JFF Ventures will pair Fortune 1000 leaders with startups using technology to close talent gaps and build a more inclusive workforce
Jobs for the Future (JFF), a national nonprofit that drives transformation in the American workforce and education systems,announced the launch of JFF Ventures, a new impact investing arm that will manage funds focused exclusively on emerging technologies with the potential to improve economic mobility for workers in low-wage jobs. The new investment arm marks a major expansion of JFF’s growing focus on technology investing and acceleration, building on the organization’s 2019 acquisition and incubation of the Employment Technology Fund (ETF@JFFLabs). To date, JFF has already invested in more than 35 high-impact technology startups through ETF@JFFLabs, which will become JFF Ventures Fund I.
JFF Ventures will be supported by a newly-formed Corporate Innovation Council of leaders in talent management and development, investing, and corporate social responsibility who will advise tech entrepreneurs tackling some of today’s most critical challenges related to equity, inclusion and economic mobility.
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“At a time of growing economic uncertainty and income inequality, it’s critical that we invest in tech solutions that can help meet the complex talent needs of employers by investing in the boundless potential of the American worker,” said Yigal Kerszenbaum, founding managing partner of JFF Ventures. “This work is about investing in companies that are poised to make a major impact by unlocking opportunity for workers who have historically been the least well served.”
Despite low unemployment and record job openings in some industries, the market volatility of the past two years has hit low- and middle-wage workers the hardest, with 80% of job losses in 2020 coming from the lowest wage earners. Unemployment stands at around 3.8%, but the rate is about 1.5 times higher for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people. Meanwhile, more than two-thirds of businesses around the world report hiring difficulties—a 15-year high in the global labor market.
To help solve for these talent and equity gaps, JFF Ventures will invest in seed- and early- stage companies with a dedicated focus on developing technology solutions that create opportunities for economic advancement for workers in low- and middle-wage jobs.
“The talent and economic mobility challenges facing our country today are far too complex to solve with a single approach. Instead, we need to identify every willing partner and use every lever at our disposal, including direct investments in mission-aligned technology startups,” said Maria Flynn, president and CEO of JFF. “JFF Ventures is a natural evolution of our efforts to bridge the divide between legacy education and workforce systems, emerging technologies, and employers who can help to ensure that no worker gets left behind.”
Through JFF Ventures, JFF will prioritize investments in startups founded or led by women of all backgrounds and men and women of color. More than half of JFF’s current portfolio companies launched with female founders, compared to 2.3% of companies who have received venture funding overall, and 60% launched with founders of color.
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To provide founders with insight into the needs of employers, the new JFF Ventures Corporate Innovation Council will provide coaching, advice on go-to-market strategy, and feedback on product design and business model to help founders maximize product-market fit. Founding members include leaders from Fortune 1000 companies across major industries, including: Jocelyn Caldwell, vice president, Workforce Strategy and Planning at Walmart; Todd Lewis, vice president at Prologis Ventures; Milan Suri, senior director, Distribution Growth Ventures at Northwestern Mutual; and Nikita Steals, vice president, Tech Talent Acquisition at Capital One. The Council’s work will be made possible through generous support from Strada Education Network.
“Walmart is honored to join JFF’s newly-formed Corporate Innovation Council, using our collective insight to help early-stage companies tackle some of today’s greatest challenges related to workforce equity, inclusion, and economic mobility,” said Jocelyn Caldwell, vice president, Workforce Strategy and Planning at Walmart. “While we aim to support these early-stage companies as they drive scale and reach, we are also grateful for their valuable insight into tech-based learning and work-focused innovations that will help build a more inclusive future of work.”
“Today’s talent and equity gaps are two sides of the same coin: more and more companies are realizing that they can’t meet their growth and performance goals without putting talent and people at the center of corporate strategy,” said Cat Ward, JFF’s vice president for Employer Mobilization, who leads the organization’s Corporate Leadership practice. “By tapping into the expertise of corporate leaders who are on the frontlines of hiring and talent development, we can help to align emerging technologies with the needs of large enterprise employers they want to serve.”
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