Protege Ventures launches second fund run by students, for students

Photo credit: Protege Ventures

Protege Ventures, which calls itself Southeast Asia’s first and Singapore’s only student-run VC, has launched its second fund for startups founded by students.

The sector-agnostic fund launched with S$500,000 (US$366,900) in capital, injected by David Su, founding managing partner of Beijing-based VC firm Matrix Partners China.

The fun is run by an investment committee consisting of university students and Protege’s past investment partners.

Founded in 2017, Protege has invested around US$194,500 in 10 companies through its first fund. Each investee has at least one student on the founding team.

These firms, which received checks between US$18,300 and US$36,600 from Protege, also collectively raised US$26 million in follow-up funding, according to the VC. Protege primarily focuses on pre-seed to seed rounds.

The launch of the second fund coincided with the finals of the 11th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC), a biennial university startup challenge organized by the Singapore Management University (SMU).

Protege follows a structure akin to a typical VC firm. New members begin as analysts and progress through roles such as associate, principal, and partner.

However, it’s still led by young individuals from various universities in Singapore, including SMU, the National University of Singapore, Yale-NUS College, and Nanyang Technological University.

It was initially launched by SMU’s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in collaboration with Kairos ASEAN, part of The Kairos Society, which invests in young entrepreneurs globally.

Aside from backing students through funding, Protege has also been providing masterclasses and mentorship on VCs, entrepreneurship, and other topics. The VC said it has trained 251 students and evaluated 1,100 deals within seven years of its inception.

Protege’s first fund is backed by several investors: Wavemaker Partners, Vickers Venture Partners’ Jeffrey Chi, the Ministry of Education, and the National Research Foundation.

While the concept of student-run VC funds in Southeast Asia is not new anymore, the segment is still relatively small and nascent compared to other regions or countries, such as the US.

For example, the University Venture Fund – which is considered the pinnacle of student-led investments – had US$18.2 million in assets under management as early as 2006.