The Radical Fund hits first close of $40m SEA climate fund

The Radical Fund team / Photo credit: The Radical Fund

The Radical Fund, an early-stage climate investor based in Bangkok, has reached its first close of a US$40 million fund to support climate-oriented startups that are based in or operate in the region.

It belongs to the Utopia Capital Management (UCM) group, which has supported over 130 early-stage startups in various emerging markets.

The Radical Fund has so far received backing from family offices in Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines, as well as individual investors from the US and Europe.

“Southeast Asia is one of the most adversely affected regions of the world when it comes to climate change, and yet investments is still predominantly going toward US and Europe ventures,” Alina Truhina, CEO and managing partner of The Radical Fund, said in a statement.

The fund targets startups in the pre-seed, seed, and pre-series A stages. It looks for solutions that tackle climate change, both through adaptation and mitigation.

It will also invest in non-climate tech startups whose business models address climate concerns, such as firms in agriculture, food, circular economy, financial, mobility, and logistics sectors. Portfolio companies will also receive operational and technical assistance.

Green investments continued to fall in the region, dropping by 7% to US$5.2 billion in 2022, according to a recent report by Bain and Company, Temasek, GenZero, and Amazon Web Services.