VC firm Openspace Ventures earlier this month announced the closure of its third managed fund, raising USD 200 million, which brings the total capital under management to USD 425 million. Openspace director Ian Sikora told Daily Social that Indonesia is an important market, where they will continue to develop their presence.
“Nearly a third of our portfolio is in Indonesia and we hope this trend will continue with the third funding,” he said. “We recently appointed Aristo Setiawidjaja as senior advisor and Jocelyn Susilo as senior analyst, both based in Jakarta. We will continue to grow our local Indonesian team in the coming months.”
Openspace launched its first and second fund in 2014 and 2017. When asked about investment plans for Indonesian startups, Sikora was reluctant to provide details. He assured, however, that they will continue to actively seek out potential startups in the country. “Openspace explores opportunities in every sector. The third fund will target more than 15 investments in Southeast Asia,” said the firm’s associate Tania Shanny Lestari.
Founded in 2014, the Singapore-based VC has a total of 33 portfolio companies across key sectors, including logistics, fintech, agritech, edtech, healthtech, cleantech, and B2B SaaS. Indonesia is said to be the key market with several investments such as Gojek, FinAccel, Halodoc, and TaniHub. Their most recent engagements include iSeller, Zenius, and Pluang.
Right now, the team consists of 25 people from 12 countries. The company has offices in Bangkok, Jakarta, and Manila and is in the process of setting up a presence in Ho Chi Minh City.
Openspace is actively supporting female entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia with a mentoring program for aspiring businesswomen. The firm hopes it will help increase women’s participation in the venture capital ecosystem in the region, including Indonesia.
Until now, 42 participants have registered, all of which will be directly supported by the Openspace team. They will receive mentoring in investment, technology, HR, data science, ESQ (emotional and spiritual quotient), and impact. Registration is still open until end of March. Mentoring sessions will be scheduled according to the participant’s interests.
This article first appeared in Daily Social.