LeapFrog eyes February close, claims significant progress on fundraise

No indication was given as to the likely size of the fund. A US regulatory filing for LeapFrog Emerging Consumer Fund IV was made in April 2022. A second filing 12 months later indicated that USD 110m had been raised. These filings do not necessarily indicate the full extent of a fundraise.

LeapFrog - which has a sizeable Asian footprint - has also started deploying capital from the fund. There have been three deals, including Bolttech, a Singapore insurance technology start-up that recently received USD 50m from LeapFrog, and Sun King, which provides financing for the installation of solar panels in homes. Sun King launched in Africa but a USD 330m Series D last year was intended to support Asian expansion.

Temasek Holdings, AIA, Prudential Financial, pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the European Investment Bank (EIB), asset manager Van Lanschot Kempen, and the Ford Foundation are all LPs in Fund IV. IFC said it would commit USD 50m to the fund plus another USD 50m for co-investment, while EIB plans to invest USD 60m.

Temasek, AIA, and Prudential all have broader partnerships with LeapFrog. Prudential contributed USD 350m to a separate account that invested in three insurance companies and was later increased to USD 500m. Temasek and AIA made commitments of USD 500m and USD 200m, respectively, to be spread across multiple funds. Temasek also took a stake in the GP.

Speaking to AVCJ earlier this year following the announcement of the AIA investment, Andrew Kuper, LeapFrog’s founder and CEO, noted that the Asian share of the firm’s LP base had risen from 4% four years ago to 30% today. Pension funds and superannuation funds with some kind of social mandate and family offices were flagged as potential investors.

“This next generation of wealth in Asia is looking at how they can contribute to society,” Kuper said. “Now that they have children, they are more interested in their legacy and the world in which these children will grow up. They are often second-generation or advanced first-generation, so they have a broader frame in terms of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.”

LeapFrog raised USD 135m for its first fund in 2010, USD 400m for its second in 2015, and USD 743m for Fund III in 2019 – the step-ups reflecting a growing LP appetite for impact strategies that also prioritise financial returns. Financial services has historically been the firm’s core focus, but by Fund III, healthcare was becoming an increasingly significant part of the mandate.

Fund III portfolio companies include automotive marketplace CarDekho, genetic testing business MedGenome, health and fitness app HealthifyMe, and embedded insurance specialist PasarPolis. The latter is based in India; the first three are Indian.

Fund IV will pursue growth-stage investments across South and Southeast Asia and Africa, writing cheques of USD 30m-USD 70m for 18-20 companies. There is an emphasis on key service providers, notably those delivering healthcare, insurance, and finance to low-income consumers and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“As we deepen our commitment to ESG and corporate responsibility, we believe partnering with a world leader in impact investing can accelerate AIA’s ambitions across Asia,” said Mark Konyn, group CIO of AIA, in a statement.

“We are building a shared knowledge base to enhance internal investing frameworks and to sharpen our focus on sustainability and achieving the UN SDGs sustainable development goals].”

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Southeast Asia
• Fundraising
• Financials
• Healthcare
• GPs
• Asia
• Impact investment
• LeapFrog Investments
• Temasek Holdings
• AIA
• IFC