JPMorgan, Bank of America invest in L’ATTITUDE Ventures’ first fund

(Reuters) – L’ATTITUDE Ventures on Wednesday closed its first institutional fund raising over $100 million with an anchor investment from Wall Street giant JPMorgan Chase and initial investments from Trujillo Group and Bank of America.

The fund which intends to invest in early-stage companies that are either founded or run by Latino entrepreneurs also had investments from Barclays, the Royal Bank of Canada and Cisco, among others.

Several large financial firms have looked to increase their diversity footprint and support minority communities since 2021 as impact investing gains momentum. Companies are becoming more conscious of backing businesses and startups from traditionally underrepresented socio-cultural backgrounds.

“(The investment) reinforces our ongoing efforts to address the persistent gap in access to growth capital and open more doors for emerging companies led by diverse entrepreneurs,” said Bank of America’s Chief Executive Brian Moynihan in a statement.

Latin American companies, especially in the technology and financial sector, have made multi-billion dollar entries into the U.S. market. Last year, Brazilian digital lender Nubank fetched a valuation of nearly $52 billion in its market debut.

“Latino-led businesses are critical to the U.S. economy but often lack access to capital and resources for growth,” said Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer, JPMorgan.

The investment is intended to build on the largest U.S. bank’s broader commitment to supporting Latino entrepreneurs and small businesses in the country, Dimon added.

(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)