Tom Barry founded Zephyr Management in 1994 during the first phase of globalization when US businesses and investors were planning to invest outside of the US and in other countries. Instead of being part of the first wave of investors in Europe and Japan, Tom wanted to invest in developing countries. He believed that investing in developing countries offered the prospect of higher growth as well as social impact. There was an increasing income disparity between the developed and developing nations at the time. Tom’s vision was to help reduce the income gap and make an impactful difference in the lives of the people in developing countries by helping local businesses grow.

We invested in Prime Cure Clinics, an operator of health clinics for the underserved in South Africa. Prime Cure provided high quality, low cost primary and secondary healthcare services through a network of medical centers and contracted practitioners located throughout the country. Prime Cure focused on low-income, underserved groups, including those with and without health insurance, as well as those in and outside of formal employment.

Our $18 million dollar investment in Homex led the way for development and construction of low cost single family homes in Mexico. Homex allowed citizens entering the formal economy for the first time to purchase homes, providing a stabilizing force in families, neighborhoods, and the Mexican economy.

One of our earliest investments in pan- Africa was Celtel International, a provider of low cost telephony to populations of Africa. Celtel offered the largest contiguous GSM cellular network in terms of geographic coverage in sub-Saharan Africa. By making communication easy and affordable, cell phones positively impact society and the economy by creating opportunities in business, education, entertainment, disaster management, agriculture, and health care. Farmers and small businesses were among those that most benefited from the telecommunications coverage. Cell phones replaced the bicycle and the radio as the most prized possession of many Africans.

Inadequate infrastructure poses a significant constraint to economic development in India. PEBS Pennar's innovative design and manufacturing of modular buildings can be built within 6 months, resulting in improved capital efficiency. We invested $9 Million in the company to establish scalable systems and processses and facilitated business expansion. The company also develops and installs solar module mounting structures, telecom transmission towers and cold-form buildings. Over the last four years, PEBS Pennar has helped build over 550 MW of solar energy capacity and over four million square feet of LEED certified green buildings. This has led to up to 25% reduction in energy consumption helping reduce over 48,000 tons of CO2 emissions in India.

Utkal Tubers is developing high yield seed varieties targeted for low income states in India. Farmers in rural India benefit from training in modern agricultural practices, predictable future income, and greater market access with the help of Utkal Tubers.

Cleanline Linen Management ("CLM") built the most environmentally friendly laundry facility in all of Sri Lanka to provide outsourced laundry services to the hospitality sector. CLM uses modern tunnel washers and waste water treatment technology to conserve and recycle water to minimize water pollution while offering superior cleaning services to its clients.

JAT Holdings ("JAT") was the first to introduce water-based wood coating products to Sri Lanka, replacing harmful solvent-based coatings. Water-based wood coatings are environmentally sustainable when compared to solvent-based coatings, during production and application processes.

Based in Nairobi, 4G Capital provides micro working capital loans and business training to informal market retailers. 4G is solving the severe lack of access to credit in this large segment of the market by providing unsecured loans and training for shop owners so they have the tools to scale their business.