22 Apr SEAF Launches Pilot Global SME Investment Vehicle
Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF) has launched a new risk capital fund to invest in promising small and medium enterprises (SMEs) around the globe. The SEAF Global SME Facility is a USD 5 million equity facility financed by the Calvert Group through the Calvert Large Cap Growth Fund. The facility will lay the groundwork for a larger, global vehicle that will permit SEAF and its partners to meet the financial needs of growing small businesses that would otherwise be unable to access essential growth capital. In the short term, the pilot facility will extend needed capital to SEAF portfolio companies experiencing the constraints of the current economic climate on a global basis, so as to permit this capital to be invested in the highest impact opportunities, without being limited to a specific region or sector.
“The 2009 global financial crisis highlighted the need to create a more efficient and resilient financial vehicle for SME investments. SEAF has too often been unable to invest in promising SMEs on a timely basis, because a SEAF managed fund was beyond its investment period or had not yet closed,” said Bert van der Vaart, Executive Chairman and co‐founder of SEAF.
“Now, thanks to Calvert, SEAF is exploring the opportunities for establishing a larger global SME facility, which could
be instrumental in scaling up the business of SME investment in developing countries around the globe.” Calvert offers a range of investment products and services, seeking to enable individual and institutional investors to reach their financial goals in ways that are consistent with their beliefs and values. Through their investment process, Calvert encourages companies to act with responsibility toward their customers, employees, communities, and the environment. The company manages and distributes over 20 sustainable and socially responsible mutual funds and oversees over $14.5 billion in assets.
SEAF is a New York not‐for‐profit global fund management group specializing in providing growth capital and business support to SMEs in developing countries that are underserved by traditional sources of capital. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., SEAF manages private equity funds in emerging markets through a network of offices around the world. SEAF supports the sustainable growth of SMEs through structured debt and equity growth capital and extensive post‐investment business development assistance.
SEAF’s two decades of experience investing in more than 300 small businesses has allowed it to identify and invest in promising companies that deliver both positive financial results, as well as significant economic and social benefits to their employees and their communities. SEAF’s analysis of its investments has shown that every $1 invested in SMEs generates on average an additional $12 in the local economy.