Overview

Justin Willmott has worked on investments that have spanned the globe but it wasn’t until he became Vice President of Legatum Ventures that he felt he was investing in positive global impact. Legatum Ventures (part of the Legatum Group) invests private capital in growing enterprises that promote prosperity in the developing world. Its vision is to play a defining role in the creation of a new asset class within global capital markets – one in which investors can do well by doing good.

Before beginning his MBA this Bristol-born alumni worked for a branch of the Saudi royal family, while also running his own investment and strategic consulting practice focused on the Middle East. In the six years before he came to Oxford, Justin lived and worked in the U.K., Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and America and continued on his international career path after graduation when he joined Morgan Stanley as an Investment Advisor working closely with Gulf based private investors and family offices. It was after meeting the Legatum team at a microfinance conference in New York that he made the leap to focusing on developing world investments with high social impact.

“I had spent most of my professional life in the investment industry and was frustrated by the somewhat detached philosophy of most investors,” says Justin. “The more I learnt about Legatum the more it resonated with me.” One of Legatum Ventures’ flagship investments is in SHARE Microfin Ltd, among India’s largest microfinance institutions. Legatum Ventures’ investment in SHARE helped to strengthen the company’s existing foundations allowing it to reach millions of new clients across India, creating exceptional social and financial returns by channeling funds from commercial banks as collateral-free loans to Joint Liability Groups.

“SHARE now provides a quality microcredit product really well at scale,” says Justin. “But the goal is to build out multiple financial products (e.g. savings, health, insurance, education) rather than simply replacing the traditional moneylender that’s ubiquitous across the developing world.” Legatum Ventures’ investment strategy covers many sectors, from energy to education, and technology to capital intermediation. Working with such a broad spectrum of investments with scalable social impact, Justin finds it hard to put his finger on a specific thing he finds most rewarding about his job. “It’s the overall mission that satisfies me the most,” he says. “To be involved with stories like SHARE, as it grows and betters the lives of millions, is something that really motivates me every day.”