Arijit Sengupta named B Capital’s new Operating Partner (Asia)
The story
B Capital Group, an active VC fund run by Facebook Co-founder Eduardo Saverin, has added Arijit Sengupta as its Operating Partner.
He will help lead its work supporting its portfolio of startups in Asia.
Based out of B Capital’s Singapore office, Sengupta will partner with founders and executive teams in B Capital’s portfolio of technology companies in the region, providing expertise and guidance in areas such as strategy and operations, business development, sales, and capital formation.
Also Read: Eduardo Saverin-owned tech fund closes first part of second fund at US$406M
He will be instrumental in identifying key corporates seeking to broaden innovation by working with startups through his own network as well as B Capital’s partnership with The Boston Consulting Group.
B Capital recently announced the final close of its of its second fund worth US$820 million, which, according to a Medium article, brought its total assets under management to US$1.44 billion.
Who is Sengupta?
He is a seasoned founder, operator, and investor in B2B technologies and services. He has helped found and grow several technology companies, including WNS, Mu Sigma, Antuit and Daksh, which was acquired by IBM back in 2004, and held senior leadership positions at established companies like IBM and Accenture.
What is B Capital?
A VC firm specialising in equity investing in venture and growth-stage companies. It primarily invests in enterprise application software, infrastructure, security, AI/ML, fintech and insurtech, and healthcare-tech and bio IT.
Also Read: Do you have a burgeoning startup trying to attract investor capital?
B Capital’s portfolio companies include AImotive, Atomwise, Blackbuck, Bounce, Bright.md, CXA, Evidation Health, Icertis, INTURN, Plastiq, Ninja Van (which in May this year raised US$279 million), Notable Labs and SilverCloud Health.
Reapra launches virtual hackathon for female founders
The story
Singapore-based venture builder Reapra has announced the launch of ‘Build to Last‘, a virtual hackathon for existing or aspiring female entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia.
The objective: Collaborating with Future Females Singapore (a platform that connects, inspires, and supports existing and aspiring female entrepreneurs), Build to Last aims to bring together like-minded communities and individuals to create a platform for aspiring or existing female entrepreneurs to build their ideas into lasting and profitable businesses.
More on the programme
Revolving around the core theme of business sustainability, participants will be guided through hands-on mentorship and workshops to prepare for their Demo day where they will have to incorporate lessons learnt into their business pitch.
Also Read: Singapore’s VC firm Reapra backs Thai edutech startup Quest
The top 3 winners from the Demo day stand to receive hands-on business coaching from both Reapra and Future Females, advancement into later stage interviews for up to SG$100,000 funding from Reapra, alongside exclusive offers for Future Females Global Business School.
Applications are now open till 28th of August.
Build to Last welcomes all existing or aspiring female entrepreneurs with at least a business idea.
Participants may join as an individual or as part of a team of two, with a female lead applicant or founder.
India’s Otipy closes US$1M from Inflection Point Ventures
The story
Otipy, the social commerce venture of farm-to-fork agritech startup Crofarm, has raised US$1 million from Inflection Point Ventures, an early-stage investing platform.
Plans with the money:
The company claims it has already scaled 4x growth in the last three months. It expects the fresh funding to further boost its momentum in “Unlock Phase 3.0”.
What Otipy does
It connects consumers with farmers through women resellers. It already has more than 1,000 partner resellers (mainly women), catering to over 100,000 consumers.
It offers a catalogue of fresh, hygienic and chemical-free on-demand fruits & vegetables from the farm, which is usually 25 per cent cheaper than the market.
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