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JFF Ventures Fund I

JFF Ventures Fund I

July 21, 2020

Practices & Centers

Our Opportunity

Millions of adults struggle to succeed in the American labor market.

For these individuals—many of whom are women, people of color, and/or immigrants—barriers to skills development and employment opportunities inhibit their economic security and mobility.

JFF Ventures Fund I, formerly the Employment Technology Fund (ETF@JFFLabs), supports promising entrepreneurs who are developing technology to train and upskill low-income and low- and middle-skill adults and connect them to employment opportunities.

JFF Ventures is committed to reimagining a more inclusive future of work—a future where technology is used to increase access to learning, employment, and economic mobility for all adults. We work closely with the companies in which we invest to offer them flexible capital tailored to their business models and objectives.

JFF Ventures is committed to reimagining a more inclusive future of work—a future where technology is used to increase access to learning, employment, and economic mobility for all adults. We work closely with the companies in which we invest to offer them flexible capital tailored to their business models and objectives.

 

Team

Our team has decades of experience in impact investing, entrepreneurship, and education and workforce technologies.

We are pleased to have been recognized as an emerging fund manager by ImpactAssets for three years in a row.

Progress

$11,000,000

Invested or granted

48%

Investment and grants made to companies founded or led by women

62%

Investment and grants made to companies founded or led by people of color

15,000,000

Workers reached

Fund I 2021 Impact Report
Read More

ETF [JFF Ventures] is seeding investments in companies that have the potential to tackle this challenge head-on, in ways that can help close persistent skill and talent gaps. They’ve found a great strategic partner in the team at JFF.

Ryan Craig, managing director at University Ventures

Portfolio

Whom we invest and partner with in Fund I
The word

Owners

Providing training, tools, and mentorship to entrepreneurs

@JoinOwners

* These companies have exited our portfolio.

Meet Our Advisors

A person with shoulder-length blonde hair smiling against a green background.

Alison Ascher Webber

EdTech Center at World Education

A woman with shoulder-length brown hair and a floral top smiles in front of a large tree trunk.

Patti Constantakis

Walmart.org

A person in a maroon suit stands in a hallway with art on the walls.

Andrea Mainelli

Tyton Partners

A woman with long brown hair and a black jacket smiles at the camera, standing in front of a wooden background.

Jess Hinkle

Strada Education Network

Smiling person with long brown hair wearing a sleeveless dark top, standing outdoors with blurred greenery in the background.

Jess Haselton

ECMC Foundation

Black and white photo of a person with long dark hair, smiling, wearing a zip-up jacket.

Smitha Das

World Education Services

A person with long brown hair is smiling against a dark background.

Jill Barkin

Beacon Fund

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