Singapore
Business Wire India
- The Venture Capital firm hits hard cap of US$250 Million
- The fund reached its hard cap after an initial target of $150 million
- Plans to deploy US$325 Million for Southeast Asian startups combining active funds size, for both seed and growth stage
EV Growth, a Singapore headquartered venture capital firm, has hit the hard cap of its first fund at US$250 Million, exceeding the firm’s initial US$150 Million target. This milestone is the result of the firm’s admission of new Limited Partners (LPs) which include several Asian based family offices and two of Asia’s largest sovereign wealth funds.
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EV Growth team. (Photo: Business Wire)
Launched in March 2018, EV Growth is a joint venture between East Ventures, SMDV and Yahoo! Japan Capital that focuses on providing growth capital to startups in Indonesia and the rest of Southeast Asia with an industry agnostic focus. The company is led by three partners – Willson Cuaca from East Ventures, Roderick Purwana from SMDV, and Shinichiro Hori from Yahoo! Japan Capital.
EV Growth has invested across different sectors in Southeast Asia. Some of its recent investments included:
- Indonesia leading Edutech Ruangguru US$150 Million Series C round
- Indonesia leading Beauty-tech Sociolla US$40 Million Series D round
- Regional cashback startup Shopback US$45 Million round
- Indonesia supply chain logistic Warung Pintar US$27.5 Million Series B
- Indonesia trucking and warehousing platform Waresix US$14.5 Million Series A
Other major follow on rounds included the latest round of two Indonesian unicorns Tokopedia and Traveloka, Indonesia SME lending Koinworks, Indonesia premium online-to-offline coffe chain Fore Coffee, and Indonesia leading media company IDN Media.
Presently, EV Growth has deployed more than 50 per cent of its total funds in 20 deals. 80 per cent of EV Growth’s portfolio companies are Indonesian, where the fund’s IRR stands at 36 per cent.
Willson Cuaca, Managing Partner of EV Growth and co-founder of East Ventures said, “The inflection point in Southeast Asia is now and we are lucky to be here early. Our firm’s operating experience, deal velocity, local knowledge and regional networks have helped us capture some of the best deals in the region. We plan to deploy US$325 Million for Southeast Asian startups combining active funds size, for both seed and growth stage.”
By having two funds, East Ventures supports the start-up ecosystem and has been consistent, long term and founder friendly. In example, East Ventures has been a long-time supporter of Ruangguru where Willson Cuaca was a board member since the initial stage and participated in the company’s seed round in 2014. East Ventures assisted with the follow-on round and supported further through EV Growth fund by investing in its recent US$150 Million series C round.
“We are proud to have East Ventures as our partner. Willson Cuaca from EV Growth believed in us from the very beginning and gave us our first seed funding in 2014. We are thankful that EV Growth supported us and participated in our latest US$150 Million round. We continue to demonstrate a strong commitment to East Ventures and look forward to working together with them to reach even greater heights,” added Adamas Belva Syah Devara, CEO and co-founder of Ruangguru.
