Denmark’s 3B Ventures launches new US$60M fund for impact investing | Digital Asia
Left to right: 3B Ventures Fund Manager Andrew Tan, General Partner Jan-Cayo Fiebig, and General Partner James Digby
Update: The earlier version of this article stated the firm’s plan to make first investment by end of 2019
Danish venture capital firm 3B Ventures today in Selangor announced the launch of its US$60 million Frontier Fund II, which will focus on impact investing in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the US.
The firm stated that it has secured undisclosed initial financial commitment for the fund and plans to raise “the rest” from family offices, GLICs, and accredited investors.
It has also named Andrew Tan, who is also known as CrowdPlus CEO and TBV Capital Managing Partner, as fund manager who will be operating the fund out of Kuala Lumpur.
The fund will focus on investment in startups working in the energy, water, agriculture, education, and health sectors. It will be geared towards companies raising seed, bridge, or Series A funding rounds, in addition to follow-on investments in later rounds.
It expects to make first investment by the start of 2019, shortly after its first close of US$30 million at the end of Q4 2018.
“We see such a high quality of startups in the market that have impact integrated in their business. These companies are scalable, profitable, and good businesses. Corporates, GLICs, and industry leaders recognise this opportunity and show more and more interest to collaborate with startups and VCs. The government has been very supportive here to facilitate this process,” 3B Ventures General Partner Jan-Cayo Fiebig said in a press statement.
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In an email to Tech News, General Partner James Digby explained more details of the fund and the startups that they are looking for.
“The forecast is to invest into 60 ventures, with initial tranches from US$25-50,000 at early stage, with allocation for follow on funding up to USD$2 million. Our focus is on seeing how we can scale our ventures throughout Southeast Asia,” he wrote.
“We are looking for companies that have been established for at least 12 months, and are on track for at least US$500,000 revenue in the next 18 months – with a focus on profitability and scaling before assessing the level of impact into any investment,” he added.
Digby also mentioned how the firm’s portfolio companies in Europe and Asia can synergise together.
“We are leveraging upon the skills and talents available in the Nordics with the market potential of Southeast Asia and other emerging economies. We will be adopting a systemic approach to vertical investments and look to see where we can synergise between portfolio companies where it makes sense,” he said.
In addition to Southeast Asia, 3B Ventures also put focus on the Nordic market.
The firm invests in companies in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia. Its typical ticket size is between US$250,000 and US$1 million.
It puts a special focus on companies that are aiming to solve at least one of the 17 social or environmental issues included in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs).
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Image Credit: 3B Ventures
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