Economics

Former JPMorgan Banker Sets Up Fund in...Afghanistan

  • Former JPMorgan banker takes private equity fund into war zone
  • InFrontier sees upside in insurance, energy and healthcare
Smoke rising into the air after Taliban militants launched an attack on Ghazni on Aug. 10.Photographer: Zakeria Hashimi/AFP via Getty Images
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In a four-story building guarded by men with Kalashnikov rifles near a dusty intersection in Kabul, Felix von Schubert speaks enthusiastically about the investing opportunities in Afghanistan, where U.S. troops have been locked in a bloody conflict for 17 years.

During a July visit, he met with executives of the Insurance Corporation of Afghanistan (ICA), a provider of life insurance and corporate terrorism coverage that received a $5 million investment earlier this year from InFrontier, a private equity fund co-founded by von Schubert. “Afghanistan has a terrible reputation,” says the 46-year-old ex-JPMorgan Chase & Co. banker. Yet “there are really good opportunities for companies to grow.”