The top candidate to lead Indonesia’s newest state-owned VC firm

Sign up for the Daily Newsletter, sent exclusively to our Premium subscribers. We break down the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community. Get the newsletter in your inbox everyday with a Premium subscription.

Hello there,

I used to be part of a rock climbing team in school, and one of the things I wondered about was why we had a team captain. At the time, I thought climbing was a relatively individual sport and that competitions didn’t require much coordination or teamwork.

However, I realized that being a leader isn’t just about being a figure the team could rally around. They also have to handle other responsibilities, including liaising with different parties, figuring out the direction of the team, and generally being responsible for, well, everything there is.

With so much at stake, BNI Modal Ventura, Indonesia’s newest state-owned VC firm, has carefully selected a candidate to fulfill the top leadership role in its investment team. Read on to find out more about this development in our premium story for today.

Today we look at:

• BNI Modal Ventura’s top candidate for its investment team.
• A US$50 million raise for a Vietnamese ecommerce enabler.
• Other newsy highlights such as the latest crypto breach and SoftBank scaling down its deals after posting a multibillion-dollar net loss.

---

Premium summary

Lead the way

If you’re going to be leading a state-owned VC firm, chances are your resume is nothing short of impressive. That’s the case for Eddi Danusaputro, who’s the top candidate to lead BNI Modal Ventura’s investment team.

• Laundry list of achievements: Danusaputro has been the CEO of Mandiri Capital Indonesia, the VC arm of state-owned lender Bank Mandiri, since its inception in 2016. As CEO, he’s led the firm through several major developments, including early-stage investments in finance-focused startups such as Investree and Ayoconnect, as well as clinching exits from Cashlez (via IPO) and Moka (acquired by Gojek).

• Top dog: Bank BNI has other candidates in its sights, but Danusaputro appears to be the favorite given his extensive experience in the VC industry. Before joining Mandiri Capital, he spent over eight years as managing director at Singapore-based investment firm Makara Capital.

• Follow the leaders: Should Danusaputro take up the role, it would make him the latest high-profile venture capitalist to switch from one Indonesian state-owned corporate VC to another. Before him, Aldi Adrian Hartanto left his role as head of investments at Mandiri Capital to take an executive post at MDI Ventures in 2018. The following year, Nicko Widjaja stepped down as chief executive of MDI to lead the newly established BRI Ventures.

Read more: Mandiri Capital CEO strong candidate to lead Indonesia’s newest state-owned VC

---

Fundraising point to OnPoint

---

To fintech and beyond

---

Quick bytes