Covid-19 hit people who work in low-wage jobs disproportionately hard in 2020, prompting the International Labour Organization to ask governments around the world to “protect the vulnerable.”¹

So, when the opportunity came to support ETF@JFFLabs, a venture fund programme within the US not-for-profit organisation Jobs for the Future (JFF)², Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation did not hesitate.

As one of 15 capital providers to ETF@JFFLabs, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, through its New Initiatives Fund programme, has made a US$1m debt investment in the employment technology fund. The loan has a nine-year term at a low rate of interest.

“Our efforts are designed to be responsive to the needs of our communities, support diversity and racial economic equity, and seek opportunities that positively affect low- and moderate-income individuals and households,” says Joanne Gan, Vice President in Deutsche Bank’s Community Development Finance Group, which manages the New Initiatives Fund programme.

ETF@JFFLabs invests in organisations ranging from a company that created an app to help home health care workers acquire credentials, to a startup in the electric vehicle industry that’s been able to pay workers US$30 an hour.

The “ETF” in “ETF@JFFLabs” stands for “Employment Technology Fund” (and not exchange traded funds – its more well-known meaning). The fund supports entrepreneurs building technology solutions that help people who work in low-wage jobs find, secure and prepare for higher-paying jobs. “Our broader mission is to create economic mobility for all,” says Yigal Kerszenbaum, the fund’s Managing Director and founding partner.

ETF was founded in 2017 as a collaborative effort of the Walmart, W.K. Kellogg, Rockefeller and Joyce foundations. “They noticed a dearth of capital flowing to early-stage tech companies serving the needs of low- and middle-income adult workers and learners,” explains Kerszenbaum, who took the fund’s reins after managing the Rockefeller Foundation’s impact investing portfolio.

In 2019, ETF merged with JFF, a national not-for-profit firm focused on driving change in the American workforce and education systems. The goal was “to better support our entrepreneurs and drive impact,” Kerszenbaum says.

Shortly afterward, in February 2020, the pandemic arrived. “In the first six months, nearly 45 million jobs were lost, impacting many people in frontline and essential roles who are the focus of our fund, including recent immigrants, Black and Latinx men, and women of all racial backgrounds,” Kerszenbaum notes.

As the mission of increasing economic advancement became more pressing than ever, the fund went into high gear, he says. “A lot of the products and tools we had invested in became more in demand. It was a call to action, and the entrepreneurs we support redoubled their efforts.”

On its website, ETF@JFFLabs lists 30 entrepreneurial companies it has invested in. Some common themes include:

• Technology-supported skills development. Anthill is a mobile-based talent platform for the reskilling and development of a deskless workforce; Cell-Ed provides access to instructional materials on a mobile phone, giving adults an opportunity to learn new skills without participating in traditional classes; and NewCampus is an education platform delivering business and leadership training.
• Healthcare. CareAcademy provides mobile learning to upskill and certify adults for home health careers.
• Financing training and education. Climb Credit offers loans that increase access to high-impact training programs; Edquity is a college financial success and emergency aid platform for students; and Stride Funding gives students flexible ways to fund their education with income share.

Some 70% of the investment and grants from ETF@JFFLabs have gone to companies founded or led by women and/or people of colour. “We look for underrepresented and diverse entrepreneurs who understand the experiences of learners and workers in their communities and are able to design products and tools that can really drive impact,” Kerszenbaum says.

ETF@JFFLabs provides capital to pave the way for living-wage jobs, the type that ChargerHelp! is now able to provide in communities across the country. In that effort, the venture fund has raised more than US$20m and to date invested just under US$10m across its portfolio companies, Kerszenbaum concludes.

Sources

¹ See Jobs and Covid-19 at flow.db.com
² See https://bit.ly/35Hnwha at jff.org
³ See https://bit.ly/3IXm7l7 at chargerhelp.com