Business View - January 2016 9
tablished as an agency of the U.S. Government in
1971, OPIC operates on a self-sustaining basis at no
net cost to American taxpayers.
LeapFrog plans to invest the capital in financial ser-
vices and healthcare companies, in both Africa and
emerging Asia. By focusing on these underserved
markets, LeapFrog portfolio companies recorded a
60 percent average revenue growth last year, and
now serve 51.8 million people.
Elizabeth Littlefield, President and CEO of OPIC,
said “LeapFrog’s innovative approach paired with
sound commercial performance has helped spark
high-impact business activity in emerging markets.
Today millions more people across the developing
world have access to financial tools, and tens of
thousands have jobs because of fast-growing com-
panies supported by LeapFrog. I look forward to the
results of OPIC’s support to this exciting fund man-
ager.”
Leading US investors in LeapFrog’s funds to date
include AIG, J.P. Morgan, MetLife, Prudential Finan-
cial, RGA, and TIAA-CREF. Global investors in Leap-
Frog include Alliance Trust, AXA, HESTA, PartnerRe,
SwissRe, XL Catlin, and Zurich.
Many sophisticated investors are joining the move
towards what LeapFrog terms “profit with purpose”
investment strategies. U.S. pension plans and en-
dowments in particular saw a recent shift in U.S.
policy to enable them to consider a wider range of
investment opportunities, combining financial re-
ward and impact.
OPIC’s historic commitment to LeapFrog marks a
new level of recognition for the private sector as a
source of social change. “This commitment marks
a transformative moment for impact investing,” said
Dr. Andrew Kuper, Founder and CEO of LeapFrog.
“OPIC’s vision and capital are a magnet for other
leading institutions, revealing how to invest in com-
panies that reach billions of underserved consum-
ers. The greatest financial and social opportunity of
our era is to serve these real needs, tapping vast
new markets, and achieving profit with purpose.”
