US-based VC firm Quona Capital, which focuses on fintech opportunities in emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, has announced the final close of its Accion Quona Inclusion Fund at US$203 million.
Accion, a nonprofit focused on financial inclusivity, acts as the fund’s sponsor, general partner, and anchor investor, according to a statement.
The Quona Capital team / Photo credit: Quona Capital
The new fund has already made four investments in Southeast Asia, including Indonesian digital SME lender Koinworks, productive consumer financing startup Julo, insurtech company Sunday, and commerce and fintech firm Ula.
“Southeast Asia is the biggest strategic step-up region for this fund [Accion Quona Inclusion Fund],” Quona partner Ganesh Rengaswamy, who oversees the company’s Asia investments, told Tech in Asia. He added that the company onboarded Dan Bertoli, previously a venture partner at Singapore-based Qualgro and chief investment officer at Telenor, in 2019 to focus on the region.
“In total, we will continue to be very active in Southeast Asia […],” Rengaswamy said.
The fund’s other investments so far include Brazil’s Contabilizei, Pakistan’s Finja, India’s ZestMoney, South Africa’s Lulalend, Mexico’s Klar, Brazil’s Kovi, and East Africa’s Sokowatch.
Quona said it currently has US$363 million in assets under management following the close of Accion Quona Inclusion Fund.
The fund, which exceeded its US$150 million target, included commitments from entities such as global asset managers and insurance companies, investment and commercial banks, university endowments, foundations, family offices, and development finance institutions.
Quona got its start at Accion before becoming an independent venture firm in 2015. Since then, the company has supported more than 20 fintech companies looking to expand access for underserved consumers and small businesses.
The Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund, the first fund managed by Quona and sponsored by Accion, has two exits to date: Coins.ph’s sale to Indonesian unicorn Gojek and the initial public offering of B2B ecommerce firm IndiaMart.
Editing by Charmaine de Lazo
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