Recent Posts

SEAF Serbia Impact Fund Invests in AVB Team, a leading facility management service provider

SEAF Serbia Impact Fund Invests in AVB Team, a leading facility management service provider

Serbia, August 19, 2019 – The SEAF Serbia Impact Fund B.V. (SIF), has closed an investment in AVB Team, one of the leading facility management service providers in Serbia.

AVB Team provides an array of services to its more than 200 clients, including cleaning services, investment as well as technical maintenance for elevators, heating and cooling, and plumbing along with other services. SEAF’s investment will go toward improvements to existing equipment and the acquisition of new equipment, software for facility management and transportation vehicles.

AVB Team has grown more than fourfold in operating revenue over the past five years while providing transparent, client-focused business practices.

The facilities management (FM) service industry in Serbia is relatively young, with the first entrepreneur-led FM companies having been established in the mid-2000s. The industry burgeoned with the processes of privatization of commercial properties, and the building of modern business offices, commercial and shopping centers, and residential condominiums. It continues to grow by double digits each year.

“We’re very pleased we have concluded the transaction with AVB team. The capital injection and the overall support from SEAF will enable the company to record significant growth by increasing its market footprint and facilitating a differentiation strategy by expending the range of services, and by providing superior response time and turn-key solutions”, Nikola Stefanovic, Managing Director, reported.

The Serbia Impact Fund has invested in AVB Team not only for its promising prospects for growth but also for its potential social impact. Beyond SEAF’s core impact performance metrics of quality jobs provided, sales revenue and taxes paid, SEAF aligns its impact framework with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). AVB Team contributes to the following SDGs:

SDG #5 – Gender Equality: A majority of the company’s 300+ workforce is female. Female employees also play a crucial role in management and leadership of the Company, holding three out of four management positions: Head of Human Resource, Head of Finance, and Head of Cleaning and Maintenance, which is not extremely common in a country where, according to UN Women, women are underrepresented in decision-making across social, economic and political spheres. As AVB Team grows and expands, the gender makeup of the employees is expected to grow by the same ratio.

SDG #8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth: AVB Team prides itself on providing extensive professional development options, ranging from different vocational workshops and seminars, and external training sessions to promote career advancement opportunities. As a result of these policies, the loyalty of AVB Team’s employees is extremely high, which is very rare in Serbia. The yearly fluctuation of the workforce is approximately 18%, significantly lower than the Serbian industry benchmark of 30-35%.

About AVB Team

AVB Team, established in 2010, is a reputable facility management services provider (www.avbteam.com/eng/). The Company’s facility management services include cleaning services, technical maintenance (heating and cooling, elevators, escalator systems, electrical and plumbing installations, fire protection, etc.), investment maintenance (repairs), and other services (disinfection, pest control, horticulture, etc.).

About SEAF

SEAF is a global fund management group headquartered in Washington, DC that invests in emerging markets and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging and frontier markets, seeking both financial returns and impact on economic and social development and providing technical assistance to improve the performance of the enterprises. SEAF has more than 30 years of experience with 38 funds (with committed capital of $1.1 billion) in 28 countries and more than 425 investments and 350 exits. SEAF also supports 13 Centers for Entrepreneurship and Development (CEED) around the world (www.ceed-global.org), including Morocco, providing training, mentoring, professional networks and global access to entrepreneur-run businesses. For more about SEAF, see www.seaf.com.



+
test