MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Investments Purchases 25% Stake in Ghana-based Pension Firm Petra Trust

LeapFrog Investments, a private equity fund based in Mauritius, has purchased a 25-percent stake in Petra Trust, a Ghanaian pension-trustee company. LeapFrog has not disclosed the price it paid for the shares.

Petra Trust was formed in 2008 and offers pension-trustee services to Ghanaian employers and individuals, including clients who earn their livelihood through the informal sector. Financial information for Petra is not available. LeapFrog Investments focuses on ventures in Africa and Asia and reports a total fund size of USD 135 million as of 2012.

By Meraj Husain, Research Associate

About LeapFrog Investments

LeapFrog Investments, which was founded in 2007 by Dr. Andrew Kuper and Dr. Jim Roth, is a for-profit private equity fund aimed at earning large returns by investing in and otherwise supporting microinsurance initiatives. LeapFrog’s investors include the European Investment Bank, the Omidyar Network, Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), Accion, Calvert Foundation, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), German development organization Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), Flagstone Reinsurance and the Soros Economic Development Fund. LeapFrog team members have also committed USD 1 million of their personal money to the fund. Based in Mauritius, the fund focuses on ventures in Africa and Asia, with initial target countries including South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines. As of 2012, LeapFrog Investments reported a total fund size of USD 135 million.

Sources and Additional Resources

[1] LeapFrog Investments: “LeapFrog invests in Ghana’s Petra Trust, seizing on dramatic growth in Africa’s pension market,” http://www.leapfroginvest.com/pdf/International_Medi_-_LeapFrog_invests_in_Ghanas_Petra_Trust.pdf

[2] Business Day: “LeapFrog invests in Ghana pension firm Petra Trust,” http://www.bdlive.co.za/africa/africanbusiness/2014/01/20/leapfrog-invests-in-ghana-pension-firm-petra-trust

MicroCapital, January 6, 2014, “Prudential Purchases Controlling Stake in Ghana’s Express Life Insurance from LeapFrog Investments,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-prudential-purchases-controlling-stake-in-ghanas-express-life-insurance-from-leapfrog-investments/

MicroCapital, September 17, 2013, “LeapFrog Raises $204m for Second Fund; to Invest in Microinsurance, Other Financial Services for Poor People in Africa, Asia,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-leapfrog-raises-204m-for-second-fund-to-invest-in-microinsurance-other-financial-services-for-poor-people-in-africa-asia/

MicroCapital Universe Profile: LeapFrog Investments https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=LeapFrog+Investments

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