16 November 2022
EMIIF has invested AUD 5.6 million into the Southeast Asian Women’s Economic Empowerment Fund (SWEEF). SWEEF is a women led fund operating in Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines and focusing on female entrepreneurs and sectors where women play a significant role including health, education, and sustainable food systems. SWEEF’s investment strategy is built on decades of experience that investing in women pioneering solutions in the Asia-Pacific is both good business and delivers positive social impact.
EMIIF’s investment in SWEEF aims to showcase the power of gender lens investing as a way to unlock economic opportunities for women in Southeast Asia. Alongside our investment, EMIIF will provide technical assistance to SWEEF’s fund manager to strengthen their capabilities in climate related impact reporting and support the dissemination of SWEEF’s gender lens investing best practices.
EMIIF has co-invested into SWEEF alongside institutional investors and impact investors, including Australian private investors. “Australia has a unique opportunity to help create the conditions for greater private investment in the region” said EMIIF’s Investment Committee Chair Kylie Charlton, “and SWEEF is a great example of a fund combining strong private equity credentials with an innovative impact approach focused on improving outcomes for women, their families and communities.”
EMIIF invested with several Australian family office. John Hartman, Chief Executive Officer of Tattarang said: “We’re delighted to invest alongside EMIIF; having them as a partner was influential in our decision-making. EMIIF provided practical springboard by sharing due diligence of the SWEEF investment. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the Australian government in promoting and growing impact investment in Southeast Asia.”
EMIIF is a development financing mechanism for the Australian Government. It provides investment capital and technical assistance to financial intermediaries who in turn provide access to financing for SMEs in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
