To launch a $14.5 million fund dedicated to seed-stage companies in Southeast Asian, Malaysia Venture Capital Management Berhard (MAVCAP) has partnered with Gobi Partners.
MAVCAP, which claims to be the country’s largest venture capital firm, has collaborated with Gobi for the second time. The Gobi MAVCAP ASEAN SuperSeed Fund has already invested in five companies: e-commerce site operator Nuren Group; restaurant discovery engine Offpeak, on-demand service platform RecomN, tour site Triip.me, and YouthsToday, an advocacy group and event organizer.
Founded in 2002 to focus on startups in China, this is the second time Gobi has collaborated with MAVCAP. In September, the two launched a $50 million fund for Series A investments in Southeast Asia and China.
Ku said “The region is still ripe, as many firms in Asia remain heavily focused on China and India, making Southeast Asia a gem for early-stage investors as it has yet to reach the hype levels China and India’s startup scenes are currently experiencing.” This means that Southeast Asia now boasts its own unicorns, including Indonesia e-commerce sites Tokopedia and Matahari Mall and Singapore-based ride hailing app Grab.
E-commerce, financial technology that will enable more consumers to pay for online purchases, mobile and start-ups targeted to Muslim consumers will be the main focus of The SuperSeed Fund.
Countries of Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia get a lot of investor attention because they have large populations and government support for new companies, but Ku believes Thailand is also very promising for Start-ups.
