The
Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF), the impact investing arm of Open
Society Foundations, has announced a $5 million commitment to the Working
Capital Fund III (WCF III), an early-stage venture fund backing technologies
that advance transparency, accountability, and equity across global supply
chains.
The
commitment marks a reinvestment by SEDF, which backed WCF in a prior fund, and
forms part of WCF III’s initial $31 million close, with a final target of $100
million. The investment also expands SEDF’s human rights and justice portfolio,
a thematic area in which catalytic capital can play an outsized role in shaping
the market.
WCF
III continues to build on its decade-long belief that technology, deployed
deliberately and responsibly, can transform conditions for workers who remain
vulnerable and invisible to the brands and consumers they serve. To date,
WCF has invested in 24 companies, positively impacting workers in more than 60
countries. Its portfolio of companies address the intersection of labor rights,
accountable business practices, and the use of technology to expand opportunity
for historically marginalized workers.
Fund
III also deepens WCF’s work in three core areas: AI-enabled worker empowerment,
climate adaptation for vulnerable supply chain workers, and scalable human
rights due diligence tools aligned with emerging global regulations.
Portfolio
companies include Ulula, a voice platform that, recently acquired by EcoVadis,
uses mobile technology to crowdsource grievances directly from workers located
in hard-to-reach supply chains; Altana, a mapping and risk assessment unicorn
providing multi-tier visibility and labor rights intelligence across global
supplier networks; and Sitration, which reduces risk to people in critical
mineral supply chains through safer approaches to mineral recovery.
“SEDF
is pleased to reinvest in the Working Capital Fund, a private sector leader
advancing human rights across global supply chains,” said Georgia Levenson
Keohane, CEO of SEDF. “Working Capital has demonstrated how innovative
deployment of catalytic capital can drive meaningful supply chain
transformation and scale tools that advance the dignity of work across the
world.”
“SEDF’s
continued partnership is a meaningful validation of what we’ve built and where
we’re going,” said Ed Marcum, managing partner at the Working Capital Fund.
“Investors like SEDF—who understand both the commercial and systemic dimensions
of this market—are essential to proving that supply chain accountability is not
a trade-off but a competitive advantage. We’re grateful for their trust and for
the signal it sends to the broader market.”
SEDF
is joined in this investment by The Omidyar Group, Minderoo Foundation, SAP,
and Stardust Fund, among others.
