Kopi Kenangan’s founders launch angel fund for Indonesian startups

The founders of Indonesian coffee chain company Kopi Kenangan have launched an angel investment vehicle, a company spokesperson told Tech in Asia.

Apart from Edward Tirtanata, James Prananto, and Cynthia Chaerunnisa, who established the cafe startup in 2017, investors in the Kenangan Fund include “a couple of friends,” the spokesperson said.

Photo credit: Kopi Kenangan

Since the fund is “just a passion project” to contribute to the startup ecosystem in general, it doesn’t have a formal general partner, limited partner, or any other commitment to a third party, the firm said.

The average ticket size ranges from US$10,000 to US$150,000 in investment. Kenangan Fund doesn’t have a preferred sector, as long as the businesses focus on Indonesia. So far, it has invested in podcast platform Noice, automotive aftermarket services provider Otoklix, and e-grocery startup Dropezy.

“The founders believe that investing in startups is an opportunity that can’t be missed, given the trajectory of the internet economy in Southeast Asia that’s expected to triple from US$100 billion to US$300 billion by 2025,” the spokesperson said. “However, financial return is not the only reason. The other is personal passion. So it is opportunistic and agnostic in nature.”

Last year, Kopi Kenangan raised US$109 million in a series B funding round led by Sequoia Capital. Additional backers of the firm include B Capital Group, Alpha JWC Ventures, Sofina, among others.

As of May 2020, it was operating 324 stores across Indonesia, reaching over a million customers through its mobile app.