The Multilateral Investment Fund today announced the approval of a $6 million equity investment to set up a venture capital fund in Brazil for innovative small enterprises in the technology field, as well as a $750,000 grant to help build entrepreneurs’ management capacity in the northeastern states of Bahia, Ceará, and Pernambuco.
The venture capital fund will invest in small companies with sales below $5 million and fewer than 100 employees, focusing on early-stage businesses in high-growth technology clusters, including software, fine chemicals, capital goods for microelectronics and electrical engineering, biotechnology, tourism, and food technology. The fund will be capitalized by $6 million from Banco do Nordeste, $1 million from Banco Pactual and $2 million from private investors, and it will be administered independently through professional services provided by Pactual Asset Management, a subsidiary of Banco Pactual.
The grant component will help support the creation of business training services for this growing sector, including awareness-raising and training with regard to venture capital, enhancement of programs to support business-plan design, and specialized management training courses that will develop curricula and instructional materials in keeping with international best practices.
The Multilateral Investment Fund, managed by the Inter-American Development Bank, provides grants and investments to promote private sector growth, labor force training and small enterprise modernization in Latin America and the Caribbean.