Small Enterprise Assistance Funds
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 | |
| Industry | Impact Investing |
|---|---|
| Founded | Washington DC, United States (1989) |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | , United States |
Number of locations | 20+ offices (2017) |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Hubertus van der Vaart (Executive Chairman) |
| AUM |  $600+ million (2017) |
Number of employees | 145 (2017) |
| Website | seaf |
SEAF (Small Enterprise Assistance Funds) is an international investment management group that provides growth capital and business assistance to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging and transition markets underserved by traditional sources of capital.[1]
History
[edit]Founded in 1989 as the private equity investment subsidiary of the international development organization CARE, Small Enterprise Assistance Funds ("SEAF") evolved in 1995 into an independent organization specializing in the sponsorship and management of investment funds targeting growth-oriented, emerging enterprises located in countries underserved by traditional sources of capital.[citation needed]
SEAF has managed or is managing 36 Funds across more than 30 countries with over US$1 billion in aggregate committed capital, of which over US$600 million has been invested through over 400 investments in SMEs, with more than 300 completed exits (through December 31, 2017). Investors in SEAF-sponsored funds represent a cross-section of public and private institutions, including multilateral financial institutions, private foundations, pension funds, insurance companies, family offices, banks, and other independent financial institutions.[citation needed]
SEAF employs over 140 investment professionals worldwide within a network of 20+ regional offices.[2]
SEAF International Funds
[edit]Below is a list of SEAF's active and historic funds and the countries in which they operate:
Global
[edit]- SEAF Flex Fund
- SEAF SME Debt Facility
- SEAF Global SME Fund
- Caresbac Polska (Closed)
- Poland
- Baltics Small Equity Fund (Closed)
- Estonia
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- SEAF Macedonia (Closed)
- SEAF Macedonia II Fund
- Central/Eastern Europe Growth Fund
- SEAF Trans-Balkan Fund (Closed)
- Bulgaria through the Trans-Balkan Bulgaria Fund (Closed)
- Romania through the Trans-Balkan Romania Fund (Closed)
- Croatia through the SEAF Croatia (Closed)
- SEAF South Balkan Fund
- Serbia
- Montenegro
- Macedonia
- Georgia Regional Development Fund
- SEAF Impact Serbia Fund
- SEAF Caucasus Growth Fund
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Georgia
- SEAF Colombia Agribusiness Fund (Dual Fund Structure)
- Trans-Andean Fund (Closed)
- Peru through the Fondo Transandino Peru Fund (Closed)
- Colombia through the Fondo Transandino Colombia Fund
- Latam Growth Fund (Closed)
- Latam Peru Fund (Closed)
- Central Asia Small Enterprise Fund (Closed)
- Uzbekistan
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyz Republic
- Tajikistan
- Turkmenistan
- Sichuan Small Investment Fund
- China
- SEAF India Investment Growth Fund (Closed)
- SEAF India Agribusiness Fund (Dual Fund Structure)
- SEAF Bangladesh Ventures LLC
- SEAF Blue Waters Growth Fund Limited
- Vietnam
- Cambodia
- Afghan Growth Finance
- Afghanistan
Impact on development
[edit]Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are often overlooked and referred to as the "missing middle" in the developing world. Recent data results, analysis, and case highlights (reports can be found below in the "Publications" section) demonstrate how SMEs can generate employment opportunities in their local communities, serve as links to regional and international markets for smaller local suppliers, and address market deficiencies and customer needs that would otherwise go unaddressed.[7][8]
SEAF and CEED
[edit]In 2006, SEAF set up the Center for Entrepreneurship and Executive Development (CEED), a legacy institution of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and SEAF, born out of USAID grant funding in SME equity investments made by SEAF throughout the Balkans, and EBRD in Slovenia. CEED centers provide business development training and technical assistance to entrepreneurs in emerging markets.[9][10]
Notes and references
[edit]As of this edit, this article uses content from "Our history", which is licensed in a way that permits reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, but not under the GFDL. All relevant terms must be followed.
- ^ "SEAF- Who we are". 20 August 2021.
- ^ "Welcome to SEAF". Archived from the original on 2009-08-08. Retrieved 2009-10-27. SEAF History
- ^ http://serbia-montenegro.usaid.gov/code/navigate.php?Id=78 Archived 2009-08-02 at the Wayback Machine USAID's Description of SEAF's Work in Serbia and Montenegro
- ^ http://www.peru.com/finanzas/idocs2/2009/2/6/DetalleDocumento_541131.asp [permanent dead link] Peru.com Report on SEAF's Work in Peru (Spanish)
- ^ Kumar, John Satish. "SEAF India to Launch Agribusiness Fund". WSJ. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
- ^ http://www.seaf.com/news/If%20you%20can%20take%20the%20heat,%20invest%20in%20Afghanistan%20%7C%20Reuters.com.pdf Archived 2012-02-29 at the Wayback Machine Reuters Report on SEAF's Work in Afghanistan
- ^ "SEAF" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-29. Retrieved 2009-10-27. SEAF Report on Development Impact
- ^ http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2008/09_development_gibson.aspx Brookings Report on SMEs
- ^ "CEED - Center for Entrepreneurship and Executive Development -". Archived from the original on 2009-10-28. Retrieved 2009-10-27. CEED Homepage
- ^ http://www.usaid.gov/locations/europe_eurasia/press/success/2006-03-22.html Archived 2009-09-10 at the Wayback Machine USAID CEED Article