Andrew Kuper


Andrew Kuper is a South African serial entrepreneur and investor in emerging markets. He is the founder and CEO of LeapFrog Investments, a specialist investor in emerging markets, investing in financial services and healthcare. Former United States President Bill Clinton announced the launch of the company at the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, recognising it for opening new frontiers in alternative investing. In 2017, Fortune ranked LeapFrog Investments as one of the top 5 Companies to Change the World, alongside Apple and Novartis. He resides in Sydney, Australia.

Career

Kuper was born in South Africa and brought up on a farm outside of Johannesburg. He is the son of anti-apartheid campaigners. He began investing at the age of 10 and took on his first clients at age 13. He attended the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. He later graduated from Cambridge University with a PhD in social science and political science supervised by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.
In 2004, Kuper was appointed to managing director at Ashoka, an organisation that finances thousands of social entrepreneurs. Among other roles, he ran the Global Academy for Social Entrepreneurship, working with Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank and Fazle Abed of BRAC.
In 2007, Kuper founded LeapFrog Investments. Using a distinctive 'profit with a purpose' approach, LeapFrog invests in companies that provide access to financial services and healthcare to underserved people in emerging markets. Since its establishment, as chief executive, Kuper has helped attract over $1 billion from global investors including American International Group Inc., Swiss Re AG, AXA SA and Prudential Financial. The companies in which the firm has invested have had an annual growth rate of more than 40% and reach 130 million people in 149 countries.
In 2018, Kuper was awarded the John S. Bickley Founders Award Gold Medal for Excellence by the International Insurance Society recognised for his pioneering work in profit with purpose investment.
Earlier in his career, Kuper received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He was also named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and received the Young Presidents' Organization's Social Engagement Network Award. Kuper has delivered keynote addresses to the Clinton Global Initiative, Geneva Association CEO Meetings, the IFC/Emerging Markets Private Equity Association summits, and the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year event. He is a board member of EMPEA.
Kuper is the editor of one book on governance and globalisation, Global Responsibilities and the author of another, Democracy Beyond Borders.