Heaptalk, Jakarta — Singapore’s Genesis Alternative Ventures has raised US$125 million for its second Southeast Asian-focused venture debt fund. This second fund will focus on injecting potential startups into Southeast Asia.
Over 80% investors are the existing investors who joined the previous fundraising, including Aozora Bank, Korea Development Bank, Mizuho Leasing, Sassoon Investment Corporation, and Silverhorn. New investors in the second fund include Japanese Mega Bank, Mizuho Bank, and OurCrowd.
“We are grateful for the continued support of our limited partners and pleased to welcome a new strategic institutional investor, Mizuho Bank, to this second fund. We are also delighted to welcome Philip Yeo to our Advisory Board, a true statesman and visionary in the technology and investment space.” Genesis’ Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Jeremy Loh.
According to Jeremy, Fund ll has already deployed venture loans of more than US$20 million to a handful of promising startups across the region, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The current market has shifted startup profiles, focusing on leaner structures and a profitable mindset.
Genesis extends debt to revenue-generating companies that venture capital funds back. These startups typically do not qualify for regular bank loans because they lack collateral or have not yet reached profitability, or their founders and institutional investors are keen to take venture debt to build up the company’s creditworthiness while equally seeking to minimize unnecessary equity dilution.
“Southeast Asia continues to be an exciting region with a thriving startup ecosystem. We are confident that this partnership will accelerate the growth of promising firms with access to capital, industry networks, and expertise led by Genesis,” Managing Executive Officer and co-CEO for APAC, Mizuho Bank, Ltd., Yasuhiro Kubota said.
Separately, Genesis and Indonesia’s digital-focused bank, Superbank, announced a collaboration in August 2023 to provide up to US$40 million of venture debt to promising technology startups in Indonesia. Superbank counts Emtek, Grab, Singtel, and KakaoBank as significant shareholders.
