At BHG Group Investment & Holding Co, our vision is one that helps to create, grow, and support agricultural and hospitality businesses throughout the world. BHG was formed on August 23, 1995 by a group of venture capital investors. BHG is a fully private investment and holding company leveraging our strengths to generate superior market value. With this strategic global business approach, the BHG Group Investment & Holding Co businesses have achieved superior asset growth.
In just 25 years, BHG grew from a small venture capital company with a single office in New York to an international investment and holding company corporate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois USA with agents and representatives in 46 countries. Celebrating our 25 years silver jubilee in 2020 we are planning to open a full-independent African operation headquarter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and we look forward to our continued growth.
The management and employees of the BHG Group continuously review current businesses and investments to ensure that strategies are providing the highest return and value relative to risk. The BHG forms participation in each company or investment and adapts to optimize risk-adjusted return, including equity, 100 percent ownership, joint ventures, and public-private partnership (PPP). All BHG investments are managed as separate stand-alone ventures. Each subsidiary has its own management platform and operates independently.
BHG holds significant interests in agriculture, with our prime interest being to invest in and holding stakes in food manufacturing and farming in developing countries. We bridge the gap between the resources they already have and the resources they need. We assist farmers and processors in areas such as Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, where there is an abundance of fertile soil and acreage but lack of capital and technology.
The main purpose of our investment in farming is to have a guaranteed supply of quality input to our agro processing. This gives us full control over the quality and type of products we grow. BHG investment in farming can be done through direct investment, joint ventures, or PPP (public-private partnerships) with the central or local government, cooperatives, farmers, and / or trade unions. We are planning to have a joint working relationship on Agriculture, Agro processing, and Food Security with United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), European International Cooperation and development (DG DEVCO), and other private development agencies, including DAI.