Leapfrog Investments

LeapFrog Investments is a private investment firm that invests in high-growth financial services and healthcare companies in emerging markets. The firm's investments have an annual growth rate of more than 40% and its companies reach approximately 130 million consumers,[4] primarily in Africa and Asia.[5] Details[edit] LeapFrog has attracted over $1 billion from global investors since inception, including funds from investors such as Prudential Financial,[2] Swiss Re,[6] JP Morgan, TIAA-CREF[7] and eBay founder Pierre Omidyar's Omidyar Network.[8][9][10] LeapFrog was founded in January 2007 by Andrew Kuper and officially launched in 2008 by former US President Bill Clinton who endorsed the firm for opening new frontiers for alternative investments.[11][12] According to The Economist, LeapFrog is a well-established impact investing firm.[13] The firm has invested in companies such as BIMA, a financial technology business that provides services including mobile insurance to 20 million low income customers in Asia, Africa and Latin America,[14][15] India's Mahindra Insurance Brokers, a leading Indian insurance broker and part of Mahindra Group, and Kenyan retail pharmacy chain Goodlife.[11] LeapFrog owns significant stakes in companies in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia and India.[16] It raised its first fund of $135 million in 2009 to invest in insurance and related financial services companies.[17] In September 2013, LeapFrog Investments launched its second fund, raising $204 million USD initially, and in 2014 it announced the fund was oversubscribed at $400 million USD.[5] Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. government’s development finance institution, committed to invest up to $200 million USD in December 2015, the largest investment commitment historically by OPIC to any impact fund manager.[18] In January 2016, Prudential Financial invested $350 million USD with the firm.[8] LeapFrog has offices in Mauritius, Singapore, South Africa, Australia and the United Kingdom.[8] The firm was named Africa Firm of the Year in 2016 by Private Equity International.[19] In 2017, LeapFrog was ranked fifth on Fortune magazine's 2017 Change the World list.[20]