1982 Ventures, a Southeast Asia-focused early-stage VC firm based in Singapore, has announced the initial close of its first seed-stage fund with US$12.5 million in committed capital.
The fund targets to raise a total corpus of US$15 million.
Investors who participated in this first tranche are:
- US-based fintech unicorn Carta.
- Genting Group’s venture arm.
- US fund of funds First Close Partners
- Rally Cap Ventures
- Indonesian family office Trihill.
Family offices based in Southeast Asia, Europe and America; fintech founders; senior executives of tech and financial services companies; Sheel Mohnot, founding general partner of 500 Fintech and Better Tomorrow Ventures; and unnamed GPs of Southeast Asian VC funds also co-invested.
1982 Ventures plans to invest in around 30 seed-stage companies, primarily in fintech in Southeast Asia. The VC firm’s core markets are Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines, alongside other markets such as Pakistan and Bangladesh.
“We have seen the incredible rise of fintech in China, India, Latin America, Africa and the West, and now is the time for Southeast Asian fintech to lead the way,” said Scott Krivokopich, co-founder and managing partner of 1982 Ventures.
Also read: Banks and fintech: An arranged marriage built on trust, but does it last long?
1982 Ventures was launched in early 2020 by Scott and Herston Elton Powers, who were both principals at fintech-focused investor tryb Group.
As of November, it has a portfolio of 11 companies, including Indonesian open banking player Brick, Vietnamese retail investment platform Infina (YC S21), home financing proptech firm Homebase (YC W21), Singaporean automated financial data platform Bluesheets, and Indonesia’s earned wage access platform Wagely.
The firm claims to have achieved a return of over 3x from its early investments.
According to a 2021 SEA e-Conomy report by Google, Bain & Company, and Temasek, Southeast Asia represents immense headroom for fintech growth with a total of 350 million digital consumers and a mass increase in merchant adoption of digital payment. The region has witnessed strong momentum in e-commerce and digital financial services investments. The deal values for digital financial services in H1 2021 alone surpassed those of full-year 2020.
Rapid urbanisation and some of the world’s highest mobile and internet penetration rates are the main drivers for this outlook in Southeast Asia. According to Dealroom, regional fintech startups represent more than US$10 billion in unrealised value, with 100 projected fintech exits in the coming years.
—
Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.
Image Credit: 1982 Ventures
The post 1982 Ventures hits US$12.5M initial close of Fund I, to back 30 seed-stage startups appeared first on e27.