What Jasmine Social Investments does

Jasmine Social Investments is a privately held philanthropic foundation established in 2006 by Sam Morgan following the sale of Trade Me to Fairfax. The foundation's stated mission is to find extraordinary social organizations and fund them, with a focus on high-performing social ventures and outstanding social entrepreneurs addressing basic needs of the very poor. Jasmine provides results-oriented funding — primarily unrestricted grants, with occasional equity and debt investments — alongside advice, connections, and active advocacy for funded organizations within its network of like-minded funders. The foundation's value proposition is differentiated by trust-based, long-duration capital, on-site due diligence (including venture visits), and shared diligence practices with co-investors.

Jasmine operates with a small team of nine: a Founder/Chair, a CEO, two Investment Principals, two Investment Managers, a Program & Office Coordinator, and two Trustees. The team combines investment banking, management consulting, venture capital, PwC M&A due diligence, medical technology commercialization, and international development experience. Geographically, deployment concentrates on Africa and South Asia, with a smaller domestic New Zealand portfolio; the combined portfolio includes over 25 global organizations and 3 domestic investees spanning healthcare, education, livelihoods, agriculture, media, and economic development. Named portfolio organizations include One Acre Fund, Living Goods, Muso Health, Educate Girls, Noora Health, SPBD Microfinance, VisionSpring, Digital Green, and StrongMinds.

The foundation's economic model is not product- or service-based; it deploys an endowment funded by the Trade Me sale and does not generate commercial revenue. Customer acquisition is community-led rather than marketing-led — the foundation works through a tight-knit network of social investors, shares diligence outputs, and engages investees through direct in-person visits. There is no proprietary technology stack, no AI or machine-learning capability within the foundation itself, and no pricing model since funding terms are negotiated individually with each investee organization.

Name

Jasmine Social Investments

Legal name

Jasmine Social Investments

Website

https://jasmine.org.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Jasmine Social Investments is a New Zealand-based philanthropic foundation established in 2006 by Sam Morgan that provides unrestricted, long-term grants, equity, and debt funding to high-performing social ventures addressing basic needs of the very poor, with a portfolio of 25+ organizations concentrated in Africa and South Asia across healthcare, education, and livelihoods.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Philanthropy

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Impact Investing & Social Finance (Funds, CDFIs, Microfinance) (BPAGALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), Social Impact & Inclusive Finance Funds (FSANAJAH)

Keywords

• Venture philanthropy funding
• Social impact investing
• Grant funding programs
• Unrestricted long-term funding
• Social enterprise investment

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Funding Model: Jasmine Social Investments is a foundation established by Sam Morgan following the sale of Trade Me to Fairfax in 2006. The foundation provides results-oriented funding (mostly grants, sometimes equity or debt) to high-performing social ventures and outstanding social entrepreneurs. The foundation does not generate revenue from products or services; it deploys its endowment to fund organisations addressing basic needs of the very poor.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Jasmine Social Investments is a foundation that deploys patient capital to high-performing social ventures and social entrepreneurs solving basic needs of the very poor. Funding is delivered primarily as unrestricted grants and occasionally as equity or debt, with additional advisory support, network introductions, and active advocacy for funded organisations.

Product overview

Jasmine Social Investments is a foundation that provides results-oriented funding (primarily grants, with occasional equity or debt investments) to high-performing social ventures and outstanding social entrepreneurs. The organization focuses on health, education, better livelihoods, and environmental sustainability sectors, primarily in Africa and South Asia. Jasmine offers unrestricted, long-term funding along with advisory support and network connections to help social enterprises scale their impact.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grant funding to social ventures Unrestricted, long-term grants provided to high-performing early-stage social ventures and social entrepreneurs addressing basic needs of the very poor in health, education, livelihoods, and environmental sustainability.
• Equity and debt investment in social ventures Occasional equity or debt investments provided to selected social ventures alongside the foundation's grant funding, used when an organisation's needs and structure suit a non-grant instrument.
• Strategic advice, connections, and advocacy support Non-financial support offered to portfolio organisations, including strategic advice, introductions to a global network of funders and talent, and active advocacy for funded ventures within the social investment community.

Quantifiable outcome

• Organisations seeking to reach 100,000+ beneficiaries

Named customers30 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• New Profit: Venture philanthropy fund that provides unrestricted capital and strategic support to social entrepreneurs, sharing Jasmine's trust-based, long-term orientation toward scaling impact.
• Acumen: Global impact investor providing patient capital and advisory support to early-stage social enterprises tackling poverty, with a comparable focus on Africa and South Asia and a similarly hands-on investment approach.
• Omidyar Network: Philanthropic investment firm established by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar that makes grants, equity, and debt investments in social enterprises globally, sharing Jasmine's blend of unrestricted capital and venture-style support.
• Mulago Foundation: Small, high-conviction foundation that funds cost-effective solutions to global poverty, with a comparable scale, lean team, and focus on evidence-driven impact at scale in Africa and South Asia.
• Skoll Foundation: Foundation funding social entrepreneurs tackling the world's most pressing problems, with a comparable model of long-term, unrestricted support and ecosystem advocacy for investees.
• Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation: High-engagement venture philanthropy foundation funding early-stage social enterprises with multi-year unrestricted capital and capacity building, comparable in team size, scope, and hands-on model.
• Peery Foundation: Family foundation providing unrestricted, multi-year grants and capacity-building support to high-impact social entrepreneurs, with a comparable lean, high-conviction approach to global poverty alleviation.
• Big Bang Philanthropy: Collaborative of funders co-investing in proven, scalable social enterprises primarily in East Africa and South Asia, sharing Jasmine's focus geography, trust-based approach, and cross-funder diligence sharing.

Broad incumbents

• Blue Meridian Partners: Large-scale impact investing collaborative funding proven solutions for economically disadvantaged children and families; overlaps with Jasmine's model but operates at significantly greater scale and more US-domestic focus.
• Luminate: Global philanthropic foundation supporting civic empowerment and independent media, overlapping with Jasmine's funding of organizations like Development Media but broader in mission and substantially larger in scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments12 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Jasmine Social Investments