The Radical Fund, an early-stage impact investor headquartered in Thailand, has announced plans to hire team members in the Philippines after securing the first close of its impact vehicle.
The firm, which invests in early-stage ventures in Southeast Asia that are scaling solutions across climate adaptation and mitigation, currently has a six-person team based in Bangkok and Singapore. It also has global team members in London and the UK.
In a statement, The Radical Fund said it is hiring team members in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia as part of its regional expansion. It is also in due diligence with companies in the Philippines at the moment, according to sources.
The firm did not disclose the amount it raised in the first close of its fund but it earlier announced plans to raise a total of about $40 million. DealStreetAsia reported in May that the company was looking at a $7 million first close.
The fund has so far received backing from family offices in Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines, as well as individual investors from the US and Europe.
“Southeast Asia is one of the most adversely affected regions of the world when it comes to climate change, and yet investment is still predominantly going toward US and European ventures,” said Alina Truhina, CEO and Managing Partner of The Radical Fund.
The fund, Truhina added, invests regionally, and at the earliest stages, to build an ecosystem – and a pipeline – of climate-oriented companies with solutions that are appropriate and localized for the Southeast Asia markets.
The Radical Fund’s investment goes beyond traditional clean tech and climate tech verticals. It also backs scalable ventures that may not look like traditional climate businesses, and have -or may potentially have- climate impact as part of their model and ethos.
These include companies across agriculture, food, circular economy, financial and mobility/logistics, and other sub-sectors.
“By actively supporting the early-stage startup ecosystem in this region, I am confident that Southeast Asia will become the world’s leading climate-focused venture hub in the world,” Truhina added.
The Radical Fund is part of the Utopia Capital Management (UCM) group of investment vehicles, which have supported over 130 early-stage ventures across multiple emerging markets.