OPIC Approves $5 Million to Support Unreasonable Capital Fund Investing in Emerging Markets
December 19, 2016
(OPIC)
WASHINGTON – The Overseas Private Investment
Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s
Development Finance Institution, today
announced the financing of up to $5 million to
support Unreasonable Capital Fund I.
Unreasonable Capital is a venture capital firm
that invests in scalable and profitable
companies working to address social and
environmental issues that improve the lives of
people living in underserved communities across
Latin America, India, Asia, and Africa.
“OPIC is delighted to support Unreasonable
Capital as the fund invests across several
regions and in a variety of sectors, from
energy access to financial technology, that
will have a positive development impact,” said
Elizabeth L. Littlefield, OPIC’s President and
CEO. “Unreasonable Capital’s approach of
investing in early stage companies and
providing operating support will have a
long-lasting impact on the underserved
communities in those regions. OPIC is committed
to helping the private sector enter into
emerging markets and pursue opportunities in
some of the world’s largest and fastest growing
economies that are often overlooked by private
investors.”
“Unreasonable Capital is committed to
supporting the greatest entrepreneurs of our
time, those who are addressing the
underpinnings of endemic poverty with
profitable businesses. These companies provide
the needed products and services that will
facilitate large populations of people to rise
into the global middle class,” said Ashok
Reddy, Co-founder and Partner with Unreasonable
Capital. “We are honored to work with OPIC,
which has an established a track record of
successfully investing into developing
markets.”
Unreasonable Capital makes investments and
provides operating support to early-stage
companies that connect bottom-of-the-pyramid,
underserved populations to products and
services that improve their lives. Such
investments provide low income communities with
opportunities for economic growth and stability
to which they would otherwise not have access,
allowing Unreasonable Capital to provide a
measurable benefit to these markets.
The fund will focus on energy access, financial
technology, and mobile phone innovations in
agriculture and artisan-driven fashion,
connecting small, local goods to global
markets. Unreasonable Capital works closely
with Unreasonable Group, a global network of
business accelerator programs that provides
mentorship to early-stage entrepreneurs solving
society’s toughest social and environmental
challenges.
OPIC’s support to Unreasonable Capital is
through the institution’s Innovative Financial
Intermediaries Program (IFIP), a program
launched to support smaller-scale financial
intermediaries and vehicles investing with a
specific focus on impact and innovation.
Unreasonable Capital’s proposal was submitted
to OPIC’s IFIP review committee as part of a
competitive, open process. Investment funds or
vehicles interested in working with OPIC
through IFIP should visit www.opic.gov.
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