LeapFrog Investments has become the first equity impact investor to surpass the billion-dollar mark, after the Overseas Private Investment Corporation’s commitment of up to $200m.

Dr. Andrew Kuper, Founder and CEO of LeapFrog Investments, said “this is a breakthrough in impact investing”.

“This is the largest single commitment made by OPIC to a private equity manager and it is the largest commitment in history to any impact investment manager,” he told Africa Global Funds.

“For us, performance, specialization in emerging consumer and genuine deep operational value add – are the things that we do and we really focus on. So when we get to investors we’re not just saying it, we’re living it. Investors understand it and that what leads to large commitments,” he added.

Kuper said that LeapFrog plans to invest this capital in financial services and healthcare businesses in both Africa and emerging Asia.

“We’re going to continue our theme of focusing on emerging consumers – what we call ‘the rising 4 billion’, which live under $10 a day, but rapidly emerging into the middle class. We’re going to continue to very much focus on companies that serve that population,” he said.

“We are anticipating to announce acquisition of another life insurer in Africa and we have deals for likely execution in 2016 in Asia and South East Asia,” he said.

Kuper confirmed that LeapFrog is “not currently fundraising”.

“The second fund is over 75% committed and reserved and both Fund I and Fund II’ companies are doing exceptionally well. We had a 60% uptake in revenue on average in the portfolio last year,” he said.

“All that is tracking well and makes us very confident for the next vehicle we raise. The third fund is yet to be decided,” he stressed.

Kuper added that early in 2016, LeapFrog will be announcing a number of new hires: “We are currently in the process of setting up a Lagos office as well as a Mumbai office.”

Many sophisticated investors are joining the move towards what LeapFrog terms “profit with purpose” investment strategies.

US pension plans and endowments in particular saw a recent shift in US policy to enable them to consider a wider range of investment opportunities, combining financial reward and impact.

Leading US investors in LeapFrog’s funds to date include AIG, J.P. Morgan, MetLife, Prudential Financial, RGA, and TIAA-CREF.

OPIC’s historic commitment to LeapFrog marks a new level of recognition for the private sector as a source of social change.

Since launching with President Clinton in 2009, LeapFrog has emphasized the need for scale and strong returns in impact investing.

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 companies supported by LeapFrog. I look forward to the results of OPIC’s support to this exciting fund manager.”