Unitus Impact Sets Up a Total Fund of $45 Million for Social Impact Companies in Southeast Asia and India

Silicon Valley-based Unitus Impact announced that it has closed its fundraiser for the Livelihood Impact Fund with a total fund under management of $45 million (approximately 600 billion Rupiah). The fund will focus on funding social impact companies in Southeast Asia and India. An example of an Indonesian startup funded by Unitus Impact is Ruma.

Of course Unitus Impact not only focus on technology startups, but also commercial companies that have a social impact to improve the quality of life of lower-class citizens in two regions with a total population of nearly two billion. The disbursement of funds prepared per company is $500 thousand to $2 million (6-26 billion Rupiah) and they open up opportunities for Indonesian companies with the same vision to submit funding requests. They hope to fund 15-20 companies early in their growth period.

Examples of other Indonesian companies recently funded by Unitus Impact are Vasham trying to improve the standard of living of farmers. Here Unitus Impact collaborates with Indonesian Kinara.

To DailySocial, Unitus Impact Managing Partner Beau Seil said they believe many entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia are capable of solving problems [related to small people] but not many investors are willing to fund a company like this. Ruma faced the same thing until finally Unitus Impact entered as an investor.

This funding round was supported by well-established investment institutions, such as an Australian pension fund, the eBay Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).

Unitus Impact CEO Geoff Woolley said in a statement, "We look forward to investing in high-growth, innovative companies in Southeast Asia and India to create a social enterprise and provide (risk-measurable) returns for our investors. Our goal at Unitus Impact is to demonstrate commercial capability when investing in a company focused on improving the quality of life."

An example of a company that has a vision like this is Ruma and Kudo who try to improve the economic capacity of the small people by financing them with micro businesses. While in the Philippines, Unitus Impact is funding Kalibrr, a marketplace job market.