WilmaFund's Members are engaged in a program to raise $16 million of equity capital and about $5 million of donor grants to take WilmaFund to scale (i.e., to achieve a portfolio of critical mass) during the next five years. WilmaFund's parent organization, WILMA, is working with the rest of The WILMA Group to raise this capital. The Group's strategy is to raise the equity portion in the form of grants of equity from established, profitable, African businesses in which The WILMA Group invests. Small percentages of the profits of the Group's joint ventures with African companies can, consistently with smart business strategy, be invested through CDFIs in ground-level start-ups in financially underserved communities. To take Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for achieving the country's Millennium Development Goals is a business practice that will build the intangible assets of the country's leading companies. Tanzania's Government is supporting this program, and strong public support for it will underwrite social investment in pro-poor growth that will make a timely contribution to the achievement of Tanzania's Millennium Development Goals.
In addition, an estimated $5.2 million of grants will be needed during the next five years to cover "soft" costs. These are costs of building the capacity of WILMA, WilmaFund, and local partner NGOs to assist planning and development of enterprises. Grants must also cover the initial costs of CDA training and institutional development. WILMA makes small grants annually for five years to hosting CDAs that have qualified by its standards. Over time, CDAs earn significant income from their LLCs, through "royalty" payments calculated like those paid to WilmaFund. To raise the required money for "soft" costs, public donors will be asked to match grants of equity from African corporations, thus reinforcing the global campaign for Corporate Social Responsibility in the pursuit of the UN-sponsored Millennium Development Goals.