Gray Ghost Ventures is a pioneer of the global impact investing movement and continues to be innovative in furthering its expansion. As one of the earliest private investors in microfinance, GGV seeks to eliminate poverty and strengthen communities through catalytic, early-stage investments in the developing world by focusing on enabling technology, financial services, and other products and services concentrated on enhancing the quality of life for large, underserved populations in emerging markets.
In 2005, Gray Ghost Ventures’ team of investment professionals was tasked by its founder to move beyond microfinance and subsequently founded the impact investment approach of creating equity infusions into technology platforms to truly empower and increase the productivity and income-generation ability of the low-income communities they serve. Thus in 2006, GGV launched a portfolio of mission-related investments on behalf of Gray Matters Capital (GMC). The team's investments focus on early-stage, venture capital investments that seek to improve the lives of the underserved via Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), Clean Tech, as well as other proven technologies. In 2008, based on opportunities realized in the market, the experience gained by the Investment team and its management track record, GGV formally established Gray Ghost Management & Operations (the Investment Manager) as a separate entity. The success of GMC's Mission-Related Portfolio led to the creation of the Gray Ghost DOEN Coöperatief in 2009, a fund charged with continuing the work that was started in 2006. The Gray Ghost Emerging Markets Fund, GGV’s third fund, will launch late in 2014.