David Bonifacio

Yes, and how many times must a man look up

Before he can see the sky?

And how many ears must one man have

Before he can hear people cry?

Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'til he knows

That too many people have died?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind

The answer is blowin' in the wind

-Bob Dylan, Blowin’ In The Wind

I was recently walking with my son, Elijah, through a busy London street when he stopped by a man sitting on the pavement and said, “Dada, can we give him money?” Again, I quickly turned to my go-to reply. This wasn’t the first person begging that we encountered and this wasn’t the first time Elijah asked me to give something. “Elijah, I don’t have any cash, remember? Everything is on my phone.” He frowned, again, and he turned to the man, again, saying “I’ll pray for you.”

Later, Elijah asked me, “Dada, why does God make poor people?” And again, I turned to go-to replies. “God doesn’t make poor people. People make poor people, either because of things we do to ourselves or things we do to others.” I continued, “Elijah, being poor, poverty, is a complex topic. It’s not as simple as giving everyone money or giving everyone the same stuff. There are many factors that need to be worked-out before you can effectively help someone.” He replied, “Dada, I don’t understand. You know I’m only six right?” Then he asked me a question that’s been haunting me since, “Dada, what happens to that man if no one has cash? Will he die?”

I didn’t realize it then, but that question started a series of convictions in my heart that have caused me to reevaluate my approach to high impact investing and giving. As I thought about that question more, I realized that I was guilty of 2 things:

Intellectualizing the problem more than addressing the problem.

Institutionalizing the responsibility more than internalizing the accountability.

It made me ask myself, “How much of my spirituality is mostly just intellectual, an abstract exercise, and how much of it becomes actual and impactful?” I remembered the words from 1 Corinthians 8, “knowledge puffs up but love builds up”.

To Elijah, the man on the street was an actual man, an actually hungry man, actually calling out to him for help. To me, he was yet another member of a category, unfortunate, yes, but not singularly actual enough to compel me to notice, much less help. I’ve spent so much time reading up on what “experts” have written about the poor, about the need for both wider and deeper reforming, that I was failing to see that it was my mind that needed transforming.

I needed to go back to what Romans 12:2 reminds us:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

I was conforming how I approached my impact investing and giving to the patterns of the world. I wasn’t giving to people on the streets because I had gone cashless, when there are other ways to help. I wasn’t deploying more actively because I was seeking similar alpha to what was achieved during more favorable financial times. The conditions of the investment had become more important than the condition of whole families. The interest rates determined my strategy more than my interest for the welfare of others.

I needed the perspective of a child to realize that if I continued to conform, if I didn’t transform, the issues I claim to want to solve will remain unsolved even for those within my reach.

But I love how the same verse in Romans tell us, “… by testing you may discern what is the will of God…” I’m not a theologian. Many times, I feel I’m barely a Christian. But these words made me resolve to experiment more, to test more, and to figure out what solutions work through more tries, and to be willing to risk errors - just as the greatest innovators do. I think too much potential impact is wasted trying to discern some specific “will of God” when we already know that it is his will that none should perish. No wonder we’re reminded that without faith it is impossible to please God, because it takes faith to step out from the comfort zones of intellectualized faith and institutionalized responsibility and go out and actually act.

An exceptional collaboration between Dream Bigger Ventures and Archangel Impact Capital united distinguished individuals worldwide for an insightful evening focused on purposeful investment.

Esteemed guest speakers included Henry Kaestner, founder of the Global Faith Driven Investment Movements, and Kevin Sutantyo, Partner at Sovereign's Capital (Indonesia), who shared invaluable perspectives on faith-driven investments and their transformative potential.

Engaging discussions underscored the significance of aligning investments with values, reaffirming our commitment to impact-driven and faith-driven investment practices.

Archangel is proud to announce its investment in InsightSCS — a Filipino company that aims to redeem the agri supply chain in the Philippines by using technology to remove waste and inefficiencies and provide guaranteed income for impoverished Filipino farmers. Archangel Impact Capital has invested US$ 300K in InsightSCS.

Backed by a powerhouse team of faith-driven entrepreneurs with a combined 100+ years of supply chain, logistics, and technology expertise, InsightSCS is uniquely positioned to be a redemptive “first mover” in digitizing the Philippines agri-supply chain.

Insight SCS has already benefited more than 16,000 farmers (54% of which are women) and 252 small and medium-sized enterprises, all while reducing waste by 90% and increasing revenues for the farmers by 100%. The ultimate goal is zero wastage and guaranteed monthly income for their farmers.

Click here to learn more about InsightSCS

We were privileged to have a roundtable with the Co-founder of the Global Faith Driven Entrepreneur and Investor Movements and Co-founder of Sovereign’s Capital, Henry Kaestner, earlier this month.

During his visit to Manila, he sat down with Archangel co-founders, Banjo Castillo, David Bonifacio, and partner Gino Mendiola, as well as Dream Bigger Ventures founder, Christeen Rico, to discuss the faith-driven investor landscape in the Philippines including the vision for Archangel Impact Capital.

We are excited for our continued partnership with Mr. Kaestner to advance God’s Kingdom through faith-driven entrepreneurship and investing in the Philippines and beyond.

October 28, 2022. Archangel Impact Capital Pte. Ltd. (“Archangel”) is excited to announce its first growth capital investment in Hybrid Social Solutions, Inc. (“HSSi”). HSSi is eradicating Energy Poverty through a Grid-less Solar Electricity network that brings clean energy, light, and Christ’s love to remote villages across the Philippines. Archangel Impact Capital has invested US$200K in HSSi.

Founded by former Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” and former McKinsey & Co. Partner, Jaime “Jim” Ayala, HSSi’s rural solar hubs distribute clean energy via sustainable last-mile value chains (“LMVC”) that have already reached 4,000 remote, off-grid towns.

HSSi has already achieved significant growth with sales doubling in FY2021 and is projecting to double sales again in FY2022 by opening additional solar hubs, increasing partner branches, and introducing new products.

To-date, HSSi has provided solar power to more than 715K Filipinos in off-grid communities, produced more than 200 million hours of additional lighting/charging, created energy savings of more than PhP 1.2 billion, and saved more than 156,000 tons in carbon emissions.

Click here to learn more about Hybrid Social Solutions, Inc.

September 30, 2022: Archangel Impact Capital general partner, Banjo Castillo, joined Dream Bigger Ventures (DBV) founder Christeen Rico and Hybrid Social Solutions founder Jim Ayala for a lively panel discussion moderated by Boni de Jesus at the third annual Faith Driven Investor Live Conference in Manila on September 30, 2022.

They joined speakers from Kenya, Israel, and the U.S. to rally faith driven investors to build community and support faith driven entrepreneurs worldwide. As one speaker entreated: "Live simply. Give generously and intelligently.”

Learn more about the Faith Driven Investor movement

September 14, 2022: Archangel Impact Capital Pte. Ltd. held its official launch on Sep. 14 at the Astbury Club in Makati, Philippines.

Archangel’s three general partners, Banjo Castillo, David Bonifacio, and Kenneth Albolote (left to right in photo) spoke, as did the founders from Archangel Impact Capital portfolio companies, Janna de Guzman of ACCESS and Jim Ayala of Hybrid Social Solutions, Inc.

Thank you to all our friends, family, and partners who supported the launch of Archangel Impact Capital!