Venture Capital

• Southern Appalachian Fund
• Southeast Community Capital
• Battelle Ventures
• Innovation Valley Partners

Southern Appalachian Fund

www.southappfund.com

The Southern Appalachian Fund (SAF) is a $12.5M venture capital fund formed to provide equity capital and operational assistance to qualifying businesses in southern Appalachia. The Fund focuses specifically on companies in Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Appalachian counties of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.

The Southern Appalachian Fund is one of six New Markets Venture Capital (NMVC) Companies in the United States. The NMVC Program is a developmental venture capital program designed to promote economic development and the creation of wealth and job opportunities in low-income geographic areas and among individuals living in such areas. To learn more about the New Markets Venture Capital program, go to www.sba.gov/INV/venture.html. The Fund's investors include a number of institutional investors and the United States Small Business Administration (SBA).

The Fund's mission is to generate market-rate returns for its investors while promoting shared and sustainable economic development throughout its target region. The Fund will invest $200,000 - $600,000 in companies with strong management teams, high growth potential, and defensible market positions. The Fund Managers also work to add value to the Fund's portfolio companies through operational assistance, active board participation, and mentoring.

Southeast Community Capital

www.sccapital.org

Southeast Community Capital (SCC), a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), as certified by the CDFI Fund, a division of the U.S. Treasury Department, provides loans to disadvantaged small businesses lacking access to traditional financing options in low-income areas throughout Tennessee.

In the seven years since its inception in 1999, SCC has grown to more than $12 million in assets. SCC has made 271 loans to 205 companies totaling $19,187,129. These loans have facilitated the creation of more than 786 new full-time jobs with average wages of $15.20 per hour. Additionally, SCC client companies have maintained or retained more than 2,593 jobs.

With an average loan size of $71,326 and average loan outstanding of $63,447 SCC is accomplishing its goal of making credit available to the smallest most disadvantaged businesses. SCC has been able to create one job for every $24,411 of originated loans and one job created or maintained/retained for every $7,870 of originated principal compared to HUD requirements of one job per $30,000 originated.

Battelle Ventures

www.battelleventures.com

Battelle Ventures, L.P., is a $150 million independent venture fund that invests in technology companies at many early stages of development, from companies looking for seed or start-up capital through pre-revenue and post-revenue companies raising later rounds of financing.

The fund, which is based in Princeton, N.J., is actively seeking to invest in technology companies within the following three key areas:

• Life Sciences
• Homeland Security
• Energy

In August 2005, Innovation Valley Partners, a $35 million affiliate fund of Battelle Ventures, was launched by a group of Knoxville business leaders. (For more information on IVP, Click here.)

Battelle Ventures enhances and adds value to its portfolio companies by leveraging the technologies and expertise of Battelle Memorial Institute and the National Laboratories it manages or co-manages for the U.S. Department of Energy. (For more background on the fund, click here.)

Innovation Valley Partners

www.innovationvalleypartners.com 

Innovation Valley Partners is the $35 million affiliate fund of Battelle Ventures, L.P., a $150 million independent fund that invests in early-stage companies nationwide. Backed by business leaders in Knoxville, Tenn., Innovation Valley Partners participates alongside Battelle Ventures, focusing on companies in the areas of life sciences, information technology, homeland security, energy and advanced materials/nanotechnology.

For more information on Battelle Ventures, click here.