Legatum
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LEGATUM is a privately owned, international investment organisation, headquartered in Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates. Legatum's primary focus is commercial investment, and has applied its investor's expertise to a long-standing involvement in the sustainable development of communities around the globe.
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[edit] Organisation and Operations
The Legatum group is active in the international markets for both financial and social capital. Legatum believes that financial success and community development are mutually reinforcing and mutually beneficial - as businesses grow, so do communities, and vice versa. Legatum combines the long-term, value-oriented investment approach of Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett with the philanthropic vision of the Rockefeller and Carnegie Foundations, but is more global in its focus than many similar organisations.
Legatum's activities are undertaken through four divisions:
- Legatum Capital;
- Legatum Global Development ("LGD");
- The Legatum Institute for Global Development (“LIGD”);and
- The Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT ("LCDE")
[edit] Legatum Capital
Legatum Capital is a long-term, value-oriented portfolio investor with a special emphasis on emerging markets, and countries and industries in transition. The firm has managed a multi-billion-dollar fund of proprietary capital for more than twenty years.
[edit] Legatum Global Development
Legatum Global Development promotes sustainable global prosperity through the application of market-based solutions to solve long-term development problems. The company is active in two main areas:
- Venture Capital – engaging in "double bottom line" investing that delivers social returns while generating financial returns that allow activities to be increased in both scale and scope;
- Humanitarian Grants – supporting community-based projects run by local entrepreneurs in the priority sectors of Health, Education, Economic Empowerment, Human Liberty, Disaster Recovery and the Environment;
Legatum's Prosperity Ladder graphically demonstrates the Group's approach to investment at all levels of the economic and social scale.
[edit] The Legatum Institute for Global Development
The Legatum Institute for Global Development is an independent policy, advisory and advocacy organisation within the Legatum group of companies. The Institute researches and promotes the principles that drive the creation of global prosperity and the expansion of human liberty. The Institute undertakes original and collaborative research and publishes case studies and ancillary literature. Recent initiatives include the launch of the Legatum Prosperity Index, which measures prosperity across 50 countries as a combination of material wealth and life satisfaction.
[edit] The Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT
Legatum made a structured gift of USD50 million to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ("MIT") to create a Center which will support the Legatum Fellows. Entrepreneurs from the developing world participate in a cross-faculty program with the goal of returning to their home countries to apply their knowledge to practical development solutions.
[edit] Investment Activity
A review of Legatum's investment activities can be found at www.legatum.com. A sample of these includes the following investments:
- Legatum Capital has invested over $4 billion in India, with an emphasis on the financial services sector.
- In October 2007, Legatum Capital announced an investment of USD 8.4 million in Intellecap, a firm that provides consulting, business and development services to investors and companies in the social development sector.
- In May 2007, Legatum Global Development invested US$25 million in SHARE Microfin Ltd. (www.sharemicrofin.com), SHARE is India's leading and largest microfinance institution based in Hyderabad, with over 1 million clients. This is the biggest capital investment of its kind in the sector.
- Legatum Global Development’s recent initiatives include:
- Funding a project to eliminate seven waterborne diseases from two post-conflict countries in Africa.
- Funding over 100 community-based projects in the last 18 months that address education, prevention and care relating to HIV and AIDS.
- Partnering with Professor Michael Kremer of Harvard University in a study in India, where Legatum’s grant will provide scholarships, covering the full cost of tuition for 6,000 children in 100 villages in Andhra Pradesh, and enabling them to attend primary schools for full five year terms.
- Funding for 11 anti-slavery projects in Ecuador. The grants provided anti-trafficking education for 143,000 people and rescued nearly 4,000 victims of slavery. The joint efforts of the grantees also resulted in changes to Ecuadorian law to criminalise all forms of slavery and ensure appropriate punishment for convicted traffickers.
- Alleviating suffering caused by war, famine and other disasters. In addition to funding basic needs such as shelter, food and water, Legatum also funds projects that draw the world's attention to otherwise ignored ongoing crises. One example is Northern Uganda, where Legatum invested in the production of a documentary film and an awareness campaign called "Invisible Children" (www.invisiblechildren.com).
- The first Legatum Pioneers of Prosperity Africa Prize concluded in an awards ceremony in Kigali, Rwanda on November 30th, 2007. Small and medium-sized businesses from East Africa competed for a Grand Prize of USD 100,000 and five other prizes of USD 50,000.
[edit] History
- Legatum was founded in December 2006 by Christopher Chandler, Chairman of Legatum Global Holdings. Mr. Chandler was formerly President of the holding company for the Sovereign Global group of companies ("Sovereign"), which he co-founded in 1986. From 1986 to 2006, Sovereign provided capital to companies and governments in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe, and to industries including telecommunications, electric utilities, steel, oil and gas, banking and oil refining.
- Legatum's name originates from the Latin noun for "legacy", meaning a "gift provided to others without charge".
[edit] References
1. Economic Times of India article about Legatum (October 2007)
2. New York Times article regarding Legatum Center at MIT (September 2007)
3. Microcapital Magazine announcement of the largest equity investment in the microfinance sector (May 2007)
4. New Times of Rwanda article regarding the Legatum Pioneers of Prosperity Africa Prize (December 2007)
