Golden Gate Ventures Announces Partnership with Hanhwa Asset Management to Invest for Series B Funding

Golden Gate Ventures announces strategic partnership with Hanhwa Asset Management for series B funding to Southeast Asia's startups. They targeting startup focused on consumer based platform, such as marketplace, fintech, health-tech, and logistics-as-a-service.

In the official release, they believe this segment can create opportunity from the rapid growth of middle class. Supported by internet penetration, smartphones, and other technology.

A consumer based startup focused on mobility, trading, or logistics; will discover unique data from consumers and micro consumers. It becomes the initial step for in-depth financial inclusion, health services, and the latest technologies throughout Southeast Asia.

Golden Gate representative said, Southeast Asia's startups have quite long gap to reach series B. In terms of investors, it's hard to find the willing one.

Therefore, startups raising for this stage of funding might find it difficult. They raise syndicate round of many investors in series A or offer some alternative sources, resulting incompatibility with characteristic as family company or global private equity (PE).

According to SVCA (Singapore Venture Capital & Private Equity Association), 50% startup in US and Europe at series A has reached series B. In Southeast Asia, it happens otherwise, where less than one third have reached series B.

"The downgrade is caused mostly because the lack of funding in the region."

The Singapore based VC has scored more than 215 series A within two years. Based on the historical trend, both companies expecting 80-110 potential series B investment in the next two years. This number should doubled up in the next four years.

The announcement of investment partnership also strengthen the connection of both since five years ago, in 2014. Then, startup ecosystem in Southeast Asia is only started.

Both companies will use each other's resources to develop further initiation. Start from global corporate partners network and investors, asset management experience, providing professional talents, and many more.

In addition, Golden Gate Ventures is a VC focused on early stage funding, established since 2011. Some of its portfolios are Carousell, Alodokter, Carro, Funding Societies, Omise, Ruma, and others. Meanwhile, Hanhwa Asset Management portfolio consists of Zymergen, N26, Yanolja, and Grab.

– Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian