Press release -
Swedfund invests in SME growth in Vietnam
Swedfund invests USD 15 million in Excelsior Capital Vietnam Fund II to boost Vietnamese private sector development and growth, and thereby job creation.
Vietnam has made strong progress in reducing poverty and growing its economy. However, it still faces challenges, including the need for more funding to build infrastructure, support small businesses, and ensure increased access to financial and other services.
The Vietnamese banking system is still in an early stage of development with limited long-term financing capabilities, especially for SMEs. The young population, around 70 percent of the population is between 15 and 64 years old, and expanding middle class is fuelling an emerging entrepreneurial culture. SMEs constitute 98 percent of registered companies in the country.
- With our investment in Excelsior II, we increase access to capital for mid-size and growing businesses. This strengthens the Vietnamese private sector and contributes to creation of quality jobs, improved industry standards, and to increased women participation in the workforce, and in leading positions. Moreover, it contributes to increased participation in the formal economy, in a country where 65 percent of the workforce operate in the informal economy. In this way, Swedfund’s investment supports a more sustainable and resilient economy, says Sofia Gedeon, Investment Director Sustainable Enterprises, Swedfund.
Excelsior II provides growth capital to mid-sized companies and will contribute to job creation in sectors like retail, manufacturing, healthcare, education and tech. As a fund aligned with the 2X Challenge framework, Excelsior II is committed to enhancing opportunities for women and promote their participation in Vietnam’s formal economy.
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About Swedfund
Swedfund is Sweden’s development finance institution with the mission to reduce poverty through sustainable investments in developing countries. Swedfund plays an important role in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement on climate. Swedfund shares the same goal as development cooperation in general, but the tools Swedfund uses are different. Swedfund has two instruments to fulfil its mission: sustainable investments in the private sector and technical feasibility studies through the Project Accelerator targeting the public sector.
Swedfund's investments contribute to the creation of decent jobs and increased access to essential products and services such as electricity and food. Swedfund is a long-term investor and is additional and catalytic through its investments and by mobilising private capital. Swedfund's feasibility studies support sustainable public infrastructure development, trade, and export opportunities for Swedish solutions.
We are part of Swedish development cooperation, and we measure and report all our results. As a state-owned company, Swedfund is managed by the Ministry of Finance and financed through portfolio reflows and annual capital injections for which the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs is responsible.
For more information: please visit www.swedfund.se/en
