IDB Invest partners with SEAF to promote SME growth in the Caribbean
IDB Invest, a member of the IDB Group, has provided a Us$10-million equity investment in the Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF) Caribbean growth Fund to aid the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in the region..
The primary objective of the partnership seeks to promote the growth and productivity of growth-oriented SMES which have been generating positive results through their business activities. By combining equity financing and strategic expertise, the fund is expected to boost the companies’ local and regional expansion as well as their operational efficiencies, ultimately contributing to job creation, increase in productivity and integration in the Caribbean region.
Bert van der Vaart, co-founder of SEAF, said it was the belief of his organisation that significant opportunities exist in the Caribbean region for growth and impact, especially now as countries try to emerge from the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“We are delighted to be working with IDB Invest to be investing in fast-growing SMES there in combination with active business partnership,” he stated.
General manager for IDB’S Caribbean country group and Jamaica’s country representative, Therese Turner-jones, further noted SME as being powerful drivers of economic activity and equality in the Caribbean and as such “this investment in the SEAF Caribbean SME Growth Fund comes at a time when Caribbean businesses need all the help they can get to not only recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but to also harness new opportunities from the crisis.”
The fund, which aims to provide risk capital to growth-oriented companies in the Caribbean, while having a broad strategy for growth, will focus on key prospective sectors including manufacturing, agribusiness, health care, training and education, information and communication technology, financial inclusion, renewable clean energy services, retail distribution and transport and logistics.
In addition, IDB Invest, through mobilisation of a Us$10-million blended finance loan, will also support the fund’s portfolio companies in the implementation of eligible climate resilience, climate change mitigation and post-disaster recovery projects with resource from the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in the Americas – Phase II (C2F). The entity is to also provide advisory services to portfolio companies regarding corporate governance, climate change and local value chains.
“We are proud to join forces with an experienced impact investor like SEAF to unlock sustainable growth at this critical time in the Caribbean, generating more jobs and promoting development,” said James Scriven, chief executive officer (CEO) of IDB Invest.