Kathy Matsui, the former vice-chair of Goldman Sachs Japan, has launched MPower Partners Fund, a venture capital fund aimed at assisting startups with upholding and promoting their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) values. the primary focus of the new venture capital fund will be on investing in growth for late-stage Japanese startups.
In addition to their primary target market, MPower Partners Fund will also be open to investing in earlier-stage firms in foreign markets across the healthcare, fintech, and sustainability industries. This information was divulged in a public announcement on Monday.
Having retired from her role at Goldman Sachs at the end of 2020, Kathy Matsui had developed a reputation for enforcing her so-called “womenomics”, which aimed to influence government policy and fuel female participation in the workforce.
Matsui is a general fund partner alongside Yumiko Murakami, the former head of the OECD Tokyo Centre who previously worked for Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. They are joined by Miwa Seki, a university lecturer who left behind a career in portfolio management and investment banking. Eriko Suzuki, who previously worked for Morgan Stanley and UBS Security, serves as managing director.
Some of the big names who have chosen to invest in the fund include Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co., Sompo Holdings, and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, who contribute a portion of the fund’s target of $150 million in capital commitments.
