NY-LEAPFROG-INVESTMENTS
10.5.2019 06:02:10 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
LeapFrog Investments has announced the largest-ever private equity fund by a dedicated impact fund manager, surging past its $600m target to reach $700m. The new fund invests in healthcare and financial services companies – tapping into the demand from billions of emerging consumers in Asia and Africa. This fund alone targets reaching 70 million emerging consumers. Investors include many of the world’s leading insurers, pensions and asset managers, development finance institutions, foundations and family offices. The success of the fund reflects LeapFrog’s outstanding track record of delivering both strong financial results and large-scale social impact.
“It is time for a better kind of capitalism. LeapFrog was founded on a philosophy of Profit with Purpose, rejecting conventional trade-off thinking in financial markets. That has proved a winning strategy, driving strong growth and returns while changing tens of millions of lives,” said Dr. Andrew Kuper, Founder and CEO of LeapFrog Investments . “Today’s announcement marks an unprecedented level of commitment to independent impact investment managers, with a new fund backed by diverse best-in-class institutional investors. It also marks an important moment for responsible private equity. As our third fund and largest fund, it is a decisive demonstration that meeting the real needs of under-served people is great business.”
“Prudential’s lead investment in LeapFrog’s latest fund underscores our conviction in the power of capital-based solutions to solve the financial, social, environmental, and economic challenges of our changing world,” said Charles Lowrey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Prudential Financial, Inc . “We are pleased to partner with LeapFrog to realize the enormous potential for inclusive growth and shared prosperity in emerging Asia and Africa.”
LeapFrog has invested in 26 businesses to date. They have grown at an exceptional rate of nearly 40 per cent a year on average from the time of investment. LeapFrog companies now reach 168 million people across 35 countries with healthcare or financial services . Over 136 million of those individuals are emerging consumers – defined by The World Bank as living on under $10 a day. Most are accessing quality insurance, savings, pensions, credit, remittances, medicines or healthcare services for the first time.
LeapFrog’s new fund has already made five investments: WorldRemit is the leading digital remittances provider globally. NeoGrowth provides innovative unsecured-credit products to micro, small and medium enterprises across India. Goodlife Pharmacy chain is now the largest provider of healthcare services in East Africa. Pyramid Pharma is a distributor of medicines and diagnostic and surgical equipment across Africa. And Ascent Meditech manufactures and delivers orthopaedic products across India that help avoid crippling pain. These businesses use innovative marketing or distribution via mobile phones to reach millions of customers not well-served by conventional companies.
This is LeapFrog’s third fund and it will once again be oversubscribed. Most backers are repeat investors with LeapFrog. They include:
- Global insurers Admiral, AIG, AXA XL, Everest Re, Hannover Re, Prudential Financial, QBE and Zurich
- Leading pensions and asset managers such as Ascension Capital, Pinebridge and TIAA-Nuveen (USA), Kempen, Partners Group Impact, Stiftung Abendrot and SBZ (Europe) as well as Christian Super and HESTA (Australia)
- Leading development financiers such as Germany’s DEG, IFC and France’s Proparco; also a board-approved commitment from the U.S.’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation
- Major corporations such as Merck & Co., Inc., known as MSD outside U.S. and Canada, and foundations including PactWorld, the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation
The new fundraise will take LeapFrog to $1.6bn of total commitments, sustaining its position as the largest private equity manager entirely dedicated to impact investing.
“As pioneers of commercial impact investing, our goal over the last decade has been to build truly differentiated investment vehicles, that present a compelling opportunity for top-tier investors to access emerging markets – and fulfill their financial and purpose objectives,” said Nick Moon, LeapFrog Partner and Head of Investor Relations . “We have been delighted with the enthusiasm for this latest fund from longstanding as well as first-time investors.”
The fund also received strong backing from global leaders in development finance. “OPIC is committed to supporting breakthrough investment in developing countries. LeapFrog is a compelling fund manager and strong partner for deploying capital into successful companies to bring large-scale impact,” concluded David Bohigian, Acting President and CEO of OPIC . “We are very pleased to be a lead investor in this new fund for emerging markets in Asia and Africa. This will expand the reach of development finance through investments in innovative portfolio companies that will serve millions of new consumers in the developing world.”
“We want to substantially increase impact investing for a sustainable world – so we are delighted to be supporting the largest equity fund by a dedicated impact manager in emerging markets,” said Philippe Le Houérou, CEO of IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group and a lead investor in the new fund . “By investing in this fund, IFC is expanding our long-standing partnership with LeapFrog and together we will drive this investment toward financial inclusion and health access. We want more and more investors who are looking to do well while also doing good.”
About LeapFrog Investments
LeapFrog invests in exceptional businesses in Africa and Asia, partnering with their leaders to achieve leaps of growth, profitability and impact. LeapFrog companies now reach 168 million people across 35 countries with healthcare or financial services. Over 136 million of those individuals are emerging consumers, often accessing quality insurance, savings, pensions, credit, medications or healthcare for the first time. LeapFrog companies have grown on average by nearly 40 per cent a year since investment. These companies now provide jobs and livelihoods to over 124 thousand people. LeapFrog was recently ranked by Fortune as one of the top five companies to change the world, alongside Apple and Novartis. www.leapfroginvest.com
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190509006034/en/
Contact:
Laura Kemp-Pedersen Chief Marketing Officer +447585760245 laurakemp-pedersen@leapfroginvest.com
BackBay Communications Paul Lim (617) 245-5311 Paul.lim@backbaycommunications.com
Or
Stephen Fishleigh +44 203 475 7552 stephen.fishleigh@backbaycommunications.com
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Smoke Free Sweden: Brussels Warned Against Depriving Women of Best Tool to Quit Smoking6.3.2026 10:28:00 CET | Press release
On International Women’s Day (March 8), health experts are warning EU policymakers not to jeopardise women’s health by restricting or banning nicotine pouches that have helped drive one of the world’s most dramatic declines in female smoking. The warning accompanies the release of Empowerment in a Pouch, a report showing how access to oral, tobacco-free nicotine pouches has accelerated Sweden’s progress towards smoke-free status, particularly among women. European Commission proposals under consideration in the Tobacco Products Directive could reverse this progress if applied across the EU, where more than one in five women still smokes. “Sweden’s experience shows what happens when women are given realistic alternatives to smoking,” said Professor Marewa Glover, behavioural scientist and co-author. “Remove those options and you remove momentum. The danger now is that European policy ignores success and repeats past mistakes.” The report shows that since nicotine pouches became availabl
Andersen Consulting udvider platformen med Reach Consulting5.3.2026 22:05:00 CET | Pressemeddelelse
Andersen Consulting udvider sin platform i Mellemøsten gennem en samarbejdsaftale med Reach Consulting, et digitalt transformations- og rådgivningsfirma med hovedsæde i De Forenede Arabiske Emirater. Reach Consulting hjælper organisationer med at skabe vækst, håndtere risici og navigere i komplekse forandringer gennem en omfattende portefølje af ydelser, herunder digital transformation, strategi, intern revision og M&A-rådgivning. Med en tilstedeværelse i De Forenede Arabiske Emirater, Saudi-Arabien, Oman, Qatar og Jordan betjener firmaet kunder i både den offentlige og private sektor med skræddersyede løsninger, tværfaglig ekspertise og indgående lokalkendskab. Reach Consulting kombinerer skala med agilitet for at fremme driftsresultater og innovation i arbejdsstyrken. "Transformation fungerer bedst, når lokal indsigt, tværfaglig ekspertise og praktisk udførelse spiller sammen," udtalte Suhail Shaker, administrerende direktør for Reach Consulting. "Ved at samarbejde med Andersen Consu
2PointZero Group Completes Majority Acquisition in Italy-Based ISEM Packaging Group for AED 704 Million5.3.2026 22:02:00 CET | Press release
Transaction results in 60.8% ownership by 2PointZero Packaging becomes the sixth consumer-focused vertical with ISEM as an anchor 2PointZero Group PJSC (ADX: 2PointZero), a next-generation investment powerhouse focused on energy and consumer sectors, announced today that it has formally completed the transaction to acquire a majority position in ISEM, a leading European packaging group serving beauty, fashion, luxury, nutraceuticals and more, for AED 704 million through a combination of secondary and primary capital earmarked to accelerate organic and inorganic growth. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260305800523/en/ 2PointZero Group completes majority acquisition in Italy-based ISEM Packaging Group for AED 704 million (Photo: AETOSWire) 2PointZero Group now holds 60.8% of ISEM, while Peninsula Capital and minority investors own the remaining 39.2%. This marks the start of a strategic partnership between 2Poin
Xsolla Announces Reseller Program to Help Game Developers Unlock New Revenue Streams in Local Markets5.3.2026 18:00:00 CET | Press release
Game Developers And Publishers Can Now Reach More Players By Partnering with Official Distributors And Resellers Globally Without Building Local Infrastructure Xsolla, a leading global video game commerce company, today announced the Xsolla Reseller Program, a new product designed to help game developers scale and capture untapped revenue in local markets with no development needed. The program launches with a curated cohort of resellers and distributors in Southeast Asia and Latin America, with expansion into additional regions throughout 2026. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260305047070/en/ Graphic: Xsolla As game developers pursue global growth, they face a fundamental infrastructure challenge: billions of dollars in revenue remain untapped in emerging, cash-dependent economies, such as Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and North Africa, where players purchase digital content through local di
Andersen Consulting styrker sine kompetencer inden for cybersikkerhed gennem samarbejde med A3Sec5.3.2026 17:16:00 CET | Pressemeddelelse
Andersen Consulting styrker sine tilbud inden for cybersikkerhed og teknologisk transformation gennem en samarbejdsaftale med A3Sec, et firma, der specialiserer sig i datadrevet trusselsdetektion, hændelsesrespons og exposure management. Med hovedsæde i Spanien og kontorer i Mexico og Colombia har A3Sec mere end 14 års erfaring med at hjælpe offentlige og private organisationer inden for finans, telekommunikation, energi, den offentlige sektor og erhvervslivet med at sikre deres digitale aktiver. Virksomheden driver sit Security and Digital Surveillance Center® (CSVD®) døgnet rundt med et team på over 180 cybersikkerhedseksperter og betjener mere end 280 kunder verden over. Firmaet leverer integrerede cybersikkerhedstjenester, herunder managed detection and response, cybertelemetri, trusselsanalyse og krisestyring, og hjælper kunder med at styrke deres robusthed og omdanne risiko til en strategisk fordel, samtidig med at de effektivt håndterer eksponering og minimerer risiko. "Vores fo
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom