09 Jan SEAF Invests in Leading Vietnamese Organic Foods Producer and Retailer
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (9 January, 2019)
SEAF has announced that the SEAF Women’s Opportunity Fund (“SWOF”) has invested in Organica Investment Joint Stock Company (“Organica”), a leading retailer and wholesaler of organic and natural foods and beverages in Vietnam.
Jennifer Buckley, SEAF Senior Managing Director, stated, “We are very excited to be partnering with Organica. The Company is a strong fit for SWOF. Founder Ms. Pham Phuong Thao has scaled Organica from a small shop to a chain of food retail stores covering Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang. The company is one of the most widely recognized organic food brands in Vietnam and has built positive, trusted relationships with its customers, suppliers and staff.”
Organica was founded in 2011 when Pham Phuong Thao, a health-conscious young mother, acted on her conviction that everyone has the right to clean, safe and healthy food. Recognizing the inadequacies of Vietnam’s conventional food system, Ms. Thao and her like-minded associates focused on building a prototype organic farm as a role model within the Vietnam farming community. After three years, Organica had two company-owned, tropical vegetable and fruit farms. In 2013, the Company was opened its first small shop in Ho Chi Minh City selling just 20 organic items. Today, Organica operates five retail shops in three Vietnamese cities, selling its own products as well as other organic food products from the US, EU, Australia and Korea.
SEAF will assist with expansion of Organica’s retail chain, help to improve the Company’s financial management and work to broaden its opportunities for business development. In addition, SEAF will provide a long-term loan to Organica to ensure the company has sufficient capital to pursue its long-term growth plan.
About Organica
Organica is an organic food development and distribution retail chain established with the goal of helping Vietnamese consumers to have a healthier life through certified organic foods and natural non-genetically modified foods. Organica operates a tropical vegetable farm that has been certified organic by the US Department of Agriculture and European Union. Organica uses Traceverified, Vietnam’s unique electronic traceability service, to ensure the organic origins of its products. Organica currently sells approximately 1,000 certified organic items including fresh foods, dry foods, organic spices, organic cosmetics, family care products and personal care products made of cottons with international organic certification throughout its retail stores. For more about Organica, see www.organica.vn.
About SEAF
SEAF is an emerging market private equity fund manager targeting both financial returns and significant social impact by providing capital, capacity building, and a global network to support small and medium-sized business expansion. As an impact investor, the firm is particularly focused on women’s economic empowerment and gender equality, equal opportunity in health and education, clean energy and smart solutions, sustainability in agribusiness, financial and technological inclusion, and displaced and migrant lens investing. The Women’s Opportunity Fund is investing up to 2 million USD per investment in growth-oriented, women-led businesses in Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Since 1989, SEAF has invested in over 400 companies in 29 countries. For more about SEAF, see www.seaf.com. For more information on SEAF’s activity in gender lens investing, please contact Jennifer Buckley at jbuckley@seaf.com.