Investing in Women Case Study Series: SEAF Women’s Opportunity Fund

This case study discusses the achievements and key learnings of Investing in Women (IW) and Small Enterprise Assistance Funds in advancing gender lens investing through blended finance structure.

To reduce the funding gap to women’s small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and mobilise capital flow to women’s SMEs, IW has established four different blended finance structures with impact investing partners via the provision of a performance-based grant. This unique blended finance approach is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia which mobilises as well as accelerates capital flow to women’s SMEs.

SEAF is an investment management group that provides growth capital and business assistance to SMEs in emerging and transition markets underserved by traditional sources of capital. Through its network of offices around the world, SEAF invests in entrepreneurs that seek to build successful businesses, aiming to realise both attractive returns for investors and a measurable development impact in local communities.

This report discusses how, in partnership with IW, SEAF has established the SEAF Women’s Opportunity Fund and developed a proprietary Gender Equality Scorecard to assess women’s economic empowerment and gender equality within an individual investment. Through the partnership, SEAF developed a gender lens action plan which reviewed inherent gender bias through due diligence and governance procedure. SEAF also explored broadening gender lens approach to include female-dominated sectors, as well as businesses providing products or services that meet unmet needs and those that are committed to gender equality.

This is part of a series of case studies detailing the four investment vehicles established by IW with reputable global impact investors including Small Enterprise Assistance Fund, along with Capital 4 Development, Patamar Capital, and Root Capital. The series was developed by Ernst & Young with support from Investing in Women.