Northeast Brazil: supporting SMEs and women’s employment

Vinci Partners is a leading asset manager in Brazil with USD 10.7bn assets under management. This manager offers a wide range of products (asset management, private equity, hedge funds, credit, real estate, infrastructure). For 18 years, it has been developing a hands-on minority/co-control growth private equity strategy in SMEs with clear development indicators focused in the Northeast, the least developed region in Brazil. Vinci Impact & Return IV (VIR IV) is the latest vintage of this strategy, which brought the measurement of development indicators one step further by adding the intentionality of generating positive impact with its investments.

The project involves a USD 10m equity investment in VIR IV, a multi-sector impact investment fund dedicated to financing SMEs and midcap companies in Brazil, especially in the Northeast.

The main expected impacts of the project are as follows: 

• The development of about 10 local companies, mainly SMEs, with a positive knock-on effect of VIR IV’s investment on increasing revenues, improving management tools and governance practices, as well as on local job creation, particularly in the disadvantaged regions in the country. 
• Expected support for around 1,400 jobs over the next 5 years, mainly in the pipeline companies, with a relevant share of women, as this is an important point Vinci includes in its impact plans.
• A contribution to reducing gender inequality: the investment project qualifies for the 2X Challenge based on the direct Leadership criterion. 

The project is expected to contribute mostly to the achievement of SDG 3 (Good health and well-being), SDG 4 (Quality education), SDG 5 (Gender equality), SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth), SDG 9 (Innovation and Infrastructure) and SDG 10 (Reduced inequalities).