Our Mission

Seed Capital Development Fund, Ltd. (”Seed Capital”) is a non-profit charity dedicated to economic development through the support of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other non-governmental development institutions in developing countries. Our goal is to expand the capacity of micro-lending to poor entrepreneurs in the developing world by supporting the establishment of a profitable and sustainable microfinance industry. We provide debt and equity funding to microfinance institutions and projects around the world, especially those that attempt to link MFIs to local and international capital markets.

At Seed Capital, we are convinced that the growth and prosperity of micro and small businesses is the most effective and dignified way of reducing chronic poverty. In developing countries micro-enterprises provide 40%-60% of employment. However, they contribute very little to GDP. Small entrepreneurs’ difficulties in accessing credit at market rates as well as their lack of appropriate management skills are two of the factors that contribute to the lackluster performance of this sector. Tax and business policies that penalize successful and legitimate small entrepreneurs also constitute significant hurdles.

Seed Capital aims to help entrepreneurs in the developing world who are unable to access credit through the formal financial sector by supporting commercially viable microfinance institutions that service the working poor. We do this by developing innovative financial mechanisms that link microfinance institutions to local and international capital markets. At Seed Capital, we believe that this is the most effective way of assisting entrepreneurs because:

Those links are predicated on discipline and accountability within the microfinance industry. This increases the efficiency of the sector and results in lower-cost products for the end users – the entrepreneurs
The demand for financial services in the informal sectors of developing countries far outstrips the capacity of the donor community. We believe that only capital markets have the resources required to meet the huge and growing demand for microcredit.

Take a look at some of the projects we’ve worked on

Seed Capital Development Fund was incorporated in 1991 as a non-profit tax-exempt organization, with the help of Société d’Investissement et de Développement International, a European social investment fund.