VCs in Southeast Asia launch programs to support tech talent, startups

The Covid-19 outbreak has dealt a heavy blow to Southeast Asia’s startup community. According to a Tech in Asia survey, about 80% of respondents said their businesses have been negatively affected by the pandemic.

The crisis has unfortunately prompted some companies to resort to layoffs. Just this week, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said it expects more job losses and fewer pay raises this year.

In response, VCs in the region have launched projects aimed at promoting startups in the region and helping employees get back on their feet.

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SEAcosystem is a community-driven talent database that seeks to connect employees and hiring startups with each other. New job seekers recently laid off by a startup, with at least one year of experience, can get listed by filling out a form. Entries will be periodically verified by a venture firm before being posted for hiring managers to consider, according to a statement.

The program is backed by Saison Capital, FutureLabs, Jungle Ventures, Alpha JWC, Convergence Ventures, Big Idea Ventures, Patamar Capital, Rainmaking, Trive Ventures, and Tribe Accelerator.

“Top talent is what makes or breaks ventures, so as an ecosystem, we have a collective interest and responsibility to keep the talent in Southeast Asia,” said Joachim Vandaele, founding partner at FutureLabs Ventures. “Customers come and go, financial capital flows in and out, but human capital is what we need to hold on to.”

Chia Jeng Yang, principal from Saison Capital, said that the Covid-19 outbreak may push companies with lower reserves to take drastic measures to keep afloat. To recover from this, Chia advised that startups will need to take “conservative financial practices” as the economy slowly recovers from the pandemic.

“It won’t be easy, but we as an ecosystem and as consumers can do as much as we can to support them,” the exec added.

Another group of VC firms also recently launched an initiative that collates various promos from different startups in the region to help them drive revenues up.

Set up by Openspace Ventures, 500 Startups, and Cocoon Capital, the SupportStartups movement has already seen 50 businesses list their offerings on its website, according to a statement. More startups are encouraged to list their services as well.

The group has also tapped Amazon Web Services to offer US$5,000 in promotional credits to each eligible startup that registers in the program. Government partners such as Enterprise Singapore have also shown their support for the initiative.

“The SupportStartups initiative is our way of standing up for our inventive companies in their time of need and encouraging entrepreneurs to push ahead and not give up,” 500 Startups partner Vishal Harnal said.