II - (PDF, 101 mb) - USAID

Geographic Diversification
The fund is coml11lllpd to investing in promising com­
pilnies throughout the IWO Hl'publlcs, notwlthslilndlng Ihe
increased cost in lentls of tmvel and communicalions The
Fund seeks to invest where Ihe multiplier effeci can be the
greiltest. In Ihe Czech Hepublic, the- Fund Is inneasing its
ilCllvity in rl'gions distam from Prague thill have benefited
Ie'ss from the overall economic impr'ovement. In Siovakiil,
the Fund sl'eks inveslment in areas of high unemployment.
The lociltion of Ihe investment is pilrticularly important
since, in the aftermath of the Communist housing policies,
labor mobility remains difficult in the Hepublics. The geo­
graphic spread of the Fund's ilctivities is evident on the maps
on pages 4 and 5·
industry
The Fund remilins diversified by industry ilS shown
below (all amounts are based upon current Board
approvals):
CZECH REPUBLIC
Areil
Manufacturing
Food Related
Energy Relilled
Services
Total
SLOVAK REPUBLIC
Area
Manufacturing
Food Related
Energy Related
Services
Total
Number of
Investments
II
6
22
Amount
$ fl,029,OOO
1,IJHl),ooO
l,071J,oOO
32B,ooo
? 11,122,000
Number of
Investmenls Amount
18 $ '4,4lJ:;,OOO
B l,6:;s.ooo
723,0(1)
1,2qB,ooo
30 $ 20,171,000
Percent of
Invesll1tent
Manufacturing includes a wide range of companies,
such as metal products (gaskets, gasoline Cims), plastics and
fire extinguishers. Food related investments include the
introduction of new cattle breeds as well as bakeries and
7 2
15
10
100
Percent of
Investment
72
IB
4
IJ
100
ollwr fooel procl'ssors. Investll1enls relaled to energy
incluell' sevl'f'ill low-head hydroelectric power transactions,
wlll're entreprenl'urs are rebuilding sill'S Ihill were 0pl'rill­
ing before the (il('illtil's were nillionaliwd and closed by the
Communists.
The Fund finds that the mosl illtractive businesses ilre
in industries in which the Czechs and Slovaks have tradition­
ally excelled - milchinery, fabriciltion, food processing ­
when' there is a high skilled-labor content relative to the
capital or technology required.
The avemge Fund investment is approXimately $12,000
for every job supported by the business. Approximately
2,.200 employees work or Illanage the fifty-two companies
where the Board hilS authorized investment, and seveml
hundred more i1re employed by compilnies participating in
Ihe joint lending programs. The effect of the Fund on
employment In the Hepublics is reflected not only in the
number of people employed directly in companies where the
Fund has an investment, bUl also in the jobs of their suppli­
ers, distributors, and services.
Size
In fulfilling its mandate to meet the needs of small and
medium-sized businesses, the average nllmber of employees
in each of the companies where the Fund has authorized an
investment is 43 (similar for eilch Republic), with only 6
authorized investments exceeding 100 employees.
Excluding Cilnceled transactions, the average size of
BoanJ authorized amounts for new investments in FY94 was
$1,036,000, up from $565,000 in FY93 and $470,000 in FY9.2.
The Fund focllsed its investment actions during its
first two years of operations on the type of transaction most
readily ilVailable-start-ups or expansion of very young
enterprises. Now thill much of the economy is in private
hands and many businesses started after the Velvet
Revolution ilre ready to expand, the Fund's averilge invest­
ment Ciln be expected to increase. Additionally, smaller
investments Ciln now be made through the joint lending pro­
grams.
15