Kaya Founders raised $12 M in its first round to help Philippine startup founders expand

The next generation of tech-enabled, industry-shaping start-ups in Southeast Asia will be supported by Kaya Founders, a venture capital firm based in the Philippines, which on Wednesday announced the first close of $12 million in funding across two new funds.

According to a statement from Kay Founders, the Gokongwei family and Accent Micro Technologies Inc (AMTI), a provider of technology solutions, both serve as major pillars of the regional tech ecosystem.

Institutional investors, family offices, high-net-worth individuals, and well-known entrepreneurs all took part in it as well.

The firm now has $16.5 million in committed capital under management.

With the help of two new funds, Kaya Founders hopes to invest $25 million in pre-seed to Series-A start-ups in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

The firm’s global fundraising campaign has begun with the first close at $12 million, giving foreign investors in need of yield access to one of the world’s fastest-growing tech ecosystems.

In particular, Kaya Founders will concentrate on supporting startups in the Philippines, which has received a lot of attention for startup investment in the region as a whole.

The Philippines, according to Kaya Founders, offers a sizable opportunity because of its expanding internet economy, young and increasingly affluent population, and skilled English-speaking populace.

According to the report, Southeast Asia has continued to be a relatively bright spot despite the global slowdown in venture capital investment activity.

According to the report, the Philippines is particularly poised to become one of the rising stars in the region thanks to the country’s developing middle class, rising internet and smartphone usage, and new consumer and business habits brought on by the pandemic. All of these factors are supporting opportunities for value creation.

It is noted that, in sharp contrast to markets like the United States and Europe last year, funding closed by Philippine start-ups exceeded a record $1 billion for two years in a row between 2021 and 2022.

Additionally, over the past two years, local and regional funds have closed at least $4 billion in capital, which represents a significant increase in dry powder.

As an early-stage investor, this creates the perfect environment for Kaya Founders, giving current and future portfolio companies plenty of opportunities to raise follow-on funding.

“The burgeoning tech scene in the Philippines is reminiscent of previous growth narratives seen in markets such as India in the 2000s and Indonesia over the past decade,” said Kaya Founders Managing General Partner Paulo Campos.

Through the upcoming Zero to One Fund, Kaya Founders will keep doing what it has been doing for the past two years—primarily working with pre-seed stage startups.

Through partnerships with founders even before their products hit the market, this pre-seed vehicle will concentrate on accelerating ventures from Day 0.