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The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s Development Finance Institution, will invest $5 million into support Unreasonable Capital Fund I, a venture capital firm that invests in scalable and profitable social ventures 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 East Africa, a subsidiary and beneficiary of the Unreasonable Capital Fund has invested in startups such as iProcure, OjayGreene,Tugende, DumaWorks among others.
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 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.”
