Sembrani Nusantara's Structure Resembles Mutual Fund, BRI Ventures to Launch Venture Debt

BRI Ventures (BVI) last week announced the closing of the first round of the Sembrani Nusantara Venture Fund. This fund booked 150 billion Rupiah in managed funds from a number of investors. Not just ordinary managed funds, Sembrani has a relatively new structure in the landscape of Indonesia's digital industry. The structure is in the form of a Joint Investment Contract (KIB), which takes a similar concept to a Collective Investment Contract (KIK) in mutual funds. The Net Asset Value (NAV) calculation index will be issued quarterly by the custodian bank.

As a fund registered with the OJK, BVI wants to comply with the applicable legal rules. Meanwhile, currently in Indonesia, there are no official rules regarding limited partnership agreements (Limited Partners) which venture capitalists usually adopt to manage their funds. A form similar to mutual funds is expected to make it easier for the public to accept the concept that Sembrani has adopted.

This fund structure is very unique, because participating investors can subscribe and redeem from the Sembrani Nusantara Ventura Fund on every window of subscription that is opened every quarter. That is something limited partners cannot do with the existing VC fund model," BVI's VP of Investment Markus Liman Rahardja said.

With this structure, BVI is said to offer a level of flexibility and liquidity that cannot be owned by existing VC funds (from abroad). Fund backers can choose to deposit and redeem their funds for a certain period. This mechanism encourages Sembrani's claim to be similar to a mutual fund with a scheme that is common among Indonesians.