11 Feb SEAF Announces First Loan from Global Gender Lens Emergency Loan Finance Facility
Washington, DC – February 10, 2021 – SEAF is pleased to announce the first loan deployed under the Global Gender Lens Emergency Loan Finance facility (the “C19F”) for BEAU Artisan Bakers Pte Ltd (“BEAU Bakery”), a leading local artisanal bakery and café in Jakarta, Indonesia.
SEAF and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) developed the C19F to provide SMEs supporting women in DFC-eligible countries with emergency funding and business support to mitigate the impact of COVID-19, enabling these SMEs to survive, regain their footing and continue to deliver their support to their local communities through this global crisis. C19F is a project developed under the DFC’s 2X Women’s Initiative, which supports investment in projects owned by, led by, or empowering women across the developing world. DFC provided a $20 million loan to support the fund.
“During this challenging time, we are proud to support SEAF’s fund to help women business owners in emerging markets respond and recover from the impacts of the pandemic,” said Acting DFC Chief Executive Officer Dev Jagadesan.
BEAU is a specialty bakery and café brand focused on producing artisanal high-quality bread and pastries using fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Founded in 2015 by world-renowned pastry chef Talita Setyadi in her home country of Indonesia, BEAU has developed its product offerings to provide customers with an experience that combines a coffeehouse, bakery, and two full-service restaurants in South Jakarta. The company also serves as a leading artisan-wholesaler. This debt financing is a follow-on to the equity investment made in May 2019 through the SEAF Women’s Opportunity Fund (“SWOF”).
Restaurants and foodservice businesses were among the first to be severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with dining at restaurants halted virtually overnight in Jakarta as social distancing guidelines took effect. The financing from C19F will support Beau’s immediate liquidity needs, help avoid further layoffs and expand its team to capture more diversified revenue streams. The company also plans to adopt new sales channels and increase its product varieties to enhance future sales in order to overcome the difficulties brought on by the pandemic.
“We are facing unprecedented challenges amid the coronavirus pandemic,” stated Ms. Setyadi. “The C19F loan will enable BEAU Bakery to survive, regain our footing and continue to deliver to local communities through this crisis. Combined with new technologies and the resilient spirit that’s always been at this industry’s core, we will be able to continue our mission of raising the standards of the baked goods industry of Indonesia and developing the quality of the talent pool to be recognized against global standards.”
“During these difficult times, both SEAF and DFC moved quickly to provide solutions to help solve the unprecedented challenges presented by COVID-19. C19F was conceptualized to address the inequalities facing women and the disproportionate impact the pandemic is having on its business owners, consumers and employees. Emergency funding and business support are essential to help rebuild companies, keep them in operation and preserve jobs,” commented Jennifer Buckley, SEAF’s Senior Managing Director leading its Women’s Economic Empowerment programs.
Indonesia is one of the core markets of both SWOF and the SEAF Women’s Economic Empowerment Fund (“SWEEF”), which was recently launched. As the country has developed into a major global player, it has improved its ability to attract and retain women entrepreneurs and professionals, a condition vital to the country’s continued economic growth. SEAF is delighted to announce the expansion of its team in Indonesia by welcoming Samantha Tedjosugondo as Vice President based in Jakarta.
“I am excited to join SEAF’s Southeast Asian team to lead our Indonesian activities going forward,” stated Samantha. “We have seen an increasing number of transactions with a gender lens in the country over the last three years, which can be attributed to efforts from institutions and individual champions driving awareness around the importance of women’s economic empowerment.”
Before joining SEAF, Samantha served as a Vice President at a leading Indonesian venture capital firm, where she was involved in the origination, due diligence, portfolio management, and fund operations. Prior to venture capital, she worked at KPMG, advising private equity clients and strategic investors on mergers and acquisitions. Samantha began her career as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers following her graduation from Atma Jaya Catholic University with a degree in accounting. Samantha is a Certified Public Accountant.
About SEAF
SEAF is a global investment management group headquartered in Washington, DC, that provides growth capital and business assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging and transition markets underserved by traditional sources of capital. Through its network of offices around the world, SEAF invests in entrepreneurs to seek to build successful businesses, with the goal of realizing both attractive returns for its investors and a measurable development impact in local communities. SEAF, with committed capital of $1.2 billion, has more than 30 years of experience with 40 funds in over 30 countries. SEAF also supports nine Centers for Entrepreneurship and Development (CEED) around the world (www.ceed-global.org), providing training, mentoring, professional networks and global access to entrepreneur-run businesses. For more about SEAF, see www.seaf.com.