LeapFrog’s majority investment in Express was, at the time, the largest private foreign investment in Ghana’s insurance industry.

At the time, the company was in difficulty, but LeapFrog saw the opportunity in Ghana’s burgeoning insurance market. The country is one of the fastest growing economies globally, with the life insurance sector alone growing 40% per annum. Yet less than 2% of the country’s 25 million people had access to insurance, offering a compelling opportunity for quality, relevant and affordable products to fill this gap.

LeapFrog set to work, with the objective of restructuring Express and then transforming it from insignificance to a dominant position in the mass-market.

LeapFrog helped Express Life to create a completely new product range: more affordable, better quality, and more relevant to the emerging customer. LeapFrog supported the implementation of a new IT system, enabled customer service improvements and ensured the viability of low-cost insurance policies. Over 350 team members underwent sales and management training, including a large new agency force.

Crucially, LeapFrog promoted connections across the portfolio by introducing Express to BIMA, a dynamic mobile distributor and LeapFrog investment. Read about this partnership here.

When LeapFrog invested, Express had 12,000 clients. Within two years, Express Life had catapulted to 423,000 clients, reaching almost 900,000 people, family members included.

This transformed company attracted the attention of Prudential PLC, who were looking to establish a footprint in Africa. By March 2014, Express – now a healthy and growing company – had been acquired by Prudential PLC. The successful LeapFrog exit was a remarkable demonstration of how profitable investing can go hand-in-hand with deep social impact.