Why not have your money do something really good while it earns a return on your investment?
This is what Leapfrog client Gray Ghost Ventures is all about. It’s a different kind of investment firm, one that invests in business models around the world that are sustainable, improve lives and make a profit — that’s the triple bottom line. In all, the firm has committed more than $100 million of “impact investing” to social enterprises.
And when it comes to investing in innovative technologies, it helps lead the way. Here are five valuable tech advancements that Gray Ghost Ventures supports:
1. Solar-powered storage units that keep food cold and edible in remote areas that are off the grid.
2. “Fuel independent” engines that provide ultra-affordable, alternative energy.
3. Cell-phone based services that let people with no bank accounts make financial transactions.
4. Low-cost, rechargeable LED lanterns to replace dangerous kerosene lanterns in villages with no electricity.
5. Technology that enables important healthcare, disease and medication data to be transmitted by text, mobile web browsers and online.
Gray Ghost Ventures was also one of the earliest investors in microfinance, which gives very small loans to unemployed or low-income people (usually women in developing countries) so they can start small businesses without having to put up collateral. These types of loans make a significant and lasting impact, and are keeping thousands out of poverty.
Leapfrog is proud to provide discounted IT services to Gray Ghost Ventures and even more proud to be associated with their exemplary work and leadership. We invite you to learn more about the firm’s two philanthropic foundations, its independent fund that seeds for-profit social ventures called First Light and its Indian School Finance Company that finances private school brick-and-mortar projects.
