Japan-based venture capital vehicle MPower Partners Fund has launched with backing from limited partners including insurers Sompo Holdings and Dai-ichi Life and financial services holding company Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings.
The fund has a $150m target for its close and will primarily invest in local companies in sectors such as financial technology, healthcare, consumer goods and services and the environment. It will also focus on environmental, social and governance-based investing.
The majority of the fund’s investments will be at growth and late stage, and it will use the remainder of the fund’s capital for early-stage investments outside of Japan.
The firm’s general partners include Kathy Matsui (pictured), a former vice-chairwoman and chief Japan equity strategist for investment bank Goldman Sachs; Yumiko Murakami, the former head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Tokyo Centre; and Miwa Seki, a former general partner of VC fund Fresco Capital.
Photo of Kathy Matsui courtesy of LinkedIn