Author: vynn_admin

Source: Tech In Asia

Malaysia-based Vynn Capital announced that local conglomerate Sime Darby and private equity firm AEI Capital have joined the VC firm’s latest fund as limited partners.

With a target of US$30 million, the fund has also attracted investments from Wide Technologies from Indonesia and other limited partners from Malaysia and Singapore.

Vynn Capital is an early-stage VC firm that aims to bridge the gap between traditional industries and new economies. It also helps investors understand new industries and markets through its localized team and network across major cities in Southeast Asia.

With the new fund, Vynn Capital intends to strengthen its presence in Malaysia’s startup ecosystem by providing financial support and industry expertise to startups focusing on areas such as smart mobility, transportation, logistics, and supply chain optimization.

Sime Darby is an industrial conglomerate that operates in a diverse range of businesses, including trading, logistics, and healthcare. The firm is particularly eyeing developments in the mobility space.

“This investment in Vynn Capital is in line with our mobility strategy that aims to future-proof our traditional core businesses against disruptive trends,” said Sime Darby CEO Jeffri Salim Davidson.

Meanwhile, AEI Capital’s role in the fund is to identify “disruptive” businesses and “strong” industry connections in Asia. Its group-wide asset under management (AUM) has exceeded US$1 billion as of the second quarter of 2023.

Source

Source: technode global

Vynn Capital, a Malaysia-based venture capital firm specializing in early-stage investments, has on Wednesday announced the participation of Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby Berhad and Hong Kong-based investment firm AEI Capital as limited partners in its second Venture Capital (VC) fund.

Vynn Capital said in a statement that this strategic collaboration aims to accelerate innovation and drive transformation in the rapidly evolving sectors of mobility and supply chain.

The fund, which is targeted to close at $30 million, has also received investment commitment from Wide Technologies from Indonesia and other limited partners from Malaysia and Singapore.

The new fund aims to support startups developing innovative solutions in areas such as smart mobility, transportation, logistics, and supply chain optimization.

By combining the financial resources and industry knowledge of Sime Darby and AEI Capital with Vynn’s venture capital expertise, the partnership is poised to provide startups with the necessary resources, mentorship, and access to networks to thrive in the evolving landscape of mobility and supply chain.

The collaboration between Sime Darby, AEI Capital, and Vynn Capital signifies a shared commitment to supporting entrepreneurship and driving technological advancements in the mobility and supply chain sectors.

By leveraging their collective resources and expertise, the partners aim to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of these industries and contributing to economic growth in ASEAN.

“We are thrilled to welcome Sime Darby and AEI Capital as limited partners in our mobility and supply chain-focused venture capital fund,” said Victor Chua, Founding and Managing Partner at Vynn Capital.

“Their extensive experience and industry knowledge in the targeted sectors will significantly enhance our ability to identify and support startups with groundbreaking solutions,

“Together, we aim to drive innovation, accelerate digital transformation, and shape the future of these key sectors in Southeast Asia,” he added.

With its latest fund, Vynn Capital aims to further strengthen its presence in the regional startup ecosystem by providing crucial financial support and industry expertise to startups focusing on mobility and supply solutions.

The firm has identified and nurtured high-potential startups in Southeast Asia and partnerships with North Asian companies expanding into the region, with investments in companies like Carsome and Dropee, that have expanded into key markets across ASEAN.

“This investment in Vynn Capital is in line with our mobility strategy that aims to futureproof our traditional core businesses against disruptive trends,

“We are proud to be supporting the development of the Malaysian venture capital ecosystem, and we look forward to further collaborations with Vynn Capital’s portfolio of companies,” said Dato’ Jeffri Salim Davidson, Sime Darby Berhad’s Group Chief Executive Officer.

According to the statement, Sime Darby which is a trading multinational in Asia Pacific, is expected to bring extensive experience and a diverse range of capabilities to this partnership.

With deep knowledge and involvement in the automotive and industrial sectors, Sime Darby has established itself as a partner of choice for many of the world’s brands such as BMW and Caterpillar.

Sime Darby’s investment in Vynn Capital’s new fund demonstrates its commitment to driving innovation and supporting transformative solutions in new areas of mobility from electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries to alternative ownership models such as ride hailing and carsharing.

AEI Capital, a firm known for its strategic investments in mid-market technology-driven businesses across Asia, is also excited to collaborate with Vynn Capital in this venture via its fund-of-funds investment arm.

With its expertise in identifying disruptive businesses and its strong network of industry connections, AEI Capital is well-positioned to contribute to the growth and development of innovative solutions in the mobility and supply chain sectors.

Its investment in Vynn Capital’s new venture capital fund exemplifies its dedication to supporting entrepreneurs and driving technological advancements in Southeast Asia.

John Tan, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AEI Capital Group, also expressed the firm’s sincere wish for strong strategic synergy with Vynn Capital in identifying and seizing strategic high growth investment opportunities in Southeast Asia.

Source

Source: Vynn Capital

Vynn Capital’s Victor Chua, CFA will be sharing stage with investment leaders from Indonesia and the broader region to talk about sustainable investment trends in the tourism industry. The International Tourism Investment Forum 2023 is organized by Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism & Creative Economy, supported by World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), IFC – International Finance Corporation and Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN)

#indonesia #investment #venture #sustainability #mobility #thevynningteam

Source

Source: Carsome Group Inc

Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platform CARSOME Group Inc (CARSOME or The Group), today announced the closing of its latest fundraising round, which brings the Group’s liquidity position to approximately US$200 million.

Cementing confidence in CARSOME’s profitability targets and new ecosystem initiatives, this funding round saw broad-based participation from CARSOME’s existing investors, including 65 Equity Partners, Seatown Private Capital Master Fund, Qatar Investment Authority, Gobi Partners, and Asia Partners. It also attracted a long-term debt facility from a new investor, EvolutionX Debt Capital (“EvolutionX”), a growth-stage debt financing platform that provides an alternative source of financing to technology companies in Asia (www.evolutionx.com.sg).

In 2022, the Group’s revenue grew 250% to US$1.5 billion, with the newly established regional retail line CARSOME Certified contributing 35% of total revenue. In Q1 2023, CARSOME hit an operational profitability milestone for the first time on the back of significant growth in trade margin, which doubled compared to the same period last year. Notably, more than 80% of the trade margin came from transaction margins, leaving a huge potential upside for ancillary revenue, especially given its increasing focus on ecosystem offerings, including Financing, Insurance, and Aftersales.

CARSOME Service Centers (CSC), as an example of after-sales offerings, have seen more than 100% month-over-month growth since its launch at the end of last year and are expected to reach nationwide coverage in Malaysia by the end of Q3 2023.

The Group today owns the largest auto digital audience footprint of more than 15 million monthly active users through its content and media ecosystem, including the brands under iCar Asia and Wapcar. In addition to achieving over 30% growth in revenue and reaching profitability as independent business units of the Group, CARSOME’s ecosystem companies have also contributed to a 60% reduction in the Group’s Customer Acquisition Cost.

The ability to unify data across the entire ecosystem enables CARSOME to offer personalized experiences and focus on customer centricity, as validated by its customer satisfaction metrics. As of Q1 2023, its retail line, CARSOME Certified, holds a high Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 77 points within the used car industry. In parallel, the Group’s wholesale business garnered an NPS of 75 points, further affirming customer trust and satisfaction.

Built upon the wealth of data and understanding of customers, the launch of MyGarage as an anchor feature of the CARSOME App sets the foundation for the next level of personalization that further elevates the car ownership experience for customers. MyGarage acts as a comprehensive hub today, offering real-time car valuations, service bookings, and sales inspections, and it will continue to integrate ancillary services, including Financing, Insurance, and Aftersales. MyGarage marks a major step in pursuing the Group’s mission: to provide its customers with peace of mind throughout the entire lifecycle of their ownership experience.

CARSOME’s Co-Founder and Group CEO, Eric Cheng, remarked, “We have spent the last eight years building a more trusted way for customers to transact within Southeast Asia’s used car industry. Our comfortable liquidity position and strong backing from both existing and new investors place us on solid footing to deliver the world’s first integrated car ownership ecosystem, going beyond just buying and selling cars to include ancillary services across the whole ownership lifecycle. I wish to thank all our investors for their continued confidence in our vision and capabilities as we steer the company toward profitability as a Group.”

“We are delighted to have our new investor EvolutionX joining us at this stage of our growth,” CARSOME’s Group President and CFO, Juliet Zhu, commented. “Profitability is just one of the milestones in our long-term capital planning, and we will continue to invite the right partners who can add strategic value at different stages of our growth.”

EvolutionX’s investment in CARSOME marks its first in Southeast Asia. Rahul Shah, Partner of EvolutionX said, “We remain focused in supporting category-leading technology companies in our core markets in Asia which are backed by reputed long-term investors. We are excited by CARSOME’s continued focus towards achieving profitability during this year and believe that this collective capital raise will optimize its capital structure and improve the financial strength of the company to support its continued journey towards sustainable profitable growth.”

CARSOME has been actively reshaping Southeast Asia’s used car industry through its innovative data and tech-driven approaches, offering trust, transparency, and choice to elevate the automotive ownership experience. Today, CARSOME stands firmly poised for an exciting next chapter in its growth journey, having sold over 150,000 cars annually and serving more than 15 million unique customers monthly across its diverse online and offline channels in the region.

Source

Source: e27

Indonesian property rental startup Travelio has secured an undisclosed sum in a Series C extension round led by an unnamed Korean financial group.

Korea’s DAOL Ventures (former KTB), Orzon Ventures (powered by Thailand Conglomerate PTTOR and 500 Global), and Appworks from Taiwan also participated, along with the existing backer Pavilion Capital.

The startup will use the funds to expand into new cities in Indonesia and launch a new vertical in the rent-to-own sector. “The new initiative will solve the low homeownership issue for middle-class millennials, who comprise most of our tenants. This way, we won’t just be a temporary solution for them for a couple of years but instead for their lifetime,” said Co-Founder and CSO Christina Suriadjaja.

Travelio is an online and transactional platform that allows tenants to pay monthly for a yearly rental. Aside from providing fully-furnished apartments, the startup has expanded its product to unfurnished apartments and houses.

It has over 15,000 properties exclusively managed by the platform. It operates in 12 cities namely Jakarta, Tangerang, Bekasi, Bogor, Depok, Bandung, Surabaya, Semarang, Karawang, Makassar, Yogyakarta and Medan.

The company claims its property management arm that operates fully-furnished apartments has achieved an adjusted EBITDA positive since last year. As a group, it expects to achieve an adjusted EBITDA-positive by the end of this year.

The proptech firm now has more than 600 staff.

In December 2019, Travelio secured funding from Samsung Venture Investment Corporation. This came a month after it announced an US$18 million Series B round co-led by Pavilion Capital and Gobi Partners. Over a year earlier, the firm raised a US$4 million Series A funding round led by Vynn Capital.

Source

Source: The Edge

The state of the Malaysian start-up ecosystem is a point of contention. Some argue that start-ups are undergoing a consolidation phase, where they have either ceased operations or are being acquired by large corporations. Others believe the ecosystem is still in a nascent stage, lacking in variety and innovation.

Despite the numerous government initiatives that accelerate growth, nurture partnerships and provide commercialisation support to vitalise the landscape, the ecosystem is still lagging behind its regional peers. This is where private sector participation is key.

The Malaysian start-up ecosystem is about to get a boost with more private sector involvement, thanks to the rollout of a corporate tax deduction of up to RM20 million, which was introduced in Budget 2018 and gazetted by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) last year. However, it is only recently that corporations have started taking advantage of it.

Corporate involvement can identify problems in the ecosystem that are impeding the progress of start-ups and allow them to scale, and investment from the private sector translates into a self-sustaining ecosystem, say industry players.

Conglomerates can offer start-ups industry expertise and resources that they do not usually receive from purely financial investors, says Victor Chua, managing director of venture capital firm Vynn Capital.

“The challenging economic environment is a good backdrop for corporate involvement in the start-up ecosystem. There are two ways to survive any economic downturn. Either you stop investing, cut costs and reduce expenditure, which might help with survival but not long-term growth, or you take a different turn and start investing in long-term solutions that will help with business breakthroughs,” says Chua.

The incentive is to encourage venture capital activities by individuals or companies with a business income.

Essentially, the incentive — or the “Deduction for Investment in a Venture Company (VC) or Venture Capital Company (VCC)” — gives individuals with a business source income and Malaysian incorporated and resident companies a tax deduction of up to RM20 million on the value of investment made in a start-up through a VCC that is registered under the SC. The investments are in the form of seed capital and early-stage financing.

The incentive — which is valid for investment in a VCC made between Oct 27, 2017, and Dec 31, 2026 — can be claimed after the investment has been held for three years.

The start-ups have to be Malaysian companies incorporated under the Companies Act 2016. The start-ups must use the seed capital financing or early-stage financing for activities or products listed in the Promotion of Investment Act 1986; or for technology-based business activities as specified in the guideline issued by SC in relation to venture capital tax incentives; be involved in products or activities that have been developed under the research and development scheme approved by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI); or products, services or activities under the research, development and commercialisation grant scheme approved by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).

The only other tax benefits for direct investment in early-stage start-ups are angel tax incentives, which were introduced in 2013. Angel investors are accorded tax exemptions of up to RM500,000 a year in the second year of assessment.

Source

Source: Bank Negara Malaysia

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) wishes to announce the five successful applicants for the digital bank licences as approved by the Minister of Finance Malaysia.

A. The following applicants are to be licensed under the Financial Services Act 2013 (FSA):

• a consortium of Boost Holdings Sdn. Bhd. and RHB Bank Berhad;
• a consortium led by GXS Bank Pte. Ltd. and Kuok Brothers Sdn. Bhd; and
• a consortium led by Sea Limited and YTL Digital Capital Sdn Bhd.

B. The following applicants are to be licensed under the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 (IFSA):

• a consortium of AEON Financial Service Co., Ltd., AEON Credit Service (M) Berhad and MoneyLion Inc.; and
• a consortium led by KAF Investment Bank Sdn. Bhd.

Three out of the five consortiums are majority-owned by Malaysians namely Boost Holdings and RHB Bank Berhad, Sea Limited and YTL Digital Capital Sdn. Bhd. and KAF Investment Bank Sdn. Bhd.

All 29 applications received were thoroughly assessed pursuant to section 10 (1) of FSA, and IFSA[1], which require BNM to consider all the factors in Schedule 5 of the Acts and other relevant policy requirements. The assessment criteria cover the character and integrity of applicants, nature and sufficiency of financial resources, soundness and feasibility of business and technology plans as well as ability to meaningfully address financial inclusion gaps. Applications were assessed on their individual merits, as well as relative to other applications based on consistent evaluations of each assessment criteria. This horizontal review is based on the assessment criteria applied across all applicants to determine the relative strength of each application and identify successful applicants.

Throughout the assessment process, BNM instituted strict governance and evaluation procedures to ensure robust, objective and consistent assessments across all 29 applications received. Four levels of assessment were carried out, supported by a cross-functional technical team, a review team and internal independent observers from BNM’s risk and legal departments. The final recommendations to the Minister were deliberated and endorsed by BNM’s Management Committee.

Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah said, “Digital banks are expected to further advance financial inclusion. By adopting digital technology more widely for everyday transactions, we can significantly increase opportunities for our society to participate in the economy – by overcoming geographical barriers, reducing transaction costs and promoting better financial management.”

“Digital banks can help individuals and businesses gain better access to more personalised solutions backed by data analytics. As businesses move online, digital banking also provides a safer and a more convenient way to transact,” she added.

Following this announcement, the successful applicants will undergo a period of operational readiness that will be validated by BNM through an audit before they can commence operations. This process may take between 12 to 24 months.

In line with the 5 strategic thrusts stated in the Financial Sector Blueprint 2022-2026, BNM will continue to work with the financial and fintech industries and relevant stakeholders to continuously enhance access to financial services throughout the country and across all segments of society.

 

[1] FSA and IFSA: Section 10. (1) In assessing an application duly made under section 9 to carry on any licensed business, BNM shall have regard to all the factors set out in part 1 and Part 2 of Schedule 5 and such other matters that BNM considers relevant.

 

Source

Source: The Edge Malaysia

Venture capital (VC) firms have been pouring money into logistics start-ups in the past two years, thanks to the rise in demand for e-commerce and supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic.

This has been happening throughout the world. According to Crunchbase, funding for supply chain management companies (US$11.3 billion) saw a twofold increase in 2021 from the year before and beat the all-time high achieved in 2019.

In Southeast Asia, start-ups in the supply chain space raised US$7.8 billion last year compared with US$1.6 billion in 2020, according to research by Vynn Capital. Most of the funding went to start-ups in the logistics network, followed by sourcing and procurement and last-mile logistics.

Consequently, Singapore’s last-mile delivery company Ninja Van became a unicorn last September, while Thailand’s e-commerce logistics company Flash Group became the country’s first unicorn in June. Indonesia’s last-mile delivery company J&T Express was included in CB Insight’s unicorn list last April.

“Logistics has been around for quite a while but the big difference now is that we know more about it because of Covid-19. The impact of Covid-19 is significant on this industry,” says Jamaludin Bujang, managing director at Gobi Partners.

The boom in the logistics industry follows in the footsteps of the e-commerce industry, which began growing nearly a decade ago, he observes. The pandemic further boosted the demand for e-commerce and as a result, put a strain on the existing logistics infrastructure.

Eight out of 10 internet users in Southeast Asia are now digital consumers, and six in 10 existing users of groceries and food delivery platforms increased their usage during the pandemic, according to Google’s e-Conomy SEA 2021 report.

“The growth has been so fast in the last two years that the industry is still coping with [problems, including] the lack of drivers or people to deliver the goods. There is a shortage of delivery drivers now because the economy has recovered and people who used to do deliveries are going back to their normal jobs,” says Jamaludin.

The logistics industry is still very labour reliant, as it requires people to pack and deliver the orders. The last-mile delivery players also need to cope with thin margins in an extremely competitive space. Yet the demand for e-commerce isn’t expected to cease.

“I think we will see a lot of inefficiencies, especially when it comes to returns [of products]. That’s why there is an emerging trend of re-commerce, to resell e-commerce products that are returned. Quick commerce is also an emerging [trend], given that people are demanding products to come faster. But the overall infrastructure is not ready. Everything is pretty much open for disruption or enablement from technology,” says Victor Chua, founding and managing partner of Vynn Capital.

Many companies are in the last-mile delivery segment currently because it is the easiest to get into. Despite the competition, Chua is seeing start-ups becoming more creative. “There’s the decentralised method [of fulfilment] where instead of having one big warehouse, they are decentralising the warehouses to smaller nodes, so you can enable faster deliveries. There’s still growth in this segment but it’s competitive.”

The start-ups are using technology to overcome problems in the industry, which is not limited to the manpower issue. Traditional and large logistics firms have been approaching tech start-ups to digitalise their processes, Chua observes.

“It could be for things as simple as customs clearance, for instance, that they are still doing on pen and paper. More companies are trying to adopt technology and that’s where we see the growth to be. Start-ups are coming up with software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions to enable first and mid-mile folks.”

Chua gives as examples of business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce fulfilment companies Epost and Dropee. He has invested in both companies. “They are helping traditional incumbents, brands and logistics players adapt to the new environment. So, while I think consumer-driven solutions are hot, there’s a lot more room for growth in the enterprise space.”

This is echoed by Jamaludin. Boosting last-mile delivery to support the e-commerce trend was the investment theme seven to 10 years ago. Now, these companies have to integrate other functions like e-commerce fulfilment and utilise technology.

“I think companies that don’t rely on automation in this space will lose out because it is getting more expensive [to hire people] and the number of packages is increasing every day. You cannot just simply increase the number of workers. You need technology [like automation]. All the companies we’ve invested in are thinking about squeezing more [efficiency] by using technology,” says Jamaludin.

Gobi has invested in online booking platform for courier services EasyParcel, e-commerce fulfilment company iStore iSend Sdn Bhd and delivery service provider Zoom. “Not long after we invested in EasyParcel, AirAsia invested in them. Now, they are evolving to become bigger by working with others or acquiring them,” says Jamaludin. AirAsia invested in EasyParcel through Teleport, its logistics arm.

“Zoom was one of the earliest ones that we invested in but they didn’t scale fast enough, so they are trapped in the very competitive space now.”

Could the next unicorn in Malaysia be in logistics?

The total investment volume into Malaysian supply chain management start-ups was US$30 million in 2021 compared with US$9.9 million the year before, according to Vynn Capital’s research.

The largest share of the investments went to start-ups in the sourcing and procurement space. This can be attributed to the fundraising rounds by B2B e-procurement and inventory management platform Food Market Hub and Dropee.

The second largest share was in the last-mile delivery segment, thanks to the acquisition of food delivery platform Delivereat by Teleport. Following that is the warehousing and e-fulfilment segment, due to the fundraising rounds of iStore iSend and Epost.

While there isn’t a unicorn in Malaysia from the logistics sector, Jamaludin and Chua are confident that we could see one in the future. The industry is big, and the start-ups can expand to other countries in the region.

“I would envision this company (a unicorn in Malaysia) to have a regional footprint, just like Carsome and Grab … Malaysia is a good and safe market but it isn’t exciting enough for people to put all their money here. What we have is the ability to scale across the region. Singapore’s role is a financial hub but Malaysia is a strong operational hub,” says Chua.

It could be difficult for logistics start-ups to navigate the varying conditions in other countries, whether it is the lack of infrastructure, strength of incumbents or regulations. But if the start-up provides services that can help incumbents transform, there could be great opportunities to scale, he notes.

The start-ups could also follow their international clients. “For instance, you’re already working with Unilever in Malaysia. They can introduce you to the other markets. In short, if you’re doing it from an enabling perspective, I see advantages there,” says Chua.

The biggest opportunity within Malaysia, however, is in helping companies digitalise, he believes, so they can jump on the e-commerce bandwagon. This, in turn, boosts the demand for logistics services. That’s why Chua likes Dropee, which gives its clients access to data while enabling them to sell online.

“Dropee went from being a marketplace to an SaaS company that helps small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Now, they also do financing because it’s a pain point for SMEs. Dropee’s business model is very expandable, which means they can grow from vertical to another easily,” says Chua.

“That’s also why we went into Epost in Sabah. When there is growth in e-commerce, there will be more demand for the infrastructure, and logistics becomes part of the growth story. It’s all interrelated.”

Jamaludin has a similar view. Logistics start-ups, going forward, will not only be just ferrying products from one party to another.

“If there is a technology that helps businesses know, track and access where the product goes, when it’s used and who uses it, it is good. Look at the companies in the space who provide the data to brand owners. I think these will be the ones we’re looking for,” says Jamaludin.

Source

Source: Digital News Asia

• One founder trait that stands out is humility, ‘you will learn, adapt & evolve’
  Helping multiple entrepreneurs in solving multiple problems at the same time

Digital News Asia (DNA) continues its series that profiles 50 influencers who are helping shape Malaysia’s Digital Economy, from Digerati50 2020-2021 (Vol 4), a special biennial print publication released in July 2020. The digital version can be downloaded from the sidebar link. For information on customised reprints email karamjit@digitalnewsasia.com

When asked why he is interested in the startup space, and why he has entered it from the investment side, Victor Chua presents a non-sugar-coated answer.

“Just like a lot of people, I loved rags to riches stories. It is one of those things that motivate you when you’re working till 3am as an employee in the office and you don’t get time to spend with your friends and family. Because of such motivation, you can immediately feel the energy and possibilities if you talk to genuine entrepreneurs,” he says.

“It is like some sort of drug, except this is good because this is what humanity needs in order to find solutions for problems that we face.”

Victor is currently in position to be part of those rags to riches stories. In 2017 he co-founded Vynn Capital, a Southeast Asian-focused early stage venture capital firm that he built with IE Singapore’s Darren Victor (no relation).

The VC firm differs itself in a few ways. They focus on certain industries – travel, property, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), and female economics. On top of that, they place focus on how to create synergy among their portfolio companies, with the hope to build bridges between their limited partners (LP) and the companies they invest in.

Vynn Capital made headlines in February of 2018, when it announced a targeted US$40 million (RM168.2 million) maiden fund for Southeast Asia. In 2019, they came close to achieving that thanks to an undisclosed sum from Malaysia Venture Capital Management Bhd (Mavcap) as one of their anchor LPs. Later that year, Vynn Capital announced a strategic partnership with Japanese advisory and consulting firm OPTI to bridge Japanese investments into Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem.

In April 2020, they announced a collaboration with insurance brokerage firm, BIB Insurance Brokers, to introduce innovation into the insurance and financial sectors. By then, Vynn Capital had already invested in startups that include Carsome, Dropee, Travelio, Pomona and Epost Express.

Victor has long been entranced with the VC and startup space. His first job was an investment analyst with international consulting firm Willis Towers Watson, which exposed him to all kinds of investment assets, forming a solid foundation. This was also when he ran his own edutech startup, despite limited knowledge on fundraising and exists.

This experience taught him that digital and technology is the way forward. “It allows people like me who had insufficient resources to also tap into client base from down south while I work behind my home desk,” he says. When he got exposed to private equity and VC, he met former Mavcap CEO Jamaludin Bujang, eventually joining Mavcap.

Victor would eventually be vice president of investments at Gobi Partners, which he describes as a “good journey” with lots of learning and experience, as well as realising the value a VC can create and subsequently pushing him to create Vynn Capital.

“Professionally, I believe that there is still a lot of alpha in early stage investing whilst a lot of VCs have moved on to later stage investment. The market in Southeast Asia is growing which means, now more than ever, there is more need for VCs and we can play an important role in unlocking opportunities when they are still stones and not gems yet.”

He launched Vynn Capital on the belief that the market is mature enough to have a differentiated strategy that commands a contrarian view to the traditional VC mode of “spray and pray”.

Personally, Victor has also wanted to build something from scratch, believing that venture capitalists should also be bold entrepreneurs who take calculated risks – justified by potential upsides they can foresee, of course.

“People often overlook the fact that VCs are also entrepreneurs if they are running their own fund and to me if you are running your own fund, you are walking your talk,” he quips.

Victor doesn’t just think of himself as merely an investor or shareholder, though. “We work with our entrepreneurs at personal level to go beyond just an investor-investee relationship. VCs are also business people. When we invest into a company, we work with the team to grow the business,” he says, an aspect he finds exciting.

“As an entrepreneur, you are solving a problem at a time. But as an investor, I am helping multiple entrepreneurs in solving multiple problems at the same time. At the end of the day, we are the Robin to all our Batmen.”

Victor believes that Malaysia still has the capacity to become the window for investors and businesses beyond SEA to access the region, and has opted to stay despite more attractive VC opportunities in Indonesia.

They have been talking to several international organisations to create the corridor of knowledge – something for large institutions to learn about Malaysia and the region and eventually enter by working with local startups and investors. Regarding this, Victor adds that they will be launching a few things at Vynn Capital soon.

Additionally, Vynn Capital is also working with the Malaysia Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (MVCA) to create more awareness and knowledge for people to learn about VC as an asset class.

For Victor, one entrepreneur trait that stands out for him as an investor is humility. “If you are humble, you will learn, adapt and evolve as well as attract the right kind of partnerships,” he says.

“For me, we are encouraging our companies from different countries to jumble up their views. We want each of them to actually be an influence to another, so that they can expand their view and perspectives and grow as entrepreneurs.”

When asked about what entrepreneurs should do to give themselves the best chance to raise funds, Victor says: “The first thing to do is not raise funds.

“If you focus on raising funds, you end up not being able to run your business. Always think of raising funds as a tool to expand your business rather than raising fund for the sake of having a higher valuation.”

Victor believes that, at this point of time, entrepreneur should think strategically when they’re seeking partners and support. “Think of how your solution and product can be of a strategic interest to the counterparty. Be creative with how you position your business.”

He cites Travelio, one of their portfolio company, as example. The startup started off as a travel tech company, who eventually started working with property developers and became a proptech business. Now they are also in grocery delivery.

How has Covid-19 changed the VC space? Victor also believes that there will be a rebound in three to six months following the pandemic, where we may see more transactions happening.

“Prior to Covid-19, there were still a lot of dry powder in the market and there were a lot of corporations making their plans to expand into SEA. We were also advising several Japanese and American companies in their approach to SEA,” he says. Covid-19 has delayed their plans, but Victor feels that they will find their way back into the ecosystem.

“Of course, there might be new innovations and methodologies, but I believe if your business or if a VC fund’s strategy is crisis-proof enough, there will still be a lot of opportunities.”

Source