Indonesia: Kejora raises $80m for SEA-focused Series A fund

Last month, we reported that there was a shift in venture fund focus in Southeast Asia towards the Series A level. As an example, Singapore’s Jungle Ventures had come far from its initial seed-stage debut of US$10 million, raising US$100 million for its Series A-focused fund.

The latest to be available for startups looking to climb from seed to Series A is Indonesia-based firm Kejora, which announced the closing of a second US$80 million fund for Southeast Asian investments. According to TechCrunch, the new fund will deal in pre-Series A and Series A rounds with ticket sizes ranging from US$2 million to US$5 million.

For those unfamiliar, Kejora is behind the Ideabox accelerator program in Jakarta and LPs in on its second fund include Indonesia’s Barito Pacific Group, Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Family and Hubert Burda Media. Its founding partner Sebastian Togelang shared that it already has six companies on its portfolio.

SEE ALSO: How startups in Asia can get through the venture capital winter

“We are looking for companies that are scalable and solving big problems that the large population of Southeast Asia are having. We like founders who are experienced and have the potential to solve the vision and problem, and the ambition to scale to be number one in the region,” he said.

Kejora’s new fund is encouraging news for the Southeast Asian startup community, as it offers an investment focus that is typically looked after by angel investors. Having a pre-Series A focus is a strategic move for Kejora as startups of all stripes struggle to bridge the gap between seed and Series A.

It should also come as no surprise that Kejora, having also run an accelerator program, will be operating more like a venture builder. Besides the capital and mentorship, the company will also offer startups expertise in localizing a product and guidance in new market expansion. As it has a base in Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia – startups looking to play a regional game could be a good fit for Kejora’s new fund.

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