New SWEEF investment in Vilo Gelato to support women suppliers, job creation and food sustainability

December 21, 2023 (For immediate release)

Sweef Capital has announced an investment by its Southeast Asia Women’s Economic Empowerment Fund (SWEEF) in Vilo, Indonesia’s leading artisan ice cream brand.

Vilo was established in 2017 by co-founders Ms Jennike Veronika, Mr Vincent Kusuma and their two friends to address an identified gap in the market while creating new employment and business opportunities for local women. They were curious why Indonesian ice cream options were too sweet, too expensive, and mostly imported, which led them to develop and launch an ice cream product that was price-competitive and better suited to local tastes.

Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, Vilo has proven a remarkable force, actively contributing to societal welfare while achieving significant business growth. Over the past three years, Vilo has successfully multiplied its revenue six-fold, without relying on external funding. This achievement exemplifies Vilo’s dedication to both social impact and sustainable business expansion. The company’s ability to flourish in difficult circumstances, coupled with its self-sufficiency, is testament to Vilo’s strategic prowess and resilience.

The Vilo founders’ passion for empowering women and supporting local communities is at the heart of their business strategy.

SWEEF’s investment in Vilo is an important step in advancing the three primary impact areas of the Vilo business model, which include having local women suppliers integrated into Vilo’s supply chains, early-career women and men being trained to succeed in the Indonesian food sector, and reduced use of non-recyclable production materials and food waste to achieve sustainability and environmental targets.

The investment will contribute to the creation of high-quality jobs, both full-time and part-time, ensuring fair wages and promoting wage equity within the organisation.

The company not only aligns with Sweef Capital’s social impact principles but also underlines the solid business case for gender equality.

Vilo prioritises sourcing ingredients and food products from local suppliers rather than large corporations. Currently, more than 50 per cent of its suppliers are local, with some 36 per cent being women suppliers. Through its ‘Doing Well by Doing Good’ program, the company sources products such as tempe, cassava chips and nuts from small and medium-sized businesses that can use the Vilo brand to sell through company outlets.

Vilo has created more than 300 ice cream flavours and is expanding across 28 locations in Indonesia. With fresh products, healthier ingredients, and customer-friendly outlets, the brand is popular with young consumers seeking better and healthier alternatives to satisfy their ice cream craving.  

Ms Veronika and Mr Kusuma see vast potential in producing ice cream locally, in a more health-conscious way, and continuing to expand opportunities for local women while strengthening the company’s environmental sustainability practices.

Vilo is SWEEF’s third deal for 2023, following investments in education technology provider TEKY and USM Healthcare, both headquartered in Vietnam.#

“We warmly welcome SWEEF’s investment in Vilo, recognising it as both a financial partnership and a catalyst for women’s empowerment,” mentions Vilo Founder, Ms Jennike Veronika. “It is an opportunity to support local women suppliers, create high-quality jobs , and demonstrate sustainability leadership in Indonesia’s food industry. Our approach demonstrates that businesses can play a significant role in driving positive change and advancing gender equality, even if they were not initially founded with that specific mission. Vilo is driven by our mission to make local, high-quality, and affordable gelato, which has a supreme taste and does not use artificial flavouring, colouring, or any preservatives.”

Sweef Capital Managing Director, Ms Jennifer Buckley, said SWEEF’s investment in Vilo was a pivotal step in enhancing women empowerment in the region and supporting a sustainable food system.

“Sweef Capital’s investment in Vilo demonstrates the rich potential to address multiple impact areas through strategic investment in a well-run enterprise with a sound business strategy. Beyond producing high-quality, locally sourced natural foods, the Vilo team is also passionate about empowering women and the company focuses on sourcing its ingredients and food products from local women suppliers. This is an important signal to the industry about the huge opportunity to deliver financial, social and environmental value while continuing to grow your customer base.”

“SWEEF’s investment in Vilo is a wonderful example of impact investing at work – backing entrepreneurial founders with a rigorous business strategy who see the opportunity to deliver social and environmental objectives as well as commercial returns”, says MrJohannes Bill Ladegaard, CFA, Head of Alternative Investments, PBU. “The focus on local women suppliers is particularly exciting and aligned to PBU’s strategic focus on gender and decent work.”  

Media inquiries: Jennifer Buckley - jbuckley@sweefcapital.com  

About Sweef Capital 

Sweef Capital is a women-led impact investment firm based in Singapore that invests in the potential of women and the future of Southeast Asia. As a private equity firm, Sweef Capital focuses on investing equity and quasi-equity capital in growth-stage companies, primarily in Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, where its experienced investment professionals are well-established. The firm targets investments in growth markets including education, healthcare, food systems and climate resilience, sectors that are experiencing strong and increasing demand. For more about Sweef Capital, see https://sweefcapital.com/ 

About PBU

Pædagogernes Pension (PBU) is the Danish pension fund for early childhood and youth educators. PBU is a US$12 billion direct contribution fund based in Copenhagen. PBU employs a multi-asset strategy and invests globally. Private equity (PE) and PE in Southeast Asia is an important part of PBU’s social impact investing strategy. PBU is 100 per cent owned by its members and aims to be the leading pension provider for early childhood educators in Denmark. For more about PBU, visit: https://pbu.dk/

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ADI is a development financing mechanism of the Australian Government. ADI adopts a blended finance approach to catalyse private finance into funds and financial intermediaries that support high-growth and innovative small and medium size (SME) businesses in Asia and the Pacific. ADI provides partners with fit-for-purpose technical assistance in areas of ESG, impact measurement and management, and climate and gender lens integration.  Sarona Asset Management acts as the investment manager of ADI. For more information, see: https://emiif.fund/

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The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank whose mission is to finance Infrastructure for Tomorrow—infrastructure with sustainability at its core. AIIB began operations in Beijing in January 2016 and has since grown to 109 approved members worldwide. The bank is capitalised at US$100 billion and is triple A-rated by the major international credit rating agencies. Working with partners, AIIB meets clients’ needs by unlocking new capital and investing in infrastructure that is green, technology-enabled and promotes regional connectivity. For more about AIIB, visit: https://www.aiib.org/en/index.html

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