Malavika Velayanikal · · 2 min readInnoven Capital expands to Southeast Asia with $200 million venture debt for startups
Photo credit: Pixabay.
After completing more than 100 venture debt deals in India, InnoVen Capital has expanded to Southeast Asia. The first two deals it has signed are with KFit in Malaysia and Pomelo in Thailand. They will receive US$5 million in loans from InnoVen Capital.
KFit, which provides access to gyms and fitness classes, raised US$12 million in series A funding earlier this month. Its investors include Sequoia Capital India.
KFit founder and CEO Joel Neoh told Tech in Asia in an interview about his plans to diversify into massage, spa, and beauty services. The venture debt is in addition to its VC funding for this expansion.
Equity-free financing
Photo credit: Pomelo.
Startups with a proven business model, which are confident of repaying loans and don’t want to dilute too much of their equity, can opt for venture debt. VC funding requires startups to give up equity. Convertible debt is a mix of debt and equity financing.
The second company InnoVen Capital has signed a deal with is Thailand-based fashion ecommerce site Pomelo, which is backed by Jungle Ventures. The venture debt firm has a commitment of US$200 million from its investors Temasek and United Overseas Bank for the expansion in Southeast Asia. Overall, it expects to invest US$500 million in Asian startups in the next five years.
InnoVen Capital COO Ajay Hattangdi, says: “Having one unified platform across the region helps us to work seamlessly with clients who are increasingly looking to expand beyond just one market and therefore have requirements for risk capital across geographies. We are seeking to leverage our experience of working with high-growth startups and close relationships with VC investors in creating a regional platform for InnoVen Capital.”
In India, InnoVen Capital invested over US$40 million in 27 venture debt deals last year. In 2016, it expects to invest over US$65 million.
See: Sequoia plays matchmaker: Go-Jek acquires 2 Indian startups for tech muscle
Editing by Terence Lee
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