Manila, Philippines, 29 May 2017 – Patamar Capital and Investing in Women, an initiative of the Australian Government, are partnering to finance the growth of women’s SMEs in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Focused on improving access and control of economic resources for women, the partnership comprises a number of activities: 1). Investments in early and growth-stage women’s SMEs; 2). Women’s SME Acceleration Program for the expansion of early stage businesses; and 3). Direct Management Support to source and close deals.
“We are very hopeful and excited with this partnership, as it takes us a step further in creating interventions that address major issues both on the demand and supply side for impact investments into women SMEs,” shares Beau Seil, Managing Partner at Patamar Capital. “We are also looking forward to gaining more experience in further developing and applying gender lens investment tools and strategies into our long-term investment strategies“, he adds.
As part of this partnership, several initiatives are planned, including the creation of an investment vehicle to support the growth of companies led by women, an acceleration program for women-led companies, and the development of a gender lens strategy for each of Patamar Capital’s key markets in Southeast Asia.
Patamar Capital has set up a dedicated vehicle to invest in six to eight highly scalable women’s SMEs over the next two years, across the program’s target countries of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Separate from the investment vehicle, Patamar Capital will run a business acceleration program for women-led companies in Indonesia that are at an earlier stage. This program will be run through Patamar Capital’s affiliate Kinara Indonesia, and will provide a total of 24 companies with investment readiness services. It is expected that eight of those companies will receive seed investment capital.
“This partnership aims to help close the financing gap experienced by business women in Southeast Asia, it also promises to influence deployment of capital into gender-lens investment opportunities, through the spreading of knowledge and good practices across the broader impact investment market,” said Julia Newton-Howes, CEO of Investing in Women. “The activities with Patamar Capital will demonstrate the innovative and strategic use of development finance, and will also aim to establish the soundness of gender equality as an investment concept,” she concludes.
As a champion of the Investing in Women initiative, Patamar Capital expects to leverage private sector co-investments for women’s SMEs.
About Patamar Capital:
Patamar Capital (formerly Unitus Impact) exists to unlock better economic opportunities for Asia’s low-income communities. The firm achieves superior returns for its partners by investing in and supporting early-stage, high-growth companies solving South and Southeast Asia’s most pervasive problems at scale. Patamar Capital’s global team based in Bangalore, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta and San Francisco has completed investments across six countries and sectors including agriculture, education, healthcare, financial services, and employee benefits.
About Investing in Women:
Investing in Women is an Australian Government initiative to catalyse inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction in South East Asia. The program’s goals are to improve women’s participation in the workforce and as business leaders; enhance women’s voice in decision making and leadership; and influence the private and public sectors to recognise and promote the value of gender equality. www.investinginwomen.asia.
For more information on Patamar Capital, please contact Shuyin Tang at shuyin@patamar.com.
For more information on Investing in Women, please contact Dr. Julia Newton-Howes at julia.newton-howes@investinginwomen.asia.