, foundations) implementing 100% impact-portfolio commitments. Comparable as an ecosystem-building organization aggregating foundations/family offices for collaborative impact investing.
• SpainNAB: Spanish National Advisory Board for Impact Investment. Directly comparable ecosystem organization promoting impact investing in Spain; OVF's president serves as Vice-president, indicating deep strategic alignment.

Broad incumbents

• Impact Europe: Largest European network of impact investors and foundations with €200B+ AUM. Comparable as the umbrella body for European venture philanthropy; OVF and FdF Impacto participate and benchmark against Impact Europe's members.
• Fundación la Caixa: One of Spain's largest private foundations with €500M+ annual social investment spend. Comparable as a Spanish family-origin foundation supporting vulnerable populations and social enterprises, though at vastly larger scale.
• Ashoka: Global nonprofit supporting leading social entrepreneurs with fellowships and capacity building. Comparable mission (systems-changing social entrepreneurs) and complementary to OVF's Acumen Academy partnership.

Regional players

• Edmund Rice Foundation: International foundation supporting marginalized communities through education and enterprise programs, with strong presence in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Comparable geographic focus and grant-plus-capacity-building model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OpenValueFound

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Open Value Foundation