MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Raises $204m for Second Fund; to Invest in Microinsurance, Other Financial Services for Poor People in Africa, Asia

LeapFrog Investments, a Mauritius-based investor in financial services for poor people in emerging markets, has raised USD 204 million for its second equity fund. The fund will invest in companies that provide financial services such as insurance, savings, pensions and investment products to low-income consumers in Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. The new fund aims to make equity investments of no more than USD 60 million each and will continue to focus on LeapFrog’s priority markets of Ghana, India, Kenya, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Average growth in these markets in 2012 reportedly was 17.4 percent.

The US-based insurance groups MetLife Incorporated, Prudential and XL Group, along with Achmea, a Netherlands-based insurance group; PartnerRe, a Bermuda-based insurance group; and Swiss Re, an insurance group based in Switzerland, have reportedly invested undisclosed amounts of money in the fund. Banks and asset managers such as US-based JP Morgan Chase & Company, the US-based Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF) and Australia-based Christian Super have also invested in the fund.

Oikocredit, a Dutch cooperative investor, and the following government-backed entities also have invested in the fund: The UK-based Commonwealth Development Corporation Group Public Limited Company (CDC Group Plc); Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG), a German development finance institution; the European Investment Bank (EIB); and the Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (FMO), a Dutch development bank.

LeapFrog’s first fund collected USD 135 million, as was reported by MicroCapital in 2010. Its portfolio of companies has collectively reached approximately 18 million people across 13 countries.

By Adrija Vaiciulionis, 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 manager aimed at earning large returns by investing in and supporting microinsurance initiatives. LeapFrog’s investors include the European Investment Bank, the Omidyar Network, Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (FMO), Accion, Calvert Foundation, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) Bankengruppe, 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.

Sources and Additional Resources:

LeapFrog Press Release, “LeapFrog Investments Raises over $200m for Emerging Consumer Fund as Insurers and Asset Managers Tap New Source of Growth and Profits,” http://www.leapfroginvest.com/lf/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/LeapFrog-II-First-close-media-release-English-FINAL-9.8.13-2.pdf

Reuters India Article, “LeapFrog Makes First Close of its Second Fund at $204 mln,”
http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/09/11/leapfrog-invetment-firm-idINDEE98A09I20130911

MicroCapital Article, May 3, 2013, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog, Kinnevik Invest $7m in Mobile Microinsurance Provider Bima,”
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-leapfrog-kinnevik-invest-7m-in-mobile-microinsurance-provider-bima/

MicroCapital Article, October 8, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Takes 15% Stake in Mahindra Insurance Brokers for $15m in Effort to Boost Impact in Rural India,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-leapfrog-takes-15-stake-in-mahindra-insurance-brokers-for-15m-in-effort-to-boost-impact-in-rural-india-4/

MicroCapital Article, May 11, 2010, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Investments Microinsurace Fund Raises Additional 25m in Commitments from New Investors Including J.P Mogran and TIAA-CREF,”
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-leapfrog-investments-microinsurance-fund-raises-additional-25m-in-commitments-from-new-investors-including-jp-morgan-and-tiaa-cref/

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

Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.

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