Libertad is no BlackRock. We are not Sequoia.

Of course we aren’t - these guys are huge and we are puny! The point we want to make is that so many funds these days collect other people’s money, charge a management fee and a carry for successful deals. They get paid whether they succeed or not.

Libertad is a pool of our own money, which we invest at our own discretion and risk.

Our first investment was almost 10 years ago, in the angel round for a crazy idea to bring financial inclusion to the most underserved populations in sub-Saharan Africa. Quite a rash call for a team based in Tokyo. But today, that startup employs 60 people, and connects more than 180 million Africans, making it the biggest network on the continent. Needless to say, we are smiling.

Since then, Libertad’s portfolio has grown to over 12 investments, scattered across the globe, in areas from fintech, to fast moving consumer goods, from leisure hardware to search technology. We invest with and in people we know and trust and believe in. We do our best to make sure their husbands or wives like us, too, because then we might get screwed a bit less. No one wants their spouse to be angry with them, right?