IFC Invests $50M in LeapFrog Investments to Bolster Well being and Fintech Providers Throughout Africa

IFC has introduced a $50 million fairness funding in LeapFrog Investments, to enhance fast-growing well being and monetary providers companies’ entry to development capital and help job creation in Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia,

The $50 million in LeapFrog Rising Shopper Fund IV LP, targets $1 billion in commitments and can symbolize the most important providing by LeapFrog up to now. IFC’s funding within the fund will probably be made together with a further $50 million.

In response to Andy Kuper, Founder and CEO of LeapFrog, “IFC’s help over a number of fund vintages and as an everyday co-investor constitutes a robust endorsement of LeapFrog’s distinctive crew and of our Revenue with Goal technique for accessing alternatives throughout Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. We now have established a robust and lengthy observe document with IFC, collectively figuring out, constructing and realizing engaging returns from purpose-driven corporations. We look ahead to the subsequent 10 years of working collectively by way of this new fund.”

The fund will concentrate on rising companies in healthcare and monetary providers by serving to corporations undertake digital options and provide new merchandise that may attain underserved segments of the inhabitants. As well as, IFC will work with LeapFrog to enhance gender range on the fund supervisor stage and the businesses the fund will spend money on.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated entry to capital challenges, particularly for mid-cap corporations in Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Personal fairness will help speed up the areas’ financial restoration by offering development capital, particularly to mid-cap corporations, and serving to them undertake skilled governance practices.

“The venture will help non-public sector development in Africa and Asia, bridge the funding hole in healthcare in rising markets, and additional speed up monetary inclusion throughout these areas,” mentioned William Sonneborn, IFC’s International Director of Disruptive Applied sciences, Artistic Industries, and Funds. “The venture will probably be one of many largest rising markets-focused funds and can appeal to different industrial traders to this market section. It would assist enhance the competitiveness of Africa and Asia’s non-public fairness markets and reveal the attractiveness of investing in companies that assist resolve massive social issues all whereas producing market returns.”

That is IFC’s third engagement with the fund supervisor, following an funding of $20 million in LeapFrog’s first fund and $45 million in its third fund. Along with its fund commitments, IFC has supplied $64 million to 5 corporations backed by LeapFrog’s funds in Africa and Asia, together with the most important genomic medication firm centered on rising markets, MedGenome, and fast-growing Vietnamese financial institution, HDBank.

For the brand new fund, IFC is investing alongside the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek, world insurance coverage strategic traders AIA and Prudential Monetary and world asset managers corresponding to Van Lanschot Kempen.

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