InnoVen Capital Launches New Southeast Asia Fund

12 October, 2021, Singapore: InnoVen Capital, Asia’s largest debt provider to high growth, venture-backed technology companies, announced today that they have launched a new fund focused on the Southeast Asia market. Known as the InnoVen SEA Fund, it follows the recent launch of InnoVen Capital India Fund last month.

InnoVen SEA Fund has completed its first close of US$50 million with InnoVen Capital (“InnoVen”), and will be seeking additional investors to participate in the Fund.

Ong Beng Teck, Executive Director of InnoVen, said, “Since our inception in 2015, InnoVen has seen steady growth of our portfolio across India, China and Southeast Asia. We have made over US$900 million in loan disbursements across Asia in the past 6 years, and have more than 20 portfolio companies that have gone on to achieve unicorn status. Building on the track record of our team, the launch of the InnoVen SEA Fund will allow investors to participate in our growing franchise in Southeast Asia.”

The Fund will be led by Partners Paul Ong and Ben Cheah. As pioneers of venture debt in Southeast Asia, Paul and Ben have led transactions to more than 50 portfolio companies which include names like Carsome, Ruangguru, Tiki, Akulaku and eFishery, with cumulative loan disbursements of more than US$180 million.

Paul Ong, Partner of InnoVen SEA Fund, said, “The Southeast Asia venture ecosystem is maturing, with a record number of unicorns minted, notable exit activities and significant global investment capital inflows observed this year. We have laid the foundations for a franchise that is synonymous with venture debt in the region, and the new fund will help us deepen our engagement and collaborations, and strengthen our continuity in supporting the region’s technology companies and its talented founders.”

Ben Cheah, Partner of InnoVen SEA Fund, said, “Venture debt in Southeast Asia has come a long way from being relatively unknown 5 years ago to being an integral part of the entrepreneur’s fundraising toolkit. As the Southeast Asian ecosystem continues to mature, we expect the demand for venture debt to increase as more companies take advantage of less-dilutive capital to grow even faster. We are excited to ride this wave of growth along with our ecosystem partners and investors.”

Venture debt is a growing asset class in Asia that provides investors with a regular set of cashflows while at the same time delivers equity upside from warrants of the underlying portfolio companies. Helmed by an experienced team with deep relationships with the leading early and growth stage ventures across Southeast Asia, InnoVen SEA Fund aims to offer investors attractive risk-adjusted returns, leveraging on the massive growth of the digital economy in the region.