Gazelle Finance (GF) is a private equity fund manager based in the South Caucasus that invests in high-growth companies in countries in Eastern Europe. GF manages a pool of investment capital on behalf of some of the leading development financial institutions in the region.
Two of Gazelle Finance’s target investment countries – Georgia and Armenia – are experiencing unprecedented inflows of economic migrants from Ukraine, Belorussia, and Russia as a result of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Since February 24th there are more than 22,000 immigrants from Ukraine who have been displaced to Georgia, 4.5m displaced regionally across Eastern Europe. With the support of its investors, GF will provide bridge financing and technical support to a select group of Ukrainian companies and their employees, who have been forced to relocate or disperse across the region and need to regroup and centralize their operations for an indeterminate period in the business-friendly environments of Tbilisi and/or Yerevan.
Stage 1 Mobilization of Service Partners – relocation concierge services to companies, provided by local partners of Gazelle Finance (accounting, consulting, legal, insurance firms; banks);
Stage 2 Business Development Support and Investment Capital - for a select group of companies – working in partnership with GF and banks.
Eligibility Criteria:
1) To be an operating business in Ukraine, pre 24.02.2022
2) Qualify as a Small & Medium Enterprise (<250 employees, <$15M revenues, <$15M assets
3) Have a proven revenue model and the potential to be “gazelles” within 4y, 20% CAGR.
The following types of financing is available under the Program:
|
Type |
What is it |
Amount per company |
What it can be used for |
|
Zero-interest loan |
An interest-free loan, amortized over 3 years |
up to $500k |
Operating expenses, Working Capital, Capital expenditures |
|
Grant |
Grant, paid by GF to company or third party (requires a 25% cost sharing by the company) |
up to $100k |
Relocation costs for personnel (including airfares and per diem), equipment shipment, initial rent (office and personnel housing), company set-up costs, incl. licenses etc. |
|
Direct payment |
Paid by GF to third-parties (service providers) |
up to $50k |
Market research, business plan, financial viability, market entry studies, business advisory/legal assistance , expert advice etc. |
|
Equity/debt financing from GF/banks |
Structured equity or debt instruments, incl. term and income participation loans |
Up to $3m** |
Capital expenditures & working capital |
* In providing Facility funds (zero-interest loans, grants, direct payments) a strong preference will be given for those companies that are Gazelle Finance investees or have a high probability to become clients of GF
**Amounts can vary depending on the lending appetite by GF’s banking partners. If the applicant company is not bankable, then the limit will be closer to $1.0M of a quasi-equity product if GF is the only investor.
Please send your applications & enquiries to admin@gazellefinance.com
