Philippine-based venture capital firm Kaya Founders announced the second close of its two latest funds focusing on technology startups in Southeast Asia. Participating in the funding round were investors such as Singapore-based Pavilion Capital, Concentric Equity Partners, and Gabriel and Geraldine Sunshine of Boston-based hedge fund Bracebridge Capital together with family offices, high net-worth individuals, and established entrepreneurs. This increases the combined committed capital of its new funds to PHP1 billion (US$18 million) and raises the firm’s total assets under management (AUM) to PHP1.25 billion (US$22.5 million).
The announcement of Kaya Founders’ second close also coincides with the firm’s appointment as an official co-investment partner of the Philippine Startup Venture Fund, which is a joint effort by the Department of Trade and Industry and the National Development Company.
Founded in 2021 through a partnership between leading entrepreneurs and angel investors Paulo Campos, Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng, Constantin Robertz, and Ray Alimurung, Kaya Founders currently supports 44 companies across various sectors such as eCommerce, software as a service, healthcare, financial services, agriculture, and others. The firm invests in Pre-seed to Series A companies, with investments typically ranging between PHP5.5 million (US$100,000) and PHP27.5 million (US$500,000).
With the introduction of the “Zero to One” and “One to Ten” funds, targeting different stages of development, the firm aims to invest in an additional 30-40 startups in the Philippines and Southeast Asia within the next four years. So far, Kaya Founders has invested in companies such as eCommerce enabler Etaily, which announced a $17.8 million Series A funding round last November; cloud logistics platform Locad, which raised its own $11 million Series A round in January 2023; salary on-demand provider Advance; global plastic credits marketplace Plastic Credit Exchange; and microinsurance platform RuralNet. It has also recently welcomed former Potato Corner COO and UnionDigital Bank Director Dominic Hernandez and technology solutions provider Accent Micro Technologies Inc. (AMTI) as strategic partners.
According to Managing General Partner Paulo Campos, Kaya Founders focuses on companies that solve relevant problems. “We see Kaya as a vehicle to capitalize on the unique window of opportunity we are in, with the defining companies of the country and broader region to be built over the next decade. Above all, we see Kaya as an avenue to solve the most pressing challenges of our times, be it financial exclusion, climate change, or limited healthcare access,” he said.
Campos also reiterated that Kaya Founders is optimistic about the potential of the Philippine startup ecosystem. “If you look at the amount of venture funding that has gone into the ecosystem—relative to our GDP and population—it’s clear that the Philippines has long been underinvested and underlooked as a market. Through our funds, we hope to catalyze capital into one of the most exciting economies in the world”, he concluded.