Balkan Financial Sector Equity Fund

The Balkan Financial Sector Equity Fund (BFSEF) is a pure  play financial sector private equity fund in the Balkan region created in 2005. SECO was one of the initial sponsors of BFSEF, and has invested EUR 8.0 million into the fund.

BFSEF focuses on financial services companies in the prospective EU accession countries of Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia Herzegovina, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Kosovo, Romania, and Moldova, and the bordering countries of Turkey and Ukraine. The fund invests in financial institutions with a strong bias toward micro, small and medium-enterprise (MSME) lending and other underserved markets. Post-investment, the fund actively supports its portfolio companies in operation scale-up, consolidation and, in some cases, formal financial sector integration. The fund’s strategy is not only to strengthen its investees' capital base, but also to provide access to international credit lines, banking and product expertise, processes and systems, as well as hands-on Board involvement in helping shape their future strategic direction.

BFSEF is managed by DFE Partners, a specialist private equity investor in the financial services sector based in Baden, Switzerland. Established in 2005, DFE Partners invests directly into financial services institutions in the prospective EU accession countries of South East Europe.