Morning News Roundup: Proptech investments in Southeast Asia grew to US$72.9M in 2019, says study

Business

Funding for proptech in Southeast Asia holds strong at US$72.9M

Southeast Asia poses the second highest number of deals and undisclosed funding across of Asia Pacific in 2019, showing a strong focus in proptech since 2017, reveals a JLL-TechInAsia study.

This is despite an overall funding decline by 38.4 per cent in Asia Pacific last year after reaching a high of more than US$1 billion in disclosed funding in 2018.

“The demographic in Southeast Asia has favourable elements supporting investment into proptech. This includes a young and growing tech savvy population, urbanization and a growing real estate footprint fuelled by strong economic growth and higher market transparency. We expect investments to continue in the region and play an increasingly influential role in the way real estate is managed and transacted,” said Chris Fossick, CEO, JLL Southeast Asia.

Last year, proptech startups in the region raised US$625.9 million, out of which, Southeast Asia raised a total of US$72.9 million. Out of the 38 total deal counts in 2019, the region accounted for 11 of these deals, clocking in the second highest record of deals as well as funding across of Asia Pacific.

Jordan Kostelac, Director of Proptech, JLL Asia Pacific, explained: “These figures are only indicative of VC interest and they’re less reflective of what’s really happening in our industry. In our work with clients and fellow corporates, we are seeing that interest in proptech in Asia Pacific continues to grow, with traditional players taking a strategic, integrated approach with start-ups instead of the VC investment route.”

Funding

Early-stage VC investor Strive makes the final close of its third fund at over US$100M

Early-stage VC fund Strive (formerly known as Gree Ventures) has announced the closing of its third Asia fund at more than US$100 million.

The fund was launched in April 2019 and it’s being deployed into seed-stage opportunities in the B2B sector across Southeast Asia, India, and Japan, as reported by Tech In Asia.

Also Read: GREE Ventures rebrands to STRIVE, announces $130M

The new fund includes investors such as returning limited partners and government-backed SME Support Japan, social media company Gree, and Mizuho Financial Group members Mizuho Bank and Mizuho Capital.

The fund was first announced with US$130 million raised in May 2019 and was already being invested into edutech startup ClassPlus and Tokyo-based application programming interface for know-your-customer services, TrustDock.

With its third fund, the firm said it has also co-invested with other leading VCs such as Sequoia Capital, Monk’s Hill Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, and Accel Partners, so it can establish itself as a cross-border Asian fund with a presence in India, Southeast Asia, and Japan. Recently, Strive promoted Nikhil Kapur, who led the third fund invested into a dozen investments for four years, as a partner.

Social fans club platform Superfanz raises seed funding led by NXT Ventures

Superfanz, Asia-based social fan club platform for creators (KOL, Influencers, YouTubers, and similar), announced today that it has raised a seven-figure seed round of funding led by NXT Ventures after launching its platform.

According to an article by Asia One, the investment follows a six-figure angel round with a prominent investor and tech entrepreneur in July 2019.

Superfanz seeks to address the pain point in which over 90 per cent of the creators do not earn enough money from their social media accounts to make a living.

The startup launched its Android app at the end of last year and is officially soft-launching a Pan-Asian fan club platform for creators and special interest groups this year across Thailand, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

People

LinkAja CEO resigns to join MD of Good Doctor Indonesia

Danu Wicaksana, CEO of Indonesian e-wallet provider LinkAja has left the company to join healthtech company Good Doctor Technology Indonesia as its Managing Director. He will oversee the operation of Good Doctor Technology via Grab’s in-app health channel Grabhealth.

Wicaksana updated its personal LinkedIn profile to confirm the move that has taken place since February, as reported by TechInAsia.

Also Read: Together with Ping An, GrabHealth starts to show its teeth in Indonesia

Wicaksana has been CEO of LinkAja for three years, since it was still using the TCash brand, owned by Telkomsel). LinkAja itself is a product of several government-owned e-wallets that merged into one.

Good Doctor Technology that welcomes Wicaksana is a healthtech company formed by Grab and China-grown O2O healthcare Ping An Good Doctor.

Global investment firm KKR welcomes Chee-Wei Wong as Asia’s Head of Global Impact

KKR, a global investment firm, has announced the expansion of KKR’s Global Impact team by appointing Chee-Wei Wong as Head of Global Impact for Asia.

In the role, Wong, based in Singapore, is responsible for sourcing investment opportunities and supporting impact-related portfolio companies across Asia Pacific. Wong will also serve as a member of the firm’s Global Impact Investment Committee.

Prior to joining KKR, Wong was a MD at Tailwind Capital in New York and spent nine years at EQT in New York and Singapore, where he was an investor and board member of sustainability-focused technology enterprises and healthcare companies. Before that, he was a consultant at Bain & Company and a Justices’ Law Clerk in the Supreme Court of Singapore.

Focussing on identifying and investing behind global opportunities where financial performance and societal impact are intrinsically aligned, the firm’s business specifically lays eyes on companies whose core business models provide commercial solutions that contribute measurable progress toward one or more of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

The addition of Wong follows KKR Global Impact’s recent international expansion with the appointments of Stanislas de Joussineau as Head of Global Impact for Europe and Sharon Yang as a senior investor for KKR Global Impact in Asia.
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Picture Credit: Strive

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