VC in the trillion-dollar startup ecosystem of the region – Wired PR Lifestyle Story

10 years ago, SEA technology startups were seen as an innovative ecosystem to consider. But so far the rise in numbers, talent, capital, success stories and consumer adoptions in technology companies has placed SEA among the top 3 or 4 technology ecosystems in the world.

Moreover, it is estimated that the SEA technology launch ecosystem will have a collective valuation of $ 1 trillion by 2025, according to the Singapore Venture Capital (VC) company, Jungle Ventures (Jungle).

During a Wild Digital SEA 2021 panel, chief writer of SEA Ken, Ka Kay Lum (Kay) Amit Anand, co-founder of Jungle Ventures, almost sat down to talk about what this prediction has led to and the future opportunities it creates for SEA technology startups.

Young and qualified leaders are joining the chat

“We started to see highly skilled and ambitious entrepreneurs leaving their jobs from big academy companies like Google or Facebook, or returning from US universities to start building companies in SEA,” Amit noted.

He believes that having better quality creators has been one of the reasons that has led to successful valuations in SEA companies.

In addition, Amit noted that one of the industries that can have the greatest potential for success is software companies that serve B2B markets. Although such companies have been around for 20 years, board members have noted that their reception has been much more significant over the past decade.

That’s because many SMEs today are run by younger entrepreneurs, where the second and third generations of family businesses have taken the witness stand. Writing about Malaysian SMEs, we check this phenomenon that is happening in all types of businesses. kopitiams to furniture companies as well.

These people are educated globally and are now technology experts. So when they take charge of family businesses, they want to have everything on their mobile to effectively manage their business.

Government + global pandemic = digitization

Another reason for the high potential for technology companies, especially those dealing with B2B software, is the government’s efforts to promote the digitalization of SMEs.

“Regional governments have realized that SMEs make up 2/3 of the country’s GDP, and if they don’t modernize these entrepreneurs, the country will not be able to develop at the pace they want,” Amit added.

Then came the pandemic, which caused the need to digitize small and large businesses. And whoever didn’t take technology into their business is now forced to, if they don’t want to be left behind.

“So we are now on an irreversible path where these 60-70 million small businesses in SEA and 100 million more in India are taking software for everything from back office operations, e-commerce, payments and automation,” Amit said.

He also noted that this change in software adoption has been tremendous. 10 years ago, Jungle saw major failures in the investments of its software companies due to a lack of market adoption. “Now, we’ve seen tremendous success,” Amit added.

SPAC as a more accessible way to make it public

During the discussion, Kay said one of the biggest trends in the global startup ecosystem has been companies that get Special Purpose Purchasing Company (SPAC) agreements.

In short, a SPAC it is a company without trading operations and is formed in a strictly way to raise capital through an initial public offering (IPO). SPACs are created for the sole purpose of acquiring or merging an existing business, and have a 2-year period to complete a purchase or otherwise return their funds to investors.

A company can go public on the SPAC path in a few months, while the usual IPO process is a tedious process. take from 6 months to more than a year.

From Amit’s point of view, SPAC is important for SEA startups as it is an easier entry point to win an IPO valued at $ 1 billion. This is compared to large companies with valuations of $ 20 billion, which is a natural option to list on exchanges.

One of the advantages of buying or joining a SPAC backed by major investors is that it can also give a company experienced management and market visibility.

That’s why Amit’s VC company encourages its portfolio company to achieve this milestone, as it has long-term benefits across the SEA’s technology launch ecosystem.

SEA can be any country next to silicon valley

Analyzing the largest startup ecosystem in the SEA, the first 2 markets that often come to mind are Singapore and Indonesia.

Previously, they were Malaysia and Singapore, according to Amit. But industry experts have also predicted that Vietnam will be the largest market in 2 years from now.

“I think that’s the beauty of SEA, there’s no one in the silicon valley region and there are already 3 or 4 who are building in SEA, and we’re very proud of that and for that,” he spoke on behalf of VC. region.

Also, when it comes to investing in companies, Jungle said it’s generally agnostic about a company’s headquarters. Instead, his VC company is looking at companies and creators who can build a regional business by expanding their services to many countries.

This is especially true for technology companies that can move to a larger market outside their home country.

Thus, for entrepreneurs who present solutions with a view to getting an investment from the Jungle, Amit ended with a tip: state how your solution can be done better in terms of execution compared to all the other companies that are trying.

We believe that ideas are cheap and that implementation is priceless. So when you come to talk to us, and this would apply to other VCs as well, explain to us how you did it from 0 to 1, what your plan is from 1 to 10, which will give you a better chance of winning. an investment.

Amit Anand, founding partner of Jungle Ventures

• You can learn more about Wild Digital here.
• You can read more about what we’ve written about Wild Digital SEA here.

Featured Image Credit: Amit Anand, founding partner of Jungle Ventures