19 Jul SEAF Invests New Financing in Shipping Logistics Firm in Peru
Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF) announced its investment in an integrated distribution logistics firm in Peru. Outsourcing Peru S.A.C. received debt financing through the SEAF SME Debt Facility (SSDF) to expand its warehouse capacity and meet growing demand for its services. The investment, SEAF’s second investment in the company, comes at an optimal point for the company as Outsourcing seeks to restructure its storage space to meet international demand, doubling its capacity over three years in a sector crucial to the development of Peru’s economy. This new USD 3 million investment will join the earlier USD 1.14 million extended to the company by SEAF’s Fondo Transandino Peru (FTP).
Outsourcing facilitates international business in Peru by providing “tailor-made” logistical support to domestic sellers and international import companies in the form of storage, as well as integrated information services that help companies navigate the customs process in Peru and distribute their products throughout the country. Founded in 2000, Outsourcing has quadrupled its net gross profit between 2004 and 2008 and expanded in conjunction with two affiliate companies to cope with increased demand. SEAF’s first investment in the company through FTP in 2008 allowed the firm to invest in racks and other equipment that filled the capacity of the leased warehouse where the company had its main operations. To keep pace with orders, Outsourcing will use the SEAF investment to purchase the land on which its main warehouse stands and restructure and expand the facility to maximize space. In addition, the purchase of new equipment including trucks and special trailers will further expand the capacity of the company. This latest loan will enable Outsourcing to scale up significantly in the shipping sector, an economic industry that is a key bridging block for a modern commercial economy.
In addition to economic growth for the company, SEAF’s financing will have a positive impact on the employees, increasing the overall local workforce and providing training in new technologies to existing staff that will improve their value to Outsourcing and future employers. This has a positive development impact as employees become increasingly valuable to the company and, in turn, their wages increase—an impact already seen at Outsourcing where annual average wages have doubled since SEAF’s initial investment.
“This investment will allow us to increase our services to our international and domestic customers,” Outsourcing CEO Guillermo Wiese Granda said. “We see this as a positive benefit for our company, our international partners and the Peruvian economy overall. As a partner, SEAF has helped our company grow and we are pleased to continue the relationship.”
“We are happy to continue our partnership with Outsourcing Peru,” SEAF co-founder and executive chairman Bert van der Vaart said. “Outsourcing has experienced remarkable growth over the past decade and we look forward to continuing our collaboration with the company’s expert leadership to further this progress in the years to come.”
Founded earlier this year, SSDF is a USD 30 million facility financed by the Overseas Private Investment Corportation (OPIC). The facility provides a framework for SEAF, in partnership with OPIC, to extend medium to long term debt to small businesses in emerging markets that are traditionally underserved and overlooked by mainstream investors. This facility provides expansion capital along with technical assistance that will allow the company to strengthen its management expertise.
SEAF is a not-for-profit emerging market fund management group specializing in providing growth capital and business support to SMEs in developing countries that are underserved by traditional sources of capital. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., SEAF manages investment funds in emerging markets through a network of offices around the world. SEAF supports the sustainable growth of SMEs through structured debt and equity growth capital and extensive post-investment business development assistance.
SEAF’s two decades of experience investing in more than 330 small businesses has allowed it to identify and invest in promising companies that deliver both positive financial results, as well as significant economic and social benefits to their employees and their communities. SEAF’s analysis of its investments has shown that every $1 invested in SMEs generates on average an additional $12 in the local economy, benefitting employees, suppliers, customers, competitors, the local community and local government. With stable and secure jobs and growing incomes, families can begin to plan for their futures, investing in improved housing, preventive health care and education for their children that can end the cycle of poverty.