Leapfrog invests $50m in Singapore's Bolttech

The investment has been billed as an extension of a Series B round to USD 246m. Last May, Bolttech raised USD 196m in a first tranche of Series B funding led by Japanese insurer Tokio Marine.

The round, launched in October last year, featured US-based investors Activant Capital, Dowling Capital Partners, B. Riley Venture Capital, and Tarsadia Investments, as well as Switzerland-based Alpha Leonis Partners, Mundi Ventures of Spain, Singapore’s EDBI, and Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional. Strategic support also includes MetLife Next Gen Ventures.

Fernanda Lima, a partner and head of financial services at LeapFrog, has described her firm’s fintech strategy as a philosophy of springboards (credit) and safety nets (insurance). Although the latter has historically been less proven territory for investors, LeapFrog’s debut fund (raising USD 135m in 2010) was said to be the first impact fund dedicated to insurance.

The Bolttech investment comes at a time when LeapFrog’s insurance-focused firepower and support network is expanding. Last June, Hong Kong-listed insurance company AIA Group agreed to commit USD 200m to various unspecified funds managed by the firm. LeapFrog is currently raising its fourth flagship fund with a target of USD 1bn. Fund III closed on USD 743m in 2019.

“Bolttech shares LeapFrog’s vision of making essential financial solutions more affordable and accessible, especially for the many emerging consumers in growth markets,” Lima, who will join the Bolttech board, said in a statement. “There is so much to be done to close the protection gap, particularly in emerging Asia, Latin America and Africa.”

Bolttech describes itself as a B2B2C model that connects insurers with distributors and their customers. The company claims to provide a full-stack service so that businesses can offer insurance products that meet evolving end-customer needs. The idea is to enable partners to open new revenue streams, accelerate digital transformation, and deepen customer relationships.

Bolttech said LeapFrog’s portfolio of inclusive financial institutions globally would support its emerging market presence and guide efforts to develop a robust, long-term environment, social and governance (ESG) strategy. The company’s current emerging markets exposure is said to cover 2m consumers in jurisdictions including the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Pacific Century is a financial and media technology-focused investor founded and chaired by Hong Kong telecom tycoon Richard Li. It also owns Hong Kong-based insurance company FWD Group. Li is the chairman of Bolttech. The CEO is Rob Schimek, formerly of AIG and FWD.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Financials
• Expansion
• Singapore
• LeapFrog Investments
• Growth capital
• insurance