MDI Ventures, Finch Capital launch pre-series A fund for Indonesian tech startups

MDI Ventures, the corporate venture arm of state-owned Telkom Indonesia, has partnered with fintech-focused VC firm Finch Capital to launch a new early-stage investment fund called Arise.

Left to right: Ririek Ardiansyah (CEO of Telkom Group), Hans de Back (Managing Partner at Finch Capital), Aldi Adrian Hartanto (Partner at Arise), and Ardi Stoios-Braken (Deputy Head of Mission/Minister Plenipotentiary of Netherland Embassy in Indonesia) / Source: MDI Ventures-Finch Capital

The two firms will run the fund under a joint venture and invest in Indonesia-focused tech startups in Southeast Asia.

Arise, which has a target of US$40 million in assets under management, will invest in startups in the post-seed to series A stage with an average ticket size between US$250,000 to US$3 million.

The team will use a variety of playbooks to make these investments, which are tailored to different tech ecosystems in Europe, Asia, and Silicon Valley.

A recent report by Cento Ventures shows that local tech investing fell to US$5.6 billion in 2020, a 13% drop compared to the same period in 2019. MDI Ventures and Finch Capital believe this fund may generate optimism for early-stage tech companies in the region.

“The unicorns continue to raise money, but the amounts raised pale in comparison to pre-pandemic rounds,” said Arise founder Aldi Adrian Hartanto. “Further, a disproportionate allocation of capital makes it even more challenging for promising early-stage companies to secure investments during the region’s economic slowdown.”