Venture capital firm Wavemaker Partners has announced that it is nearing the close of its Southeast Asia-focussed $50 million fund. With a keen eye on the Indonesian market, the firm plans to invest in 80 early stage startups targeting majorly those that are operating in B2B sector.
Established in 2003, Wavemaker Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm with offices in Los Angeles and Singapore. It has invested in more than 54 companies and is also the Southern California and Southeast Asia representative of Draper Venture Network (DVN), the venture of renowned investor Tim Draper.
He announced this fund when he recently visited Jakarta, saying that he is redirecting his focus from China to other markets because of the existing capital controls. Tim is particularly keen to invest in the burgeoning tech industry of Indonesia. In a press statement, Draper said,
There are so many things going for Indonesia with its fast GDP growth fuelled by a large, young, digitally-savvy population, an increasingly skilled workforce and burgeoning middle class. It’s a great environment to scale startups.
During this visit, he is said to have visited the portfolio companies of Wavemaker Partners including ride-hailing firm Go-Jek. Tim added,
I’m here to meet founders and investors, learn more about the country and share some of the lessons I’ve learned on scaling startups. I’d love to find more deals to invest in together with Wavemaker and leverage DVN to help them grow.
He is specifically attracted by cryptocurrency including Bitcoins and thinks that Indonesia will take the leap from banking to virtual currency in the near future, adding,
Bitcoins are providing liquidity that none of the governments right now are able to provide. As it grows the value will keep going up. It’s going to happen here (in Indonesia) and I’m still incredibly bullish.
