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JPMorgan Chase & Co. & Omidyar Network Announce $10 Million Combined Anchor Investment in FIRST
Capital commitment to support businesses serving low-income households in Brazil
New York, March 16, 2015 – JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Omidyar Network today announced a $10 million combined investment in FIRST, a private equity fund focused on serving the needs of low-income and underserved populations in Brazil. The fund will make investments in high-growth companies in sectors providing essential products and services to low-income households, such as education, healthcare, housing and financial services.
"This investment reinforces Brazil as a JPMorgan Chase focal point, regionally and globally," said Jose Berenguer, Senior Country Officer for Brazil, JPMorgan Chase. "Investing in businesses such as FIRST is the best way to contribute to Brazil's development and improve income distribution in our country." The fund, which has now raised $66 million, brings together several leading global investors including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), German development finance institution DEG and French development finance institution PROPARCO to accelerate the growth of impact investments in Brazil, which seek to generate financial returns while making a positive social and environmental impact.
"The firm is proud to support FIRST. Investing in a fund that will support businesses providing underserved Brazilians with access to the high quality products and services they need will enable the growth of the entire Brazilian economy," said Amy Bell, Head of Social Finance Principal Investments, JPMorgan Chase, which has committed $63 million of its own capital to the impact investment market since 2009. "JPMorgan is excited to collaborate with the Omidyar Network to catalyze these critical, new investments by FIRST."
Brazil, the world's seventh largest economy, represents a compelling market opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to deliver healthcare, education, housing and financial products and services to the country's working poor.
"Omidyar Network is pleased to support FIRST. It serves as a cornerstone of the growing impact investing industry in Brazil and brings with it seasoned venture capital expertise with a proven track record," said Eliza Erikson, Director, Investments at Omidyar Network. "We are especially proud to be partnering with JPMorgan Chase Social Finance, an investor with which we share strong alignment and equal commitment to providing affordable, quality goods and services to the 40 million consumers in the emerging Brazilian middle class."
About FIRST Impact Investing
FIRST Gestao de Investimentos S.A. is an asset management firm in Brazil committed to driving positive social and environmental change through investment in profitable companies that deliver essential and life-improving products and services to millions of low-income Brazilian households and communities.
About JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.6 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.
About Omidyar Network
Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their lives. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, the organization invests in and helps scale innovative organizations to catalyze economic and social change. Omidyar Network has committed more than $744 million to for-profit companies and non-profit organizations that foster economic advancement and encourage individual participation across multiple initiatives, including Consumer Internet & Mobile, Education, Financial Inclusion, Governance & Citizen Engagement, and Property Rights. To learn more, visit www.omidyar.com, and follow on Twitter @omidyarnetwork