About Us

We solve systemic funding gaps across the impact finance ecosystem.

Our Story

Open Road was founded in 2012 with an ambitious goal: to help the social sector weather the unexpected risks that threaten to derail impact.

We are the go-to bridge lender, “unsticking” critical impact capital for mission-driven companies, funds, and projects that accelerate climate solutions or reduce inequality.

From helping US college students access social services and funding to overcome financial emergencies to revolutionizing the retail industry across emerging markets in Africa, our fast, flexible, short-term debt eliminates barriers during systemic funding delays, enabling businesses to accelerate their impact.

Since its founding, Open Road has disbursed over $80M to 300+ impact companies, including $60 million in loans, keeping more than $800M of impact and follow-on financing on track.

Our History

Our Team

Our Model Is Different

An Open Road loan is like no other in the impact investing space. When the sector doesn’t work as efficiently as it should, we step in at moments of possibility, helping our borrowers accelerate their impact instead of being forced to slow down.

For Impact Companies

For Investors

Keeping Impact on Track

We eliminate funding delays and accelerate growth.

Whether it’s closing a Series A round or supply chain delays, we provide fast, flexible, and affordable financing in the form of short-term bridge loans that ensure impact companies can continue to scale their growth without interruption.

Loans

Market Leader Providing Short-term Bridge Loans to Impact Companies

We solve for systemic funding gaps across the impact finance ecosystem.

Open Road unsticks impact finance targeting high-impact investments where each dollar invested leverages 10x in additional follow-on financing. Open Road is the only impact investment vehicle designed to eliminate impact and climate funding delays through fast, flexible, short-term bridge financing—enabling companies to maintain their operations, accelerate the scale of their solutions, and increase their impact.

For Investors

Our Customer-Centric Approach

We partner with impact companies and investors who share a common drive to create better lives and stronger communities. Our work is shaped by your needs. Our commitment is to make your impact possible. Through transparent and trusting relationships, we put you first–because that’s what impact investing should look like.

Empathy

We are a funder who listens. Impact is a journey, and we work to put ourselves in your shoes to ensure that roadblocks don’t get in your way.

A Thought Partner

We’re in this with you. Our job is to support you and provide perspective to ensure your application is best positioned for approval.

Honesty

Our responsibility is to be upfront about your potential fit in our portfolio. We'll inform you on weaknesses and strengths we see in your model.

Speed

Fast and flexible funding. That’s what we do. We understand urgency and we prioritize quick feedback.

Customized Solutions

Challenging problems often demand nontraditional solutions. We provide a variety of creative support tailored to the roadblock or opportunity at hand.

Rolling Cycle

Roadblocks can emerge at any point, which is why proposals for loans are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year.

Reliable.
Driven.
Committed.

Our model allows us to maximize impact while still being lean and entrepreneur-friendly. We take pride in partnering with the best-in-class companies, investors, philanthropists, and governments as partners. We hold them to the same high bar and seek proactive, transparent, and customer-centric partners.

Our Team

Because of ORA, not a single one of our partners or customers had to fall through the cracks and we were able to maintain critical momentum to come through the crisis stronger than we had entered. Most funders recoil when they see desperate situations but ORA rushes in and knows how to separate short term crisis from long term impact potential.

Galen Welsch

Jibu

Let's Chat

Whether you are a foundation or investment firm, our funding model reaches impact companies globally.