LeapFrog reaches $400m close on second microfinance fund

The fund was launched in January of last year, and reached a first close of $204 million the following September. It backers for the first round included MetLife, Prudential, XL Group, Achmea, PartnerRe and Swiss Re, as well as developmental financial institutions CDC Group, DEG, the European Investment Bank and FMO.

More recently the fund - now oversubscribed - raised capital from AIG, Alliance Trust, AXA, HESTA, RGA Reinsurance and Zurich Insurance Group, according to a statement.

The fund will invest in high-growth companies offering insurance, saving, pensions and payments services to emerging market consumers. The average tickets size will typically be between $10 million and $50 million and investments will focus on the fund's target markets of Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

The fund has already made its first investment; injecting $29 million into Indian non-banking finance company (NBFC) IFMR Capital. The company operates in 345 districts across 24 states in India. It delivers financial services to over 6.6 million borrowers and 7.6 million insured customers.

"There is a growing realization among global financial institutions that the emerging consumer represents an historic opportunity," said Dr Andrew Kuper, founder and CEO of LeapFrog. "People across Africa and Asia are working to achieve security for their families and businesses, but most have yet to reach the middle class. There is an immense demand for transformative financial tools."

LeapFrog claims to be the world's largest dedicated equity investor in emerging markets financial services with over $500 million in assets under management, partnering with companies serving 22.7 million people across 16 countries. Its portfolio companies focus on customers earning under $10 a day, whose collective spending power is forecast to rise to $5 trillion over the next $10 years.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
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• Fundraising
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