Access Ventures Plans in Indonesia After Completing Second Funding

Hong Kong-based venture capital firm Access Ventures completed a second fundraiser earlier this month for $30 million. Next year they still have plans to continue fundraising activities with a target of pocketing around $50 million.

To DailySocial, General & Founding Partner of Access Ventures Charles Rim said that the company wanted to launch several additional plans, especially after obtaining funding from Korea Venture Investment Corp. If conditions improve and allow, the plan is expected to be finalized in the next quarter.

"We have invested in two startups in Indonesia this year (one of Andalin), and in the near future we will complete the fundraising process which is currently still being executed," said Charles.

Besides Vietnam, Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia that is the focus of Access Ventures. They are a venture capital company that has focused on funding early-stage startups. Apart from Andalin, they have also invested in Akseleran, Kata.ai, RevivalTV, and Volantis.

Pandemic and Indonesian startup ecosystem

Asked how much the pandemic affected the growth of Access Ventures' startup portfolio business, Charles said that many startups had problems running a business, not only those who were included in the Access Ventures portfolio. But on the other hand, he sees that this has created an acceleration of digitization which will create good investment opportunities.

"Certainly the companies that are included in our portfolio will benefit from this condition, and we have seen that. Investment in education online, esports, digital logistics, and lending are some examples," said Charles.

As the country of choice for most foreign investors in Southeast Asia, Indonesia has its own advantages. According to Charles, from the investor side, the efforts and support from the government are also getting bigger by providing clarity of regulations to support the ecosystem. This of course has given birth to several startups that are quite large in number.

"But the negative fact is that it has created competition and competition for digital talent, this will result in a lack of these talents that are needed by most startups. It would be wise for the government and the education sector to promote studies in engineering and science," said Charles.