East Ventures raises US$550m to focus on SEA startups

Indonesia-focused venture capital firm, East Ventures, has raised a total of US$550 million in the final close of its latest funds to focus on Indonesia and Southeast Asia startups. The firm will allocate US$150 million for early-stage deals, and US$400 millions for growth-stage deals. 

According to the capital firm, it has experienced significant growth in its portfolio, with more than 200 portfolios from seed to growth stages. The firm is managing over US$1 billion assets under management, and has attracted US$6.7 billion in follow-on funding for the portfolio companies. Additionally, it has recorded more than US$86 billion of annualized GMV in aggregate by its portfolio. 

East Ventures has launched many strategic initiatives in supporting the overall progress and development of Indonesia, such as supporting the digital transformation through its annual East Ventures - Digital Competitiveness Index report, and engaging with a UN-supported network of investors. Additionally, in the usage of the funds East Venture has accumulated, the firm has also said that it would ensure the incorporation of sustainability aspects, by being the first venture capital in Indonesia to sign the Principle of Responsible Investment. 

Meanwhile, the firm also recently invested in Indonesian edtech startup MySkill. While the amount was undisclosed, co-founder and CEO of MySkill, Angga Fauzan, said the fund will accelerate its mission in supporting job seekers in Indonesia to achieve their dream careers.

Willson Cuaca, co-founder and managing partner of East Ventures, explained that the team is very bullish about Indonesia yet mindful of the global market condition. "We have built a strong return track record for more than a decade and as the ecosystem flywheel effect kicks in. East Ventures is well-positioned to ride on it. We have been transforming ourselves from a seed-stage investor into multi-stage investor and into becoming an efficient and robust platform to support entrepreneurship," Cuaca said.

Roderick Purwana, managing partner of East Ventures, added that with Indonesia navigating the post-pandemic era, rising digital adoption has pushed for advances in many sectors, and Indonesia is in fact among the fastest-growing digital economies in Southeast Asia.

"Digitalisation in Indonesia has become more robust, with 73.7% of internet penetration rate in 2021 and more equal digital competitiveness across the regions shown by the increased EV-DCI score from 2020-2022. We also saw the IPOs of some of Indonesia’s largest tech companies in recent timesーa significant milestone in paving the way for other startups in the country to follow suit," she explained.

As such, East Ventures will continue to double down its investments in Indonesia, believing that initiatives made by relevant stakeholders such as the government promoting digitalisation through its G20 Presidency will further elevate the tech ecosystem and create greater investment opportunities in Indonesia. 

As for support from other stakeholders, East Ventures' latest funds have gotten support from existing investors with a re-up rate of 120%. In particular, for Z Holding Group, it has doubled down its investment in East Ventures through the latest fund, expressing its desire to continue working together to build the future of Southeast Asia's technology ecosystem.

In light of the support the firm has received, managing partner of East Ventures, Koh Wai Kit, said “We are grateful for the strong support from sovereign wealth, institutional investors, corporates, family offices and many other limited partners globally. As we continue in our journey of institutionalization, we will do our utmost to drive value for our partners in Southeast Asia’s tech ecosystem". 

East Ventures provides multi-stage investment for over 200 companeis in Southeast Asia, headquartered in Singapore. For the Indonesia market in particular, it is the first investor of Indonesia's unicorn companies namely Tokopedia and Traveloka. Other notable companies in the portfolio are Ruangguru, SIRCLO, Kudo (acquired by Grab), Loket (acquired by Gojek), Tech in Asia, Xendit, IDN Media, MokaPOS (acquired by Gojek), ShopBack, KoinWorks, Waresix, and Sociolla.  According to the firm, it was named the most consistent top performing VC fund globally by Preqin, and the most active investor in SEA and Indonesia by various media. 

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