After five years of learnings from its
$30 million philanthropic investment
in Greater Paris, with a focus on
Seine-Saint-Denis, the firm announces an expanded philanthropic
commitment and launches a business initiative to support diverse
private investment firms and their portfolio companies
New whitepaper details learnings
from the firm's recent investment in Greater Paris' economic growth and informs new
commitments across France
PARIS, Nov. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As JPMorgan Chase
continues to grow its business in France and learn from its recent philanthropic
investments supporting underserved communities in Greater Paris, today the firm announced
$70 million in new business and
philanthropic commitments to connect individuals and entrepreneurs
to economic opportunities across the country. This brings the
firm's total commitment since 2018 to $100
million.
The firm also released a new whitepaper detailing lessons
learned from the past five years, which have informed this new
firmwide commitment across France.
Today's $70 million announcement
includes:
- Spark France
(Étincelle)- Creation of a Spark France investment initiative in
partnership with Bpifrance, aimed at providing capital to gender
diverse private investment firms and funds investing in strategies
that are positively impacting society and
communities. JPMorgan Chase will commit $50 million to this initiative.
- Commitment to Underserved Communities- An
additional $20 million
philanthropic commitment to support programs that help connect
underserved communities in France
to employment and business growth opportunities that will arise
from an evolving economy. The commitment will seek to align with
France 2030, the country's
national investment plan to create new and competitive pathways for
economic growth in key sectors such as green and technology.
"The economic impact we've helped to create with local community
and government partners in Seine-Saint-Denis, and the learnings
we've developed, are critical as we look to this next chapter of
business growth in France." said
Jamie Dimon, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, JPMorgan Chase. "With over 150 years of
doing business in France, we
believe these new investments will help serve clients, deepen
relationships and help communities benefit from new economic
opportunities that were not previously accessible."
Expansion of Spark France Initiative
Access to capital remains acute for women-owned businesses
resulting in a lower growth rate for these businesses. Across
several European countries including France, 3% of private equity funds go to women
start-ups and this disparity is exacerbated at the time of crisis.
In the past year alone venture capital allocations have dropped to
2% for women-owned businesses.
The Spark France initiative will seek to invest in funds advised
by women-led managers and managers positively impacting society and
communities, which will create growth in more areas of the economy.
Research shows that diverse venture capital managers are more
likely to invest in diverse entrepreneurs.
Spark France1 will
be managed by Bpifrance in close partnership with J.P. Morgan
Asset Management – leveraging Bpifrance's experience,
infrastructure, and networking with French private equity managers.
JPMorgan Chase will commit $50
million to this initiative and Bpifrance will commit €10
million to the initiative. The objective is to raise between €150 -
€200 million by the end of 2024.
By leveraging learnings from its U.S. based Project Spark,
Jamie Kramer, Head of J.P. Morgan
Asset Management's Alternatives Solutions and the Chair of the
Project Spark Investment Committee, will lead JPMorgan Chase's
support of the initiative in the French market, along with
Kyril Courboin, the firm's Senior
Country Officer in France.
"Bpifrance is delighted to partner with JPMorgan Chase, which is
line with our actions to promote diversity in private equity as
well as impact investing. This initiative complements our support
for entrepreneurial dynamics in all territories, which recently
took another step forward with the 'Entrepreneuriat Quartiers 2030'
program launched by the French government." said Nicolas
Dufourcq, CEO of Bpifrance.
"I was present at Les Compagnons du Devoir in 2018 when
Jamie Dimon announced JPMorgan
Chase's $30 million commitment to
Greater Paris. A part of that
money was invested in a Bpifrance accelerator program supporting
the growth of entrepreneurs from Seine-Saint-Denis. It is
impressive to see how that collaboration has evolved five years
later and that JPMorgan and Bpifrance are now teaming up to create
an investment initiative which will offer capital to diverse
venture capital managers across France." said Agnes Pannier Runacher,
Minister of Energy Transition.
Commitment to Underserved Communities
JPMorgan Chase will build on progress and learnings from its
initial five-year philanthropic investment in Greater Paris by making a new $20 million commitment that doubles down on what
works and scales programs in the region and beyond. As France seeks to deliver on its national
investment plan, France
2030, which aims to create new and competitive pathways for
economic growth, JPMorgan Chase will support programs that connect
underserved communities to employment and business growth
opportunities that will arise from this new economy.
The firm's initial focus will be on:
- Career Readiness and Skills Development: Supporting
socio-economically disadvantaged young people helping them make
informed decisions about their career pathways, remain engaged in
their education, build skills and attain work experiences to access
jobs especially those related to technology, innovation and the
green transition.
- Small Business Growth: Supporting
underserved entrepreneurs, with a focus on women, and scaling
programs that have worked. The goal will be for underserved
entrepreneurs to build income and wealth by connecting them to
opportunities arising from the new economy sectors and helping them
access capital and adapt to green and technological
transformations.
"By applying the lessons we have learned, our new commitment
will bring together philanthropic and business investments to drive
greater impact throughout France. As a part of this
commitment, we will continue to look for ways to build more
diversity and inclusivity into our own recruitment practices," said
Tim Berry, Global Head of
Corporate Responsibility. "We look forward to growing and
deepening our partnerships from the past five years to continue to
accelerate growth for entrepreneurs, connect residents to economic
opportunities and strengthen the local non-profit ecosystem."
Five Years of Impact
Today's announcement marks the five-year anniversary of JPMorgan
Chase's $30 million
commitment to the Greater
Paris region, particularly in Seine-Saint-Denis, which aims
to support programs that help residents and entrepreneurs tap into
the growing opportunities associated with public and private
investment in the region, such as the Olympics and Paralympics
Games and the Grand Paris Express. With 1.5 million residents in
Greater Paris living in poverty
and an unemployment rate of over 19% for individuals between the
ages of 15 and 24 in Seine-Saint-Denis2, JPMorgan Chase
has seen the value in supporting programs that help underserved
communities access economic opportunity in the region while growing
its business in France.
Since 2018, through its support for non-profit organizations,
the firm's commitment in Greater
Paris has helped support the following:
Career Readiness and Workforce Development:
- More than 31,000 underserved individuals access
career advancement, including 11,800 young people who were
supported through career readiness programs.
- These programs have resulted in 3,000 individuals
accessing certified technical skills and more than 4,000
people attaining work experience, apprenticeships, and
employment.
Small Business Growth:
- Empowered over 8,700 micro-entrepreneurs and
600 local retail businesses from underserved neighbourhoods
to build financial resilience during the COVID crisis.
- Over 380 small businesses, with a focus on
women-owned businesses, were supported to accelerate their growth
through access to technical assistance, training, mentoring, and
the connection to procurement and supply chain contracts.
- More than 2,400 jobs have been retained or
created.
Key Learnings to Guide the Firm's Continued Work with
Business, Government and Community Leaders
The firm released a new whitepaper detailing the learnings from
its investment in Greater Paris's
economic growth. Over the past five years, JPMorgan Chase has
worked with the French government and non-profit leaders in
Greater Paris to support programs
and initiatives that create a more inclusive economy. The
firm's new business and philanthropic commitments will apply
learnings from its five years of impact:
- Lesson One: Facilitating and scaling innovation helps to create
a multiplier effect
- Lesson Two: Aligning support to public sector priorities, and
collaborating with public and private stakeholders, contributes to
impact at scale
- Lesson Three: Helping to build a stronger non-profit sector
contributes to long-lasting impact
- Lesson Four: Integrating more women into the economy helps
drive greater community development
Read the full whitepaper here
Comments on the Importance of Creating Economic Opportunities
in France
"JPMorgan Chase has shown significant support to the entire
ecosystem of actors, public stakeholders, and non-profits in
Seine-Saint-Denis. This commitment helped young people and
underserved individuals facing challenges in their professional
path and supported entrepreneurs to achieve their goals. All of
these actions contribute to creating a more resilient and inclusive
economy." said, Thibaut Guilluy, High Commissioner for
Employment and Business Engagement - Ministry of Labour,
Employment, and Economic Inclusion
"Seine-Saint-Denis is at a pivotal moment in its development.
Significant events, such as the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games
and the construction of the Grand Paris Express, are accelerating
the transformation of the region and its economic growth. For this
transformation to be a success, and importantly, for this economic
growth to benefit the residents of Seine-Saint-Denis, we need the
commitment of all stakeholders – public sector and businesses, such
as JPMorgan Chase, who chose to invest in and support the local
community, the non-profit ecosystem and young people in
Seine-Saint-Denis." said, Stéphane Troussel, President of
Seine-Saint-Denis Department
"JPMorgan Chase's support in Seine-Saint Denis over the past
five years has been extremely impactful for Simplon and the
communities we serve," stated Frédéric Bardeau, Co-Founder
and President of Simplon.co. "Their support has
helped us scale inclusive technology trainings and allowed for
enhanced synergy with other non-profit players. Through JPMorgan
Chase's help we've strengthened Simplon's technology systems and
supported our international development. We look forward to
continuing this partnership, and seeing JPMorgan Chase apply their
learnings to continue supporting communities in France."
"Our partnership with JPMorgan Chase is very strong due to the
long-term commitment. Without lasting support to detect new
entrepreneurs and enable talented people to access employment our
actions would not be nearly as impactful, " stated Saïd
Hammouche, Founding President of Mozaïk. "With JPMorgan Chase,
we are reinventing a new model of collaboration, reducing
employment discrimination in France!"
History of JPMorgan Chase in France
As the oldest U.S. bank in France, JPMorgan Chase's roots in the country
run deep. Since 1868 the firm has served its clients and local
communities in France in good and
tough times – from helping citizens take part in the country's
economic growth to supporting the Allies during WWI. Today, the
firm has the largest presence of any U.S. bank in France and employs approximately 900 people –
and that number continues to grow. The firm has its continental
European trading hub in Paris and
in 2019, JPMC expanded its commercial banking business in
France.
About Project Spark
In 2021, J.P. Morgan announced the launch of Project Spark in
the United States to provide
capital to venture capital funds managed by diverse, emerging
alternative managers. Project Spark seeks to help underrepresented
managers in three ways: First, by investing the firm's proprietary
capital, as a limited partner, directly in their funds. Second, by
allowing the managers to use the J.P. Morgan brand when capital
raising as a reference and testimonial. Last, by providing
access to our extensive J.P. Morgan network. To date, Project
Spark has selected 31 venture capital funds for $129 million in investments out of J.P. Morgan's
total commitment of $140 million.
Twenty seven fund commitments are closed and four are pending
operational due diligence.
About JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial
services firm based in the United States
of America ("U.S."), with operations worldwide. JPMorgan
Chase had $3.9 trillion in assets and
$317 billion in stockholders' equity
as of September 30, 2023. The Firm is
a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers
and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction
processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase
brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many
of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and
government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase &
Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com
About Bpifrance
Bpifrance is the French national investment bank: it finances
businesses – at every stage of their development – through loans,
guarantees, equity investments and export insurances. Bpifrance
also provides extra financial services (training, consultancy) to
help entrepreneurs meet their challenges (innovation, export…).
For more information, please visit: https://www.bpifrance.com/ -
Follow us on X (ex-Twitter): @Bpifrance -
@BpifrancePresse
1 This is a marketing communication document. Please
refer to the legal documentation of the "Spark France" Fund
(hereinafter "the Fund") before making any final investment
decision. The Fund has at this stage not been declared to the
Financial Markets Authority and marketing has not been authorized
in France or in other member
states of the European Union. With respect to the Fund, the
information contained in this document should not be considered
exhaustive as it is incomplete and subject to change. In the event
of any contradiction between the stipulations of the legal
documentation and the elements contained in this document, the
stipulations of the legal documentation will prevail. This press
release does not contain sufficient information to enable you to
make an investment decision and does not constitute an offer or
invitation to subscribe for or acquire units of the Fund.
2 https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/2011101?geo=DEP-93#chiffre-cle-5
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