SEAF
Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2024)
Reporting Period: 2024
Environmental Metrics
ESG Focus Areas
- Gender equality
- Climate resilience
- Food security
- Sustainable business practices
- Corporate governance
Environmental Achievements
- Foodmart installed a 500-kW solar power plant, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 287,458 kg annually and introduced Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) to promote recycling.
- Ecoflora's initiatives led to 78% of farmers adopting improved pest management practices, 61% improving organic matter recycling, and 50% conserving water.
Social Achievements
- Created over 2200 new jobs in 2024.
- 75% of SEAF companies raised funding from non-SEAF sources.
- Foodmart's workforce grew from 1,727 in 2014 to 5,321 in 2024, with 71% women.
- Ecoflora benefited over 700 farmer families.
- Kentegra increased its workforce from 96 to 307 employees, with 33% women.
Governance Achievements
- SEAF supports its investees in improving their corporate governance structures, including risk management, board development, and financial reporting.
- CEED developed a business model to help create financially sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Climate Goals & Targets
Environmental Challenges
- High debt burdens in emerging markets leading to economic uncertainty and crises.
- The “missing middle” challenge where SMEs are too large for microfinance but too small for traditional capital markets.
- Fragmented retail market in Georgia lacking efficiency and scale.
- Economic instability and currency depreciation in Georgia.
- Lack of retail expertise in Georgia.
- Capital constraints for SMEs.
- Ecoflora's need for substantial capital to scale operations and meet regulatory requirements.
- Establishing a sustainable supply chain for Jagua fruit in Colombia.
- Kentegra's need to overcome disruptions caused by COVID-19.
Mitigation Strategies
- SEAF provides flexible, stage-appropriate capital in the form of equity, debt, and hybrid instruments.
- SEAF delivers tailored technical assistance (TA) including training, mentorship, and access to global markets.
- SEAF focuses on building sustainable entrepreneurial communities and leveraging long-term enterprise support.
- SEAF's integrated approach combining flexible financing and TA.
- SEAF's multi-faceted support to Foodmart including financial support, strategic partnerships, operational enhancements, and sustainability initiatives.
- SEAF's $4.2 million investment in Ecoflora, acquiring a 13.34% equity stake.
- SEAF's $3 million loan to Kentegra for factory expansion, working capital, and refinancing.
- Kentegra's recruitment of local agronomists to provide technical assistance to farmers.
Supply Chain Management
Responsible Procurement
- Foodmart supports over 1,420 local suppliers.
- Ecoflora works with over 700 farmer families under fair-trade conditions.
- Kentegra works with 8,076 smallholder farmers.
Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities
Reporting Standards
Frameworks Used: IRIS+, UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Operating Principles for Impact Management (OPIM), IFC Performance Standards, 2x Challenge
UN Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 2
- SDG 5
- SDG 8
- SDG 12
- SDG 7
- SDG 9
- SDG 11
- SDG 13
SEAF's investments contribute to these SDGs through job creation, gender equality, sustainable practices, and climate resilience.
Sustainable Products & Innovation
- Ecoflora's Jagua Blue colorant