44918 - BlackPeak Southeast Europe Growth Equity Fund SCSp

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Summary of Investment Information

Project Number

44918

Company Name

BLACKPEAK SOUTHEAST EUROPE GROWTH EQUITY FUND SCSP

Date SPI Disclosed

Mar 9, 2021

Country

Southern Europe Subregion

Region

Europe

Projected Board Date

Apr 16, 2021

Environmental Category

FI-2 - Limited

Status

Active

Last Updated Date

Sep 2, 2021

Department

Equity Portfolio Management

Industry

Funds

Previous Events

Approved : Apr 27, 2021
Signed : Jun 7, 2021
Invested : Aug 30, 2021

Sector

Growth Equity Fund

Project Description

The proposed project consists of an IFC equity commitment of up to €15 million in BlackPeak SEE Growth Equity Fund SCSp (“BlackPeak II” or the “Fund”), a closed-end private equity fund domiciled in Luxembourg with a target size of €120 million. The Fund will predominantly invest in small and mid-market growth capital transactions in the Southeast Europe Region (“SEE”).

Sponsor / Cost / Location

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan
Equity	35.76

Development Impact

Project Outcomes: - Access to private capital: increase in access to private equity capital for small/mid-market companies in SEE. - Investee growth: Increased investee growth through the Fund Manager's value creation strategies. Contribution to Market Creation: - Competitiveness: The project is expected to support a local manager in raising its first regional fund and progressively attracting capital from private institutional investors. The success of the manager could demonstrate the viability of PE growth equity and complement the PE ecosystem in the region.

Financial additionality - Own Account Equity: Help the Fund reach its target first closing size in a challenging fundraising environment. Non-Financial additionality - Risk Mitigation: IFC's investment will send a strong signal of confidence to potential investors and help reduce risk perception for domestic and international limited partners in SEE. - Standard Setting: IFC will support the Fund Manager to implement best practices in adequately identifying, monitoring and mitigating E&S risks.

E&S Category Rationale / Risks and Mitigation

The proposed project has been classified as a Category FI-2 project according to IFC Sustainability Policy. The Fund has a generalist investment approach and will focus on SMEs and mid-cap companies from SEE countries IT, niche manufacturing, business services, healthcare and consumer sectors which are expected to have potential limited adverse environmental and/or social risks or impacts that are few in number, generally site specific, largely reversible, and can be readily addressed through mitigation measures. The Fund will not invest in any coal-related activities, or higher risk business activities that may include: a) involuntary resettlement, b) risk of adverse impacts on indigenous peoples, c) significant risks to or impacts on the environment, community health and safety, biodiversity, cultural heritage or d) significant occupational health and safety risks. IFC's applicable E&S requirements for this project will be to comply with the Exclusion List, the host country laws and regulations and the IFC's Performance Standards.

In accordance with IFC's Access to Information Policy, IFC will periodically disclose the names, locations and sectors of sub-projects that have been supported by IFC investments through private equity funds, subject to regulatory constraints and market sensitivities. The sub-project(s) listed below reflect(s) the status of the portfolio as of January 1, 2025.

Investee	Country Of Investment	Sector
Alcatraz	Bulgaria	R-AC- Other Services (Including IT Enabled Services)
euShipments	Bulgaria	E-CA- Storage (Including Agricultural Products)
Geneplanet	Slovenia	S-AC- Other Health Services
Kafeterija	Serbia	A-AD- Coffee, Cocoa, Tea
Leanpay	United Kingdom	O-CB- Finance Companies - Consumer Finance
Security Smart Systems OOD	Bulgaria	M-BA- Electrical Machinery, Equipment and Components (Electric Lighting, Motors, Batteries, Insulated Wires and Cables, Fiber Optic Cable, Carbon and Graphite Products, etc.)
Telelink AD	Bulgaria	R-AC- Other Services (Including IT Enabled Services)
Verdino	Romania	F-AJ- Packaged Food
Wiser Technology	Bulgaria	R-BA- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (System Integration, Custom Computer Programming, IT Services etc.)

The main E&S risks and impacts of the project derive from the E&S risks associated with the Fund's investment activities, its capacity and system in place to manage these risks.

Summary of Client Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS)

The Fund has assigned an E&S officer, and will develop and implement an environmental and social risk management system (ESMS) which will include ESG policy and formalized E&S risk management processes allowing to screen potential transactions against IFC Exclusion List and assess project's compliance with relevant host country E&S laws and regulations, and IFC Performance Standards. The ESMS will additionally include an external communications mechanism, in line with the IFC requirements. The Fund will also be required to build proper internal/external capacity for proper implementation of the ESMS and provide staff training. IFC will monitor the implementation of the ESMS for the fund through the review of E&S due diligence and monitoring reports as well as site visits (as required).

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IFC supports its clients in addressing environmental and social issues arising from their business activities by requiring its real sector clients to set up and administer appropriate grievance mechanisms and/or procedures to address complaints from Affected Communities in relation to environmental and social issues arising from IFC's clients' business activities. Since 2012, IFC's Financial Intermediary clients applying the Performance Standards are required to develop External Communications Mechanisms to receive and review inquiries or complaints from any interested party regarding the E&S risks and impacts of their operations.

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Complaints may relate to environmental and social harm regarding any aspect of the planning, implementation, or impact of a project or sub-project, and can be made by any individual, group, community, entity, or other party affected or likely to be affected by the environmental or social impacts of an IFC- or MIGA-financed business activity.

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Online form: available at https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/
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Voice mail: +1 202 458 1973
Email: cao@worldbankgroup.org
SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal: +1 202 650 2627

CAO receives and addresses complaints in accordance with the CAO Policy, which can be accessed at: https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/policies-guidelines.

This Summary of Investment Information (SII) is prepared by IFC to disclose a factual summary of the main elements of the potential investment. It also includes findings and recommendations related to environmental and social considerations regarding this potential investment. The purpose of the SII is to enhance the transparency of IFC’s activities. For any project documentation or data included or attached herein, whether prepared by the project sponsor or otherwise, authorization has been given for public release by the project sponsor. IFC considers that this SII is of adequate quality for release to the public, but has not necessarily independently verified all of the project information therein. It is distributed in advance of IFC Board of Directors’ consideration and may be periodically updated thereafter. Board dates are estimates only and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board Directors’ decision. The following SII is disclosed in accordance with IFC's Access to Information Policy (AIP) that went into effect on January 1, 2012.

The map is for illustrative purposes and does not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the World Bank, concerning the legal status of any country or territory or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries. Country borders or names do not necessarily reflect the World Bank Group's official position. In some cases, available project location information is limited to the country of the project's activities. Locations are approximate.

Task Title & Description	Anticipated Completion Date
Establish SEMS	04/16/2021
Staff Training	04/16/2021
External Communication Mechanism	04/16/2021

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