Projects
Burkina Faso –
Processing and Distribution of Dried Fruits
Since 2006 the company exports certified organic and fair trade agricultural goods.
Projects
Georgia –
Hazelnut Production
The project sponsors are building the organic and fair trade production of Hazelnuts in Western Georgia.

The SECO Start-up Fund (SSF)

provides loans

  • To investors with domicile in Switzerland
  • for start-up business projects and for financing the first expansion phase of companies in emerging economies (see country list)
  • the financed projects must be commercially viable (SSF does not finance feasibility studies, pilots or prototype development) and meet recognized environmental and social standards
  • maximum amount of the loan: up to two thirds of the investment costs in the target country; maximally two times the amount contributed by the borrowers/investors, maximally CHF 500'000 (all three criteria must be fulfilled)
  • for repayment within 7 years

 

The SSF is a facility for development loans established by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO. SSF offers loans for start-up business projects of Switzerland domiciled entrepreneurs/enterprises in emerging economies (economies under development or in transition). The management of the SSF is delegated to FINANCEcontact in Zurich.

Investments in emerging economies involve business risks beyond those generally en­countered in Western countries. This is particularly true for young enterprises. With its loans SSF aims to share the financial burden of such ventures with the investors.

Impact

Portfolio
Active portfolio of
29 loans totalling
CHF 8.4 Mio.
Job Creation
Over 18’000
new jobs created
Investments
CHF 33 Mio. committed,
CHF 406 Mio. mobilized

AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST / ASIA / CIS-COUNTRIES / LATIN AMERICA / EAST AND SOUTH-EAST EUROPE

Our Projects

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What our Clients say

FINANCEcontact brings in their expertise in an efficient and constructive manner and helped me and my team to pursue a clear strategy and focus on the key success factors right from the start.
Batchimeg Gadola
Founder Magic Design LLC, Mongolia
The SSF team has made a significant contribution to advising us in challenging times, regardless of the financial support. The view from the outside and the numerous discussions have prompted us to question and adapt our assumptions and processes on several occasions. For young companies, this exchange is of great value and we have greatly appreciated it.
Bojan Simic
Founder and CEO of BAD SISTEMS LLC, Serbia
The SECO Start-up Fund played for us a decisive role in establishing our international presence and maintaining a comprehensive product offering to our clients. We appreciated FINANCEcontact as experienced an pragmatic partner.
Schneeberger Edwin
Founder Tissa Textiles d.o.o., Bosnia and Herzegovina
The SECO Start-up Fund helped us build our mineral water company from scratch to a strong brand: In our early days we filled 200’000 bottles per year, now we produce this amount in a day!
Miho Svismonishvili
Founder and CEO of Cqali Margebeli, Georgia